You can look to the manga Hajime no Ippo for a case study on the subject... it is basically all about boxing matches which are described in great detail. Focus on the characters, and understand that boxing is not just two men (or women) punching each other. Every punch that you throw is an opening for your opponent, and it drains your energy a little bit more. Are they experienced boxers? Most amateur boxers are surprised at first by how much faster they run out of energy in a real fight compared to when they were training.

Boxing is a game of chess, where you need to think one step ahead of your opponent. The only difference is that there are no turns. You can throw or block as many punches as you are physically capable of, but each punch is harder to throw than the last.

It should be obvious that punches are being thrown in the boxing match. so to that effect, avoid: he threw a left hook. I swayed back and came back with a swift straight to the body, catching him off balance so I could finish him with an uppercut.

try not even describing the punches so much, because fiction is at its core all about the characters:

This guy has me beat at every angle. I know that for every punch I throw I'm going to take two in return. He's bigger than me... so how can he move so quick? He steps forward and all of the sudden I'm on the ground. The referee asks my if I can still fight--I guess I managed to haul myself onto my feet. I don't remember that. Stop the fight I think, but on reflex I earnestly lock eyes with him and smile, trying not to let on that I have a concussion, and say "Good to go, sir."

The ref nods gravely, and the round picks up again right away. While my opponent rushes in to overwhelm me, I'm still looking the ref in the eyes. No... Why? I think to myself. I squint my eyes shut as I prepare for the blow that that will finally retire me for good, and I picture the disappointment and pity on the faces of my friends and family ringside.

My trainer is yelling at me from the corner "On him!"

I ease my eyes cautiously open, and I see my opponents sweat as steam, condensing quickly in the cold stadium air. I see blood trickling down his face from the cut on his eye I gave him in the fifth round. I must have opened it further. He thrusts a veined, enormous arm directly at my face, and I'm too tired to react in time. It connects and I feel--nothing.

There's no power behind it. I can see my girlfriend through the bottom ropes. She's jumping up and down with the most excited smile I've ever seen her face. "You got him baby! One more shot!" She screams, her white-knuckled fists pumping back and forth. The loose-fitting ring on her finger catches the light.

I've got to get that resized for her before it falls right off, I think. Suddenly that becomes my priority, and I move towards her. But there's a man in the way. I try to stumble past him towards Karen, but he grabs hold of me, as if for support.

"Get off of me," I scream, and thrust my shoulder against his chest. He looks either confused or terrified, and he makes to clinch again. He leans forward to grab me, and I swing clumsily forward. I'm so surprised by how easily his head snaps back under my fist that I stumble forward, only managing to stay upright by supporting myself on the ropes.

Looking down over the ropes at my girlfriend, I'll never forget her smile in the instant between when she saw that I won, and when she realized that her face
was spattered with blood.

The medical team had already taken out my opponent's mouth guard, and starting stuffing cotton against his nose to stem the bleeding........

etc. etc... So, set up the circumstances surrounding the fight, and set the final scene of the fight for the protagonist to deliver (or receive) the finishing blow, the climax of the scene--that one punch--in detail. That's my take on it, as a boxer, avid reader, and someone who claims to like writing but rarely does. Haha! Hope that helps, I had fun writing this reply.

---

(0)

Login to post a comment!