"Sarah Deming is bleeding from the nose."
The line comes 20 seconds into the second round of my losing match at Madison Square Garden, which somebody just put online. We live in an age where all defeats are permanent and publicized.
It's both horrifying and amusing to watch this now. Later on in the second round, Gil Clancy jokes that the ref isn't stopping the fight to check on my nose because "he's not a feminist." The ref does eventually give me a standing eight count, and then they send me over to the doctor, who lets me continue.
In my defense I will say that this was only my second fight. My opponent, Patricia Alcivar, was the returning champion, and she was ranked second in the nation at that time. I think I did pretty well under the circs.
After the fight, I growled to Patricia's trainer, "I'll see you at the next dance," but we never did fight again. We sparred several years later, and she was still better than me, although it was closer. Patricia was a good fighter and a deep person, and I'm glad I faced her.
Tons of people came out to see me, including my mother and my brother. When I took that terrifying step through the ropes, it was very important to hear the roar from my cheering section. I was a little worried about Mom's reaction to seeing me take so many uppercuts, but she said that she could tell by my body language that I was okay.
Check out how thin I am! This match was at 119 pounds, a weight that was extremely difficult for me to make. When I won the Gloves two years later, it was at 125.
Part two of this clip here.
