Champion Arc

“In the red corner, weighing a threatening two-hundred and fifty-seven pounds of muscle and metal, we have Andy, the Hands, Simmons making his debut in the ring,” the referee shouted into his microphone and his voice boomed around the stadium. “And in the blue corner, coming in at a career heaviest of two-hundred and nineteen pounds is Eden O’Cay!” The crowd applauded. “All standard association rules apply. Fighters, come to the middle.”

 

Eden and Andy both approached the referee at the centre of the ring. She had put a lot of weight on, focused her training on bulking up to even the gap between them. Even still, Andy was nearly 40 lbs heavier than her. And he was tall enough to loom over both Eden and the referee. More than ever, she wanted the protective head gear back, but she had closed the weight gap between herself and Andy.

 

“I know you two are from the same gym, with the same coach even, so you may think you can get away with messing around with each other,” the referee said. “Not in my ring. Keep it clean, no hits below the belt or to the back of the head.  No back hands. No headbutting, elbowing, kneeing, kicking, or biting. I say stop, you break away and return to your corners. Failure to adhere to all rules and it will result in a forfeit. In this ring, my ring, my word is law. Now touch.” Both fighters raised their fists to bump. “To your corners. Bell in one minute.”

 

Eden went to her corner, leaning against the blue padding wrapped around a metal post. She had no coach in her corner. But she had her usual medical team and cut crew. This was it, time to prove she could stand on her own two feet without Coach whispering in her ear.

 

“I am my own fighter,” she said softly, to herself. “I am my own fighter.” She turned to face her opponent and saw Coach leaning on the ropes, whispering in his ear. “Shit.”

 

The bell rang.

 

Both fighters came out of their corners. Eden made to circle the centre of the ring and wait, weighing him up. She had never seen Hands fight before.

 

But he came to deliver on his namesake. Hands stepped up with a left jab. Followed by a right cross. Both hits struck her guard and rattled her bones. He stepped to the side and turned in for a left hook. Eden stepped back and Hands pulled his hook short, stepping forward to follow her.

 

Damn it. Coach knew how she fought, he had told Andy exactly how to counter her style. If he wanted to in-fight and throw his weight around then he was in for a surprise.

 

Eden stepped in. Andy let loose with another short combo. Eden dodged and ducked away from each hit. But she stayed close to him. She came back with her own hits but they were wasted effort. Her hands clunked against his carbon fibre cladding and it bent but did not break.

 

She continued to dodge and counter but it did nothing. All her strength, her weight, and it was soaked up by Andy’s custom-built arms. When the bell rang she was out of breath and covered in a thin veneer of sweat. Neither boxer had left a mark on the other, but she had controlled this round. She believed the points were hers.

 

The second round went very much the same. Both fighters stayed close to each other and Eden weaved every heavy combo thrown her way. They parted after three minutes and Eden was sure again of her own point advantage. So far, this was going easier than she had expected.

 

The third round began with the bell and Eden's heavy panting. Andy cooly followed her and kept up the in-fighting. Eden huffed and dodged and kept up her own offensive. Until he stepped back. Eden stepped forward to chase him but he pushed with his long, metal arms. He kept her back with a firm combination of jabs and crosses. She tried to reach him but he held the distance over her.

 

The third round ended and this time Eden was out of breath. She was sure that the judges would score Andy higher for that round. Eden had been confident that her out-boxing would grant her the advantage in yet another fight. But Andy had drawn her in close and then switched it up to show her that he was the better out-boxer.

 

She watched Andy and Coach from the corner. Coach was giving him orders, instructions, dissecting her fighting and telling Andy exactly how to beat her. She saw them conspiring against her.

 

The bell started the fourth round. Andy came towards her but did not step too close. Eden expected that he wanted to bait her into coming close again.

 

“You catch that?” Andy asked.

 

Eden watched him but made no reply. 

 

“Coach is in my corner now. He knows everything about how you box. Save us all the time and throw in the towel. Your perfect run ends here.”

 

Eden lunged in and Andy made his attack. She ducked under his hook and rose with an uppercut. Coach knew she would do this and so did Andy. He stepped back and the uppercut missed. A well aimed body shot knocked her back a step.

 

Andy pressed his advantage and came close for another hit. But Eden would not be left reeling. She parried Andy’s combo, one hit at a time. Then struck. He stepped in for a devastating hook. She matched that hook but faster. Her hook caught the side of his face and she heard the crack of bone. Before his last hit could connect, Andy fell to the ground.

 

His mechanical fingers cradled his skull as he lay on the floor. She saw blood slowly seep from his eye before he rolled over, still holding his head.

 

“Stop!” The referee bellowed. He came charging through the ropes and into the middle of the ring. “To your corner. To your corner, now!”

 

Medics from Andy’s corner came rushing in. Followed by two more medics with a stretcher from the ring side, they worked for the Cyber Boxing Association. Eden backed away to her corner and watched the medics swarm Andy. The crowd remained silent as they watched and waited. A rising nausea threatened to spill forth.

 

The referee returned to the centre of the ring with his mic. “Unable to continue fighting on grounds of a medical emergency, Andy Simmons must forfeit the match. The winner of tonight's match, by technical knockout, is Eden O’Cay.”

 

She felt her stomach lurch. A wave of faint claps came from the crowd before it steadily gathered into an overwhelming applause. Eden stumbled out of the ring while her crew held the ropes open for her. Floodlights blared down from on high and she shielded her eyes from their burning brightness. The crowd came from their seats, amassing around Eden as she tried to leave. They wanted to congratulate her, to cheer her on, and to tell her she had beaten the odds. Dizzy and trembling, she made her way past the crowds with the help of her crew, through the corridors, and to the changing rooms tucked away at the back of the stadium. She found a bench and sat alone, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

 

“What the fuck have I done?” she muttered.

 

--- --- ---

 

Jayden heard the front door open and close when his sister came home. Soon after, he heard her bedroom door click shut. She had gone to bed without coming to check on him, like she usually did when she got home late.

 

Jayden had not spoken to his sister since her fight the night before. She needed space and now was not a good time to tell her. He had decided not to tell her until his sister had recovered from her fight, both physically and emotionally.

 

He looked at his timer and saw that he had less than a minute left. Jayden focused on his reflection as he boxed. He watched every step, studied every punch, and analysed his mirror form. The timer made three consecutive beeps and then stopped. Jayden tapped the little clock to start the timer again.

 

--- --- ---

 

“He had all the makings of a prize fighter,” Coach said. “Now all he has is a cranial fucking fracture and a mountain of medical bills steeper than my mortgage.”

 

“You think I don't know that?!” Eden shouted. “I know what I did to him, what I took from him. You backed the wrong horse and shit went wrong. But that’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

 

“You’re damn right it is!” Coach roared. “What you did to Andy… I didn't teach you to fight like that. You should never be allowed near that ring again.”

 

“Maybe,” Eden said. “But until the CBA makes an announcement, I still need a manager.”

 

“You want me to still be your coach?” he asked. “Are you fucking deranged?”

 

Eden shrugged. “I don't know. But I still need you. And I heard you’ve been helping Andy’s family with the medical bills. The winnings from my fights can help with that too, a portion of them at least.”

 

“We’re doing just fine with the money Jamie brings in,” Coach said.

 

“That’s the skull I should have cracked,” Eden muttered. “Jamie won’t ever be national champion. I will.”

 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Coach said. “But I can’t let you hurt someone again. If I… If I put you back in the ring and you put another fighter in the hospital, another boxer who may not wake up. I don’t know what I’d do.”

 

“I know, Coach,” Eden said. His eye twitched. “I hate what I did and I didn’t mean to do it but I hurt him. I know I hurt him. But I won’t hurt anyone else, not like that. Even if it means pulling my punches.”

 

“Pulling your punches won’t change a damn thing,” Coach said. “The only thing that could have prevented Andy from getting hurt is not putting him in the ring with you. I thought it was a sure fire way for at least one of you to benefit. I never thought any of this would happen. I should ‘ave, I know the sport.

 

“I’ve seen fighters go down and not get back up. I’ve coached all the way up to the hospital bed and to the graveyard a few times. That’s just a part of cy-boxing. Shit. It’s… It’s my fault. I did this to Andy.”

 

“No, Coach, you couldn’t have known this would happen,” Eden said.

 

“It’s always a risk, let alone throwing him against you,” Coach said. “I was pissed after your ninth match. I underestimated you because of my misgivings about the previous match. Because of my personal shit with you, I put Andy in harm's way. I got him hurt.”

 

He stared at the coffee cup on his oversized table. Watching the half drunk, viscous, brown liquid stew in the bottom of his cup.

 

“I got him hurt!” Coach picked up the cup and launched it.

 

Eden’s reflexes dodged the cup, her arms raised to guard, but the cup sailed past her to hit the door. It shattered the glass and plummeted to the gym floor.

 

“Coach…”

 

“Alright, I’ll keep training you,” Coach said. He let himself fall into his chair. “Come back after the weekend. I’ll see if I can get someone dumb enough to fight you now that you’re putting boxers in the ICU.”

 

“Thanks, Coach,” Eden said. “I’ll see you on Monday. Give my best to Andy’s family when you see them.”

 

“Yeah, will do,” he replied. “I’ll let them know about your contributions to their payment plan. And I’ll be in touch if the association says anything.”

 

Eden left, leaving the frame of the broken door open behind her.

 

--- --- ---

 

He heard the door open and shut. But this time it was followed by a gentle knock at his own bedroom door.

 

“Yeah, come on in,” Jayden said.

 

The door opened just enough for Eden to pop her head in. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks flushed. Her lips marred by scabbing after she nervously bit them. “Hey, you going to bed soon? It’s late.”

 

“It is late,” Jayden replied. “You’ve been coming home late these past few nights. Everything okay?”

 

Eden shrugged but her brother could not see her shoulders through the door. “I guess.”

 

“Have you been to see him?” Jayden asked.

 

Eden shook her head. “No, I went to talk to Coach instead. I don’t think Andy’s family will want to let me near him at the hospital.” It had been two days since the fight, two days since she had hurt him, two days since she had nearly killed him. She could not bring herself to see him.

 

“What did Coach say?” Jayden asked.

 

“A lot,” Eden answered.

 

“Eeds,” her brother insisted.

 

“I’m gonna head to bed, don’t stay up too late.” Her head retreated and the door closed.

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

He pressed his clock and the timer started.