SAMPLE
This story is about 2800 words or 17 standard book pages. (6000 words with the Mage Fantasy Series Promo at the back!)
The ring was bright. Joe wasn't used to seeing this many electric lights in one place. It was hotter than he thought it would be.
The champ stood on the other side of the ring. He had his manager talking to him from his side. Joe had done his research. The man was from somewhere in Europe, but had made a name for himself quickly in the ring in London. After everything started to go mainstream, he cut his way through the dozens of weaklings that flooded the ranks of pro-boxing and had taken the crown. Since then he had fought a number of the better fighters and had won decisively. He would be a hard, difficult fighter to beat and Joe, although he was ready, was worried. It was hard to focus with his daughter watching from up top.
The bell rang and the first round began. They circled each other faking to see if one of them would give an early opening. He was good. In fact, he was far better than Joe in almost every way.
Their brown eyes met and Joe was the first to throw a punch. He missed by a long shot and the return combo pummeled his stomach and pushed him back to the ropes. The air went out of his lungs and he fell back.
What a way to start a fight, he thought. He was blacking out in the first few seconds the other man was that powerful.
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THE CHAMPIONSHIP
UNCIVILIZED BOXING ACTION SERIES #2
(SMASHWORDS EDITION / Copyright Kenneth Guthrie 2011)
Joe is back and this time he’s going to take on the champ. He’s had a month of training and he couldn’t be more ready. Little does he know Lord Thomson has a surprise waiting for him that will change his life. Read on to find out about Joe’s biggest fan.
POSTER BOY
Joe stood outside of the hall. It was a place specifically designed for these kinds of fights and was part of the new age of boxing that he was so much a part of at the moment.
Sam stood next to him looking up. Someone had painted on a big sheet his name right under the champ and there were also stylized posters by local artists who would be working for the company that ran the fights.
"They drew me a little small, don't you think?" he said fingering one poster of him fighting a big black man.
"I don't know. I think it’s quite charming," Sam said.
"Charming? He's bleeding on me and my face looks like I'm having a hard time in the toilet," Joe said skeptically.
"Well, no artist is perfect," Sam replied.
Joe sighed. Sam was impossible.
Joe and Sam walked into the building and took the route to the dressing rooms. The inside of the building was lit by a few electric lights that had started to replace the candles and lanterns that people had been using up to now. They were a strange thing and Joe always felt a little concerned that the little white globes would explode and burn him. He had heard they had a tendency to do that.
Joe walked into his dressing room and sat down. He looked in the slightly cracked mirror on the wall, which was the only real ornamentation in the room. He was in great shape.
The lord had advanced them some of tonight's fight money and told Joe in no uncertain terms that he expected Joe to be in top shape. Joe had cut back on the fights and concentrated on training during the times he wasn't working at the steel mill, which was good training in itself. He felt top of his game tonight and he knew that he was going to give the champ the fight of his life tonight.
Sam left the room and left Joe to his pondering. Sam would need to make sure the company that was running the fight and Lord Thomson were comfortable and well taken care of. Joe had really started to see the value of having Sam as his manager as long as Joe kept a firm eye on how much he was taking as his cut.
He sat back and relaxed. Tonight would be all his dreams come true. He was ready.
LONG TIME NO SEE
Sam came running into the dressing room wide eyed.
"Champ!" he cried.
"I'm not the champ yet, what's wrong?" Joe asked calmly.
"There's a big problem," he said. His voice was quavering.
"What type of problem? Has the champ not turned up?" That would be bad. No fight meant no money. Joe would not be pleased.
"No, worse. Come on! He's waiting for you."
Joe stood up and followed Sam, who didn't wait for him to ask any more questions. Sam ran straight for the box where only the wealthiest of men would have their seats.
What's going on? he wondered for the second time. Sam was not the calmest of people, but today he was acting in a way that made Joe uneasy.
Joe stepped through the doorway and his eyes shot open. Ted was sitting at the back of the box with a man behind him pressed much to close. A small girl sat quietly next to Lord Thomson with a lolly in one hand. She looked up as he came in then went back to her lolly.
He sighed in relief. She didn't recognize him. He looked at Ted who grimaced. Ted was the fighter he had entrusted his daughter too. He was a good man and tough as nails. They must have one of his family as well. Probably his wife or brother. The man behind him didn't look that tough. Ted would have had him for lunch.
"Lord Thomson," he said the name through clenched teeth, "Good to see you again."
The lord looked over at Joe from where he was sitting with a woman that Joe assumed was his wife.
"Good to see you too, Joe," he said in a relaxed manner, "Have you met Ted's daughter? She's such a lovely young lady."
He stroked the back of Joe's daughter's head and Joe nearly lurched forward to break the man's head in two.
Lord Thomson eyed Joe and took his hand away. He knew he was walking a fine line right now and Joe wasn't one to obey the rules in these sorts of situation.
He looked hard at Joe over the girl's head. She was still eating her lolly and ignoring both of them. She probably thought this was all some strange adult thing that she wasn't supposed to be involved in. He was thankful that she was still innocent enough for that.
"So you want me to throw the fight?" Joe asked. There could be no other reason for this.
"No, I want you to win," the man replied firmly.
"You want me to win? Then why this little show?" Joe asked in surprise.
"Because you are not properly motivated. You never have been in my opinion."
Joe knew what he meant. Lord Thomson thought that just because he hadn't killed a few men in his blood boxing matches on his estates that he wasn't ready for this. He couldn't have been more wrong.
"Give her back and let him and whoever you have go and I'll win for you," Joe commanded.
The little girl looked up frightened. Joe was being a little rough.
"Of course, James, release the man and send him to sit with his wife. The girl will stay here with Mr. Crockfield and I until the end of the match."
Joe got it. He didn't need Ted anymore and it was one less problem to manage. Sam would have to stay and protect his daughter until the end of the fight.
He turned to Sam as Ted left with the man who was obviously holding a knife to his back.
"Look after her," he said as he clapped the man on the shoulder. Sam would do whatever he could. He knew that.
Joe walked back through the door and left his daughter with that monster Thomson. He hoped she would be ok.
The ring was bright. Joe wasn't used to seeing this many electric lights in one place. It was hotter than he thought it would be.
The champ stood on the other side of the ring. He had his manager talking to him from his side. Joe had done his research. The man was from somewhere in Europe, but had made a name for himself quickly in the ring in London. After everything started to go mainstream, he cut his way through the dozens of weaklings that flooded the ranks of pro-boxing and had taken the crown. Since then he had fought a number of the better fighters and had won decisively. He would be a hard, difficult fighter to beat and Joe, although he was ready, was worried. It was hard to focus with his daughter watching from up top.
The bell rang and the first round began. They circled each other faking to see if one of them would give an early opening. He was good. In fact, he was far better than Joe in almost every way.
Their brown eyes met and Joe was the first to throw a punch. He missed by a long shot and the return combo pummeled his stomach and pushed him back to the ropes. The air went out of his lungs and he fell back.
What a way to start a fight, he thought. He was blacking out in the first few seconds the other man was that powerful.
Joe caught the man in his arms and pushed him away. The champ stepped back a bit and let him get a handle on himself. The crowd had paid a lot of money to come tonight and he would have been told to run it out a bit.
Joe pushed off the ropes and came forward using the extra momentum. He couldn't breathe, but it didn't matter. He didn't care if the fight ended quickly. His daughter was more important than a few people's feelings.
His fist came in fast and low. The champ covered up, but Joe brought it around the side of his fists and smashed him straight in the side of the head. The crowd screamed and the champ's eyes traveled sideways as his head took the shot and tilted to the side.
He came back swinging. The champ hadn't expected Joe to want to finish this quickly, so had expected a few body blows before the main event. The shot just before had been a finishing hit. Joe wouldn't get the chance again.
Joe took the next few hits on his arms. They were wearing no gloves as this was a real match. Gloves had become popular in the lower ranking matches because they drew things out longer, but in professional matches, no one was using them. Hence, his arms stung as each powerful hit took their toll on his forearms.
He pushed one punch aside and aimed an uppercut at the other man's face. It connected and the champ fell to the ground.
Is it over? The crowd, judging by their screams, certainly thought so.
The champ waited it out and stood up easily. He had taken his time and was ready. Joe came in and was pushed back by a hail of punches. The champ was looking to finish this and he had decided now was the time.
Joe took hit after hit until he could feel his face bruising up and his eyes closing from the agony of the other man's knuckles breaking his face up.
He fell to the ground and the world flew into slow motion. He lay on the ground and starred out to his side. The world and his vision pulsed. Everything was one massive haze. He looked up towards the lights. The announcer was up to five now. Only five more and he would lose.
He saw her then. She was like the angel her mother had never been. She was standing and screaming his name. He could hear it echoing in his head. She knows my name, he thought through the haze.
That one thought brought him back from the edge. He found himself standing just as the announcer yelled nine. The champ was looking at him in surprise. He thought he had won too.
Joe put up his hands and went in. He had nothing to lose, but his daughter and that was too higher price for him to pay. He was a killer in blue shorts tonight.
The champ tried to hit him a few times. He was fast even in the slow motion world Joe existed in. Joe took the hits and kept on coming. He flew to the side and used the motion to bring his other fist around. It connected wildly above the man's eye. The man staggered back as blood trailed from above his eye.
Joe came forward and tried again for the uppercut. This time it connected and the man hit the ropes. Joe came in again and hit again. This time the uppercut took him in the same place and threw the champ over the ropes to land hard on the stone floor. He hit head first. He wasn't getting up.
Joe's knees hit the floor as the announcer screamed "Champion. A new champion" over the screams of the crowd.