A Different Kind of Babysitter - Part 7
#7 of A Different Kind of Babysitter
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Bradley's entry song is "Theme From New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra.
"There is no such thing as a natural boxer. A natural dancer has to practice hard. A natural painter has to paint all the time. Even a natural fool has to work at it." - Joe Louis (1914-1981) Longest reigning heavyweight champion in boxing history.
The life of a boxer could be a very difficult one when he was in training camp. Bradley had always made sure to exercise and eat properly, but the pre fight regimen that his new friend and trainer Will McCallister put him through was the toughest he'd ever endured. Bradley was an early riser, but Will made him get up even earlier, and run even farther! The rest of the day was spent lifting weights, jumping rope, doing push up, hitting the speed bag and heavy bags. Additionally, Will had hired several boxers to act as sparring partners for Bradley. The former champion had made his selections very carefully. He'd chosen heavyweight boxers of varying height and weight. There were fighters that fought southpaw, held their fists in the "peek-a-boo" style that covered almost their entire face, but allowed for easy jabbing of their opponent. There were fighters who fought well on the inside, the outside and in the middle, as well as offensive punchers and defensive counter punchers. Will was determined to have Bradley learn to adapt to any style of gloved combat, telling the young champion he wished to make him a "pugilist specialist", as he coined it.
The physical demands of this grueling training were not so difficult on Bradley as the emotional ones were. He hated being away from little Martin, who spent the first few days crying when he was told that he couldn't accompany his father into the gym. It broke Bradley's heart to have to tell his son that, but he couldn't be distracted by a six year old cub, even his own son. Just as bad for the champion was the time spent away from Tori. Bradley was fully cognizant of the fact that fighters in training camp were usually forbidden by their trainer to have sexual intercourse, as the release of seminal fluid lowered aggression. Will ordered Bradley to sleep in a room separate from Tori; making sure that Bradley didn't let his natural urges to mate get the better of him. It was during times like this that Bradley understood why his own father didn't bother to try and start a family until he had retired from boxing.
As Bradley trained ten to twelve hours a day, Tori had busied herself with the task of making the fight happen. When the elder Martin and Julia had taken her in, they did so with the understanding that she would finish college and that they would pay her tuition fees. With her plans of eventually marrying Bradley, she wanted to enter into a career that would help her future husband's career as a professional boxer. With her future in-laws watching little Martin, she studied dutifully, earning her Master's in Business Administration. Though she didn't learn about the business side of boxing in her college courses, the elder Martin was keen to advise her on the subject. She learned how to speak with lawyers about drawing up contracts for fights, how to negotiate what the purses would be and how to split them between the fighters, how to deal with all four major sanctioning bodies and how to pay the sanctioning fees. Tori could work with promoters, with the people that handled booking venues for the fights, everything. Bradley was a very lucky wolf, having a wife that acted as his manager.
If dealing with the all rigors of pre-fight training and trying to get all the details of when and where the fight would happen, and how much money was involved and how to split the purse was challenging, dealing with the IBO heavyweight champion was almost insufferable to everyone in the McGregor camp. Klaus "The Kaiser" Schmidt, the hyena from Berlin, Germany had made quite a reputation for himself in the heavyweight division, both in and out of the ring. A skilled fighter and powerful puncher, Schmidt had tarnished his reputations with his almost constant run-ins with the police. He'd been arrested several times while living in Florida, for crimes varying from assault and battery to possession of cocaine. His frequent run ins with law enforcement had led to him being deported back to his native Germany. The fight almost didn't happen until Tori made a successful plea for special dispensation, allowing Schmidt to enter into the United States for two weeks.
The hyena showed his gratitude to the McGregor camp by bad mouthing Bradley and his family in the media. He called Tori a "child molesting little slut", dredging up the story of how the vixen slept with her husband for the first time when he was only twelve and she was nineteen. During the series of press conferences the two fighters conducted in promotion for the fight, things got even uglier. It wasn't uncommon for two fighters not to like each other before fights; understandable considering they had to punch one another, but most tried to show courtesy and respect to each other. Schmidt didn't even pretend to show Bradley any respect. On the contrary, the hyena was the epitome of contempt. He made wild accusations, saying that McCallister had been paid to take a dive during Bradley's fight with him. A completely outlandish accusation, considering that Will's jaw had been broken by Bradley during the fight. It was all Bradley could do to maintain his composure when the classless hyena made disgusting remark after disgusting remark about his family, even being so vile as to describe little Martin as a "half breed" and "mongrel canine". By the time the last press conference had ended, Bradley was near the point of calling out Schmidt to settle matters in the streets, bare knuckled, no holds barred. Luckily for the young wolf, the more seasoned Will McCallister helped him keep his cool.
"Don't worry, Brad. You remember how polite and respectful we were to each other during our press conferences?"
"Sure. I never had any animosity towards you at all. I'd admired you for years," confessed Bradley.
"Okay, think about that and realize that you broke my jaw during the fight, and you respected me. So, what do you think you're going to do to a fighter you hate?"
Bradley grinned from ear to ear. Oh, he was going to absolutely love teaching that hyena a lesson in pain!
Fight night. Bradley and his handlers were in their dressing room in Madison Square Gardens. As the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Bradley had no trouble in securing the venue of his choice for his fights. Any arena with an ounce of sense knew that a fight for the most coveted prize in boxing would have no trouble selling out every seat in the house. It was the gray wolf's seventeenth professional fight, but his first time actually fighting in the Gardens. He'd accompanied his own father on several outings to this very venue when he was a kid, and he had always wanted to fight there himself. To most in the world of boxing, Madison Square Gardens was the holy center of the sport.
"Did you see that you're on the front cover of The Ring, Brad?" asked Will as Chris was wrapping his paws.
"Yeah," said Bradley. "I'm fighter of the year according to them."
"You earned it," declared the white wolf. "Defeated the seven year reigning champion."
"Right now, I'm more worried about defeating the loud mouthed hyena from Germany," admitted Brad. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you Happy Birthday."
"Thanks," said Will. "Glad somebody remembered."
Everyone in the dressing room could hear the crowd roaring as the second under card fight was nearing the end of the twelfth round. Over the next twenty minutes, the athletic commission, the referee, and Schmidt's handlers all inspected Bradley's paws to make sure they were wrapped properly. Once that was approved, Bradley had Chris lace up his gloves and put on his robe, but there was one more surprise from Klaus "The Kaiser" Schmidt before facing him in the ring. Donovan, a black wolf who had worked as one of Bradley's handlers since his very first fight, came storming into the dressing room. He had been assigned the task of inspecting the hyena's paw wraps.
"What's wrong?" asked Will, seeing the anger in Donovan's face.
"That asshole hyena is posting on Twitter that you and Brad are secret gay lovers! I swear, there's nothing he won't stoop to!"
"I agree," said Will, looking over at the shadow boxing Bradley. "You keep that in mind, Brad. There's nothing I'd put past him, so if you start beating him, get ready for him to start fighting dirty. I mean really dirty."
"Noted," said Bradley as he threw a flurry of punches.
As Bradley continued his warm up routine, he could hear the entry song of Klaus Schmidt being blared through the loudspeakers of the venue. No one was surprised by his choice of music, as he had selected "Deutschland Uber Allia", the German national anthem to enter the stadium with. Bradley waited until the song was over, but still didn't make his entrance into the arena. He was the king of the heavyweight division, and he wanted to make the hyena wait on him. It was the least he could do to the rudest opponent he had ever agreed to step into the ring with. Once he was iadequetly warmed up, he nodded to Will and his other seconds, and several ushers escorted Team McGregor out of the dressing room, down the hall and out into the arena. Bradley normally had "Hair of the Dog" played when he walked down the aisle, but the champion had selected a different song for this particular evening, one that sent the native New York City residents into an uproarious approval. The warrior wolf walked tall, proud and slow, wanting the audience to hear the entire song.
_"Start spreading the news
I am leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
They are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city
That doesn't sleep
And find I'm king of the hill
Top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'm gonna make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York!"_
As Bradley entered the ring, his handlers holding his four world title belts high for all the world to see, he was greeted by the chanting of "Bradley! Bradley! Bradley!" as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He raised his paws high before bowing to the crowd. The menacing, hateful glare of Klaus Schmidt had not escaped his notice, but the wolf was too busy thinking of his game plan to be bothered by the loathsome creature. The ring announcer, a golden voiced middle-aged fox known as Michael Truffer addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentleman, good evening to you and welcome to Madison Square Gardens, the historic epicenter of prize fighting! This is the main event of the evening! Twelve rounds of boxing for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world! This fight is brought to you by McGregor Promotions, in association with your undefeated, undisputed king of beer, Budweiser!
This bout is sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission, along with the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, World Boxing Organization, International Boxing Federation and the International Boxing Organization! Scoring will be on the ten point must system! Your referee for this evening is officiating in his seventy-fifth world title fight, Bill Hoffman!"
It was at this time that Will noticed a very funny look on Bradley's face, even when he was bobbing up and down, throwing phantom punches. He didn't know what was going on, but the announcer continued his introduction.
"Ladies and gentleman, before we introduce our contestants for this evening, we'd like to take the time to introduce a very special guest who is about to enter the ring! His is a name that is recognized the world over. Called "The Greatest", he was the first male to have captured a world title three times. Please give a warm welcome to the one, the only, Mufasa Ali!"
The entire crowd was on its feet as they watched the old lion enter the ring. Taking the ring announcer's microphone he walked up to a completely flabbergasted Will and shook his paw. A huge smile hung on his face.
"Ladies and gentleman, I'm hear today to wish a very special guy a very happy birthday. Please join me in singing "Happy Birthday" to the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world! This one's for you, Will!"
The entire audience joined the former champion in singing Team McGregor's Chief Second a very happy birthday. Will and Bradley both hugged the old champion before he exited the ring and Truffer went back to introducing the fighters.
_"And now ladies and gentleman, for the thousand in attendance here at Madison Square Gardens, and the millions watching around the world . . . LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!
"Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, he enters the ring weighing in at a rough and ready 257 pounds, and stands six feet eight inches. This native of Berlin, Germany is an Olympic silver medalist, with a professional record of 34 wins, 3 losses, 29 of his wins were knockout victims. Known as "The Kaiser", he is the International Boxing Organization's heavyweight champion of the world! Here is, Klaus Schmidt!"_
Not surprisingly, the hyena was greeted with a myriad of "boos" and enough expletives to make a gangster rapper blush, but the crowd's attitude changed almost instantly when Truffer went to Bradley.
"And fighting out of the red corner, he enters the ring weighing in at 242 pounds, and stands at six foot four. A life long resident of Catskill, New York. He is the son of former undisputed heavyweight champion, Mighty Martin McGregor, and in his last bout he stunned the world by shattering his father's own record as youngest undisputed heavyweight champion of all time! His professional record is an impressive 16 wins, 0 losses, with an amazing 100% knock out ratio. He is looking to add a fifth world title to his collection, which would make him the first heavyweight champion in history to hold such a distinction. Ladies and gentleman, here is your undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Bradley "Bad Intentions" McGregor!"
Klaus, still glaring hatefully at Bradley, moved to the center of the ring as Bill Hoffman, a Doberman, gave instructions. Bradley took his time getting to the center, but gave the hyena a cute smile, letting him no he wasn't afraid of him in the least.
"Okay, gentleman, I've given you your instructions in the dressing room! I expect both of you to fight tough, and fight clean! If I see you doing something dirty, I'll warn you once, next time I'll take a point away! Remember, gentleman, I'm tough, but I'm fair. Protect yourselves at all times, and always obey my commands! Any questions? Then let's touch 'em up and go!"
Klaus slammed his gloves into Bradley's, earning him a stern warning from the referee before the first bell had even been rung. Bradley went back to his corner where Will put his mouthpiece in. Will smeared some more Vaseline onto the gray wolf's face and whispered in his ear. "Watch your ass out there, kid!"
The first bell rung, and both fighters moved out into the center of the ring. Bradley went on the defensive, as Klaus circled around him, trying to gauge the wolf's responses to his various movements. Bradley had spent many an hour not only training, but watching all of the hyena's fights to try and figure him out. Just as he had seen in the fight where he'd floored the Polish bear, Klaus' movement was very tricky, arhythmic, and sudden. The hyena, being taller, had a definite reach advantage, but Bradley had seen enough of his fights to know that larger boxers typically have a hard time fighting on the inside. He moved to the inside, and was met with a quick left jab from Klaus. Being in the "peek-a-boo" stance that almost completely covered his face with his gloves, Bradley blocked his jab, countering with a right cross that caught the hyena square in the face. Temporarily rattled, Klaus regained his footing and bore into the wolf, firing several body shots that Bradley caught on his arms. Bradley, careful of his footing, moved back on the ropes as he was hammered by the hyena. Getting a better balance as he leaned back on the ropes, he let a quick right uppercut fly, hitting Klaus' jaw. The hyena grunted, but the hit was not enough to daze him into dropping his guard and allow Bradley to do some head hunting. The wolf managed to get in a few quick body shots before the bell sounded for the end of the first round.
"You're doing great, kid!" said Will as he brought the spit bucket over for Bradley to use. "Now, listen, you need to get on the inside with this guy. Pound away at his gut, and wait for him to tire out!"
A whistle was blown. "Seconds out of the corner!"
Bradley got off his stool and back into the maelstrom as the bell for round two sounded. Klaus started out the round by grumbling insults at the wolf through his mouthpiece, trying to anger him into charging forward and getting pummeled by the hyena. Bradley paid no attention to the words, but knew that he would get a chance to get his revenge before the night was over. Moving into the inside, he sent several left right combinations into the hyena's body, but soon found Klaus' arms tying him up. Ever the rotten fighter, Klaus performed two illegal moves, he leaned down into Bradley as he was tied up, and purposefully hit him in the back of the head before Bill could break them.
"Stop!" shouted the Doberman. "Break clean!"
Klaus threw another shot into the back of Bradley's head, sending a terrible pain through that area. Bill pulled them apart. The crowd booed the German's dirty tactics as the referee warned him that another move like that would cost him a point on the scorecards. Shaking off the pain, Bradley moved in on the inside once more, but went head hunting this time. He connected with a straight right and a triple left jab, sending the decibel level of the crowd up considerably. Klaus countered back with a right hook that hit Bradley in the mouth. The wolf momentarily thought that every tooth in his mouth had been knocked out. Bradley decided to move counter clockwise to the circling hyena, who was now attempting to earn points by throwing a series of jabs. The tactic worked, as Klaus missed every one. Bradley moved back to the inside and sent a devastating punch to the hyena's body, landing right where his liver would be. Klaus snarled as pain went all over his body and Bradley was now on the offensive, moving him back and throwing power punches to the hyena's head. He battered him with a nasty right uppercut, then a left hook. By now, the crowd was on it's feet, screaming his name, but just as Will had predicted, Klaus once again used his dirty tricks. Being battered so severely, the hyena purposely hit Bradley low, landing on his testicles. The wolf fell to his knees from the excruciating pain. The crowd booed once more and the referee called time. Will got back on his feet as he was allowed a five minute rest for being on the receiving end of an intentional fowl. He could hear Will yelling at the top of his lungs, calling Klaus a "dirty rotten son of a bitch". Bill Hoffman, Doberman referee walked over to Bradley.
"You've got a five minute rest, son, Then we go to the scorecards. I'd suggest using all five minutes!"
Bradley wouldn't hear of it. If he had it to do over again, he wouldn't have even fallen to his knees, as that only increased Klaus' confidence. He walked over to Will to relay his decision.
"I'm going back in," yelled Bradley.
"What? No! Take the five minutes!" protested Will. "If you go back now, you'll just get pissed off and screw up!"
"Nah," said Bradley, still feeling the pain from his bruised testicles. "I'm gonna finish this turd off."
Bradley yelled to the referee to start the clock once more. Bill called time in, and the fight was back on. Bradley snarled at the hyena as he was ready to get some revenge. Bobbing and weaving, he hit the hyena with a series of straight rights. With every punch, he used the "stick and move" tactic of hitting a getting far away from the hyena. The bell rung for the end of the second round. Bradley flopped down on his stool as he was tended to by his handlers. Chris placed the enswell on his face as Will gave him his water bottle. The gray wolf spat the water back out in the bucket as his Chief Second gave him an earful.
"You crazy bastard!" shouted the former champion. "Why didn't you take the five minutes?"
"Just trust me," panted Bradley. "I know what I'm doing!"
The two continued arguing until the seconds were ordered out and the third round began.
The fight had gone into the eleventh round, and things were not looking good for Bradley. He was down on all scorecards, and he'd yet to seriously harm Klaus. Sitting on his stool, the wolf was given one simple command by his trainer.
"Kid. You're way behind. You need to put this guy down!"
"I know," said Will, feeling his face swelling. "I was going to get around to that sooner or later."
"It's the twelfth round!" screamed Will. "It's now or never!"
The seconds were ordered out for the last time, and the bell for the twelfth and final round sounded. Bradley was in danger of losing his title! Going out to meet the German hyena, he saw the IBO champion breathing heavily. He was running out of gas! Bradley moved in and pounded away at the hyena, giving him a severe thrashing to the midsection. Klaus was so winded that he couldn't even counter punch, trying instead to simply cover his midsection. Bruised and battered as Bradley was, he had shown the world that he could take a beating and still have the energy to dish it right back! Snarling like a rabid beast, the wolf threw everything he had at the hyena. He watched Klaus' head jerk from right to left as he sent right hooks and left hooks to his head. The crowd was going wild as Bradley pounded away. There was no boxing anymore, this was a street brawl. He backed Klaus into the ropes and gave him his patented right hook to the jaw, dropping the hyena to the canvas. The crowd cheered him on as the referee started the count. Klaus was up by three, but had to take the mandatory eight count. Convinced he could continue, the referee yelled for the fight to continue. Bradley needed to drop him two more times to get a technical knockout, and he threw everything he could at the hyena. The crowd was going insane with cheers of "Kill him! Kill him!". Bradley battered, pounded, smashed the hyena's face without mercy. Another right hook, and the hyena was down for the second time, this occasion took to the count of seven before he was back on his feet. The referee kept it going, and Bradley fought harder than he ever had before. He wanted to end the match in a grandiose fashion. He backed Klaus into the ropes and paid him back with interest for all the dirty moves he'd used, all the repugnant garbage he'd ever spoken out Bradley and his family. It was when Bradley thought about how Klaus had referred to little Martin as a "half breed" and a "mongrel canine" that he gave the crowd something to remember. Barely on his feet, they hyena was completely defenseless as Bradley gave him a left uppercut, a right uppercut, his plan was working. With all his strength, he sent a straight right to the hyena's jaw. Klaus flew back, his mouthpiece shooting into the air as he was knocked through the ropes and onto the commentators' table! The referee waved his arms. The fight was over! He'd kept his title and won a fifth one!
Will, Chris and Donovan, along with his other handlers piled into the ring and lifted him up as the crowd was on their feet, cheering his splendid victory. Bradley looked down, seeing Klaus' mouthpiece and several teeth lying on the canvas! The ring announcer addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentleman, referee Bill Hoffman has called an end to the bout as Klaus Schmidt was knocked down three times in the final round! And now, for the first time in boxing history, a heavyweight champion has five concurrent world titles to his name! Your winner by technical knockout, and still undefeated,, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Bradley "Bad Intentions" McGregor!
Bruised, beaten and battered, Bradley still managed a wide smile as the representative of the International Boxing Organization presented him with his fifth belt. It was going to look lovely next to his other four.