Peekay the Boxer (Chapter 12-13)

Peekay’s victory at his first fight was an affirmation of everything he had learned about boxing. Everyone Peekay fought was significantly older and heavier than him. They also were all more “fighters” instead of “boxers”, throwing powerful but inaccurate punches. This is especially true in Peekay’s last fight. Killer Kroon was a year older and almost 40 pounds heavier than Peekay. He was a “fighter” and won quickly in the previous rounds with knockouts, while Peekay was a “boxer” and won on points. During the fight, Peekay dodged Killer Kloon’s power punches and wore him down, scoring lots of points until Killer Kloon had an asthma attack. Like the fight between Jackhammer Smit and Hoppie, the more nimble boxer was able to get in a lot of scoring punches, wear down their opponent, avoiding powerful but easily avoidable punches. This shows Peekay that finesse and speed trumps raw power, aggressiveness, and size. Part of Peekay’s success is also caused by how uncommon it is for boxers to box like Peekay does. Peekay’s opponents aren’t used to fighting people who emphasize skill instead of strength, and don’t know how to beat him. Meanwhile Peekay, due to his relatively young age, can only box against older, bigger kids. Peekay hasn’t developed into a fighter, not only because his mentors teach him otherwise, but because he can’t win as a fighter. This fight is a great example of this, and will help stop Peekay from developing into a fighter when he has the strength to do so.