THE THRILLER IN UTILA

hugh "chef boy ar blaze " vs skipper " pretty boy " leonard

what better way to celebrate honduran independence day,  than a boxing challenge ? 

• chef hugh and dive boat skipper leonard have been talking about this day for months .  would they actually go through with it ? a hush came over the crowd as they pushed their way into the ring : a gringo vs. local match up. this was either going to be very entertaining or very sad. 

• the ferocity of the opening salvo took us all by surprise (there'd been a lot of bravado in the months leading up to the fight but they are friends) . with both guys standing toe to toe in the center of the ring and swinging hard it looked like chef hugh was going down and going down hard.

skipper leonard kept chef hugh on the defensive with a wicked series of combination punches that had chef hugh reaching deep into his gut for the strength to continue . 

just as the still placid crowd had expected, looks like the gringo's gonna go down and out in the first round. 

out of nowhere and from down low, hugh unleashed a wicked right cross,  shocker....... "pretty boy" leonard hits the deck ! 

the silent crowd erupted and with them still ringing in his ears leonard was back on his feet in a second, THIS WAS GETTING GOOD ! 

with the crowd ignited by the surprise knock down and chef hugh 

taunting him with the muhammad ali shuffle, leonard came back fighting like a man possessed . ain't no gringo chef gonna take out the "pretty boy" from sandy bay. 

coming in low to avoid a roundhouse left , leonard gets inside . 

hugh didn't 

even see the right cross coming  but he felt it ! 

time for skipper leonard to take cooking

 boy to school.

chef hugh hit the deck hard , down and bloodied ............but not out . 

up in a flash , sporting a cheeky grin and once again doing the ali shuffle , hugh continued to taunt leonard as the crowd egged him on . two knockdowns and we're still in the first round ,

the "thriller in utila" is living up to the hype .

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• and then the unthinkable , out of nowhere a torrential rain storm and the ref called the fight. the ring is too slippery.
  
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• rumor has it , an eccentric fight fan had put up a substantial purse which neither pugilist can collect on .................... until the rematch .
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hemmingway would have enjoyed independence day on utila.