SECOND

You are Del’s corner.

Ten years you’ve worked this kid, since he was too small for the headgear. Tonight he’s in over his head against someone better, and you both know it. You will never throw a punch. You get sixty seconds between rounds — a cut to close, an eye going shut, a body running out of air — and one thing you’re allowed to say.

Then the bell, and you sit down and watch. The clock is short on purpose. You will not be able to fix everything. And the truest thing a corner can do is the hardest — stop it, take the loss, and get your fighter home on his feet.