Close to a life of rocking chairs, traveling, golf and five o’clock-somewheres, &uot;semi-retired&uot; National Furniture President Jerry Pyron recently found out what two rounds with retired boxer Lennox Lewis must’ve been like.

Pyron, who moved to Ridgeland about a year ago but returns weekly to Natchez to check on things, hopped aboard the 101-foot Miss Celeste June 11, clueless his participation in the eighth annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic would be anything more than a chance to goof off with some buddies.

What he got on his first trip into deep blue water were the longest 90 minutes of his life, reeling in a 631.7-pound blue marlin, good enough for the tournament’s top individual prize of $105,400.

&uot;After they (Miss Celeste’s crew) kept telling me every 500 yards I had 30 more left, I said, ‘Quit lyin’ to me,’&uot; Pyron, 55, remembered. &uot;It was like a heavyweight, two-round fight. I came out the winner, but felt like I got KO’d.&uot;

It could’ve been worse. It was discovered later the 13-foot, two-inch &045;&045; &uot;It dwarfed me,&uot; Pyron said &045;&045; female beast had recently laid eggs.

If the contest had been held between a week and two weeks prior, the heifer could’ve weighed 350 additional pounds.

The fish jumped a total of six times during the battle, coming completely above water the first two times and exposing three-fourths of her body the final time.

Such a tease.

&uot;It was work. It put up a helluva fight. It wore me out. The only time it was fun was when I watched it again on video,&uot; Pyron joked. &uot;I felt like it was a quest and I couldn’t let everybody down. Nobody had ever landed anything like that. My arms started to cramp, but some how I battled through it.&uot;

The Miss Celeste crew attempted to keep Pyron from boiling over as he was locked in, by showering him with bottles of water.

When Pyron finally cranked that reel one final click, nine members of the Miss Celeste crew dragged the fish into the boat, prompting one gleeful deckhand to plop on the fish and begin embracing it like it was a soldier returning from war.

&uot;To me I was just having fun with my buddies, but to them (the crew) it was like winning the Master’s (Golf Tournament),&uot; Pyron said. &uot;We went to sleep and came back (Saturday) at about 4 o’clock. That crew was having a party, though.&uot;

They had good reason. Friday’s one-day booty, which included four tuna and Pyron’s holy grail, helped the Miss Celeste net more than $183,000 in earnings.

Pyron’s catch also punched his ticket for the world championships 150 miles from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in December.

&uot;A lot of times I felt like giving up, but to fight that long, that fish was going to have to beat me to death before I gave up,&uot; Pyron said.

For more information about chartering the Miss Celeste, contact Captain Maurice &uot;Fitz&uot; Fitzsimmons at (251) 626-9437 or (251) 209-9166.