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A Look Back at Last Weekend
By Mark Connor

It's seven o'clock on Sunday morning, July 23, 2006, and I'm sitting in the office of the homeless shelter for Native American children in St. Paul that I work third shift hours at every weekend. I took Friday night off so I could help Dennis Presley work Raúl "The Matador" Gracia's corner at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Gracia beat the hometown favorite, Jeff "The Big Frog" Curran, with a four round unanimous decision that night. It was the best I've ever seen him look, and although there are some improvements he'll naturally have to make, both Presley and I came home with the most exciting and optimistic view of his immediate future we have ever had.

No one in the classy North Side venue made any noise when we walked Raúl up to the ring to the sound of Puerto Rican theme music, and many in the largely Latino crowd actually booed him when he was announced, and showered the Irish-American Curran, of the Chicago area, with wild cheers. However, as the southpaw Gracia staggered his orthodox opponent with the first straight left to the head and spent the entire fight making him miss wild shots and tattooing his face with fast-flying fists, they ooed and aahed, gradually giving him applause, and graciously expressed their appreciation when the unanimous decision was announced. Gracia should have been less cautious and much more aggressive, but as Presley said to me in the corner while watching him take the stocky, muscle bound opponent to the School of Boxing Basics, "That's right, Chicago----we don't bring no chumps down here." Also, as Curran's massive biceps stretched out from his shoulders with the telegraphed roundhouse lefts and rights he continuously slashed the soft air with as Gracia's head moved magnificently away, Presley said, "Go ahead, keep swinging those big arms----all muscle and no brains!"

Curran was actually a game fighter, and Raúl told me he appreciated his determination and could tell he was a good man when they exchanged post-fight respects. Presley and I both also agree that he is a strong, tough and determined man with a gigantic heart. He was really no match, though, and anyone in the arena could see that Gracia's abilities are miles beyond his. Gracia's balance has improved nearly a thousand fold since he began training for his professional career last year in April, and his speed has increased with progressively greater punching power. It would have been nice to see Gracia knock him out, because his ability to do so was obvious, but because the improvement in each fight since the first has been so evident, and the crowd was so excited with his performance, there was nothing to do but smile, especially when so many fans patted him on the back or reached out to shake his hand as he returned to the locker room. When Presley and I came back into the arena a short time later, we immediately noticed the difference.

Bringing Leech Lake lightweight Tim Lindgren to the edge of the fighter's path to the ring, we saw a large crowd gathered in the roped-off area that separated spectators from fighters and trainers. "You see that?" Presley said to me. "There wasn't anyone there when we came down with Raúl; now look at all the people!"
"Yeah, " I smiled, "and look at how many of them are female!"

My feelings would be mixed very shortly, because Lindgren, a three-time Upper Midwest Golden Gloves Champion having his first professional fight since losing to Darby Smart a couple of years ago, suffered a second round TKO. It was an above the weight lightweight fight set at 137 pounds, and quite obviously Lindgren's potential lies in fighting at least a weight or two lower. After 120 amateur fights, including one international bout against the National Champion of Ireland, this was Lindgren's third professional fight, and it's the first time he's been stopped since lacing on the gloves as a child. I hadn't known him till we met at the Twin Cities International Airport the day before, but I'd grown to respect him deeply by the time we were warming him up for the fight. He has a great left jab, a strong right hand, and a solid left hook with a lot of speed, so after going back to the drawing board and re-establishing his condition over the next six months, he should emerge as a promising prospect somewhere between bantamweight and featherweight.

Still at ringside after we'd made sure that Tim was all right, I noticed a group of lovely Latina ladies looking admiringly at Raúl, one of them holding a digital camera. Raúl noticed it too, but of course the hombre bastante guapo is also very shy, so he just timidly smiled and looked away. A little more verbose and outgoing, I knew I had to nudge the situation along, so I quickly asked if the ladies wanted a picture with "The Matador". Of course they did, and of course Raúl still slyly played the shy gentleman, so Presley and I coaxed him along, and the ladies insisted we all get in the picture. Three of these ladies were sisters, highly educated, first generation Chicagoans whose family----like Raúl's----are from Puerto Rico. One of them has a Masters in Communications, the other two PhDs in Pharmacology. It goes to show; Gracia doesn't just attract women with physical beauty, but all around goddesses with heads on their shoulders, and competence and ambition in their hearts. That was the highlight of the trip, the icing on the cake, not just because I could be a part of it, but because it indicated to me the degree to which Raúl "The Matador" Gracia excites the fans. The man is magnetic, and his potential unparalleled. When the Boxing Commission is reactivated in Minnesota, he can definitely headline packed houses, and in the meantime it will be beautiful to bring him back to Chicago on a regular basis.

It's time for me to leave the shelter now, and go get much needed sleep in order to pull my last third shift of the week this evening. After recovering during the day tomorrow, I'll be excited to get back to the gym and feel the brilliant buzz that always flows through the air when the victorious fighter returns to his fellow boxers to share the story of the weekend's success. Also, I want to hit the ground running, because I know that as we build Raúl "The Matador" Gracia's career and develop him into the prize fighter of his potential, there's no time to waste.