The Art of Being Tony (Tony Winters Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  At ten rounds they got to stop, probably because Anthony was starting to get sloppy using the strange stance.

  “Great job. Both of you. Tony, can you sharpen that up a bit? Cleaner blows and more power on the left hand? We can work that before the next sparring. Now, come run the bell, while I go with Riley?”

  That was an interesting match-up, actually. Riley was bigger and stronger, but kind of slow compared to Steve and the smaller man had better skills. They only did three rounds, because Riley had to work with Mark too and they wanted him kind of fresh for that. Which meant that Steve got to go against Denny after a break. Then against Anthony for some reason.

  It was a lot harder then. Mainly because Steve wasn’t much larger than he was. An adult man and in killer shape, however. That meant he fought like they were really sparring and it was a fair fight. Except that one of them was incredibly skilled and the other was just shy of being brand new. It was only six rounds and at one point they did just slug it out, like brawlers, for about a minute. Then they moved smoothly into highly technical boxing, with instructions being called out by two teams. He had Denny and Mark, with Riley moving to help Steve take him down.

  It wasn’t a fair match up, but in the end Riley called it.

  “That was… Pretty much even. I’m calling the win for Steve, but… I’d need to see the judges’ cards, to be honest.” Then he laughed. “Which means next time he’s going to come out even stronger, Tony. Sparring or not. Nice work. Everyone. Now, what’s up next?”

  Anthony had that one, since the fight started at seven that night.

  “We’re getting the event tonight, over at Rick and Jen’s? We’ll record it, but everyone is expected to show up. Go our team, you know?”

  That got nods, as they all took their gloves and tape off. It was awkward, but not doing that each time meant risking a training injury, so even if it took half an hour to tape up, they all did it. Anthony had as well, since he wanted to be part of the group. Even if that wasn’t really going to happen. One of these things was not like the other after all and these men were all real fighters.

  He was, more or less, the towel boy. Though he did have some mean mopping skills, too. That reminded him to get with Leslie before leaving, to explain why he was ditching them for the night. Interestingly, that got him a hug. From Laura, the cranky blue haired woman.

  “You’re a pretty cool guy, you know that, Tony?” She didn’t explain what she meant, but it wasn’t unpleasant and she smiled about the whole thing.

  “And you throw a mean kettlebell. Thanks, by the way. That one move probably saved my life.”

  She nodded, then looked across the room at the clutch of men that had come to work.

  “Which I wouldn’t have thought of, if Jack hadn’t gone first. It was a team effort.”

  That was about right, but they let him go then, to get on with the job of supporting his friend. It was warm out, so he decided to risk insects getting inside and simply left the front door open, as he worked out, a little clumsily, how to order the fight that night. Which had already been set up, somehow. All he needed to do was push a few buttons and he saw the pre-show events. There were some fights that would be shown first and Ashley’s wasn’t the main event or anything. It was talked about however, since it was still kind of a big deal

  As the others got there, dressed like real people and not in sweats like him, Steve, Mark and Denny hogged the sofa. Riley, Nick, Lewis, Dani and about fifteen other people came in as well, meaning that all the good seats were taken, as well as the kitchen chairs. That meant pulling everything back from the screen, so that people could sit on the floor, off to either side.

  Denny, being clever, worked out that they needed to DVR the show, too. It was another thing that Anthony didn’t really know how to do, but Steve wanted to get the color commentary, since it should be good for something like a paid event.

  The man on the screen was in a suit, which was gray and talked to a familiar looking man in a red t-shirt.

  “Well, this is truly an event that people have waited for. Over a half year ago, we saw the Fox Rends-Missy Holms fight. It ended in devastation. Since then there’s been a huge controversy about allowing certain fighters to compete in the women’s division. Some have even said that a person born a man has a biological edge that no woman can match in a fight.”

  The t-shirt guy nodded then, his voice sounding a bit like he was from the East Coast.

  “Yeah. Not to be too nice about it, but that’s obviously not fair. I mean, I could put on a skirt and fight women too, but there’s a reason we don’t do that. Men are just bigger and stronger. Their frame is built for that and living as a man for thirty years isn’t going to be undone by hormone treatments for two. Look at Fox… Can we get a picture of her?” That came up and he looked away, then nodded. “There, she’s running what? Three percent body fat? My abs don’t look that good and I work out constantly. I’m not talking about being socially correct here, but as a fighter, that person isn’t a girl.”

  The suit winced a bit, probably getting that there would be complaints about what was just said.

  “So, tonight we have Ashley Lancaster going up against Fox Rends. Is this going to be a real fight, or just another brutal beating?”

  The t-shirt man, Joey, who was some kind of actor, shook his head.

  “I honestly don’t know. Lancaster wouldn’t be here to lose. I hope she tears Fox a new one, if my opinion matters? She’s kind of a jerk and I hate that. It’s one thing to bust a person up, but gloating about it later is just low. I don’t care who you are.”

  Denny nodded.

  “Who doesn’t hate asshats?” That got more than a few grumbles from the rest of the room.

  Anthony started to feel just a little nervous then. The fight was Ashley’s, of course. She could win, but doubt ate at him then. Had he done enough to help her get ready? That thought plagued his mind as they sat there, watching the whole thing. She had a real team working with her and there were a million things that could go wrong, but it felt like he should have done more. Been better and stronger, to help her get a sense of things first.

  The title fight was a heavyweight affair, which a lot of the people in the room also wanted to see. For his part he didn’t know who either fighter was, making him the only person who was that clueless. He kept his mouth closed on that part.

  The early fights weren’t bad. They wouldn’t be, in an event like this one. Just to get in you had to bring both a high level of skill and something more than that, or no one would pay for it. Still, there were fighters in the room that were better. They were also nearly insane and ripped apart every move anyone made, suggesting counters and yelling for people on the screen to do different things.

  Including how to get out of various situations. The strange thing there was that Anthony could see a lot of what they were saying, himself. Not all of it, but enough that every single fight made sense.

  Ashley’s match was the first of the main show, which seemed an odd way of breaking it all down, since they’d seen three fights already that night. It didn’t start until nearly nine and was scheduled for five rounds, which was more than the regulations allowed for, given it was a women’s match, but not for a title. Then, this wasn’t for a title or anything and both parties had agreed to it.

  Anthony took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “I need the air, since I don’t know if I’ll be breathing again for twenty minutes.” Hopefully it would be longer, rather than shorter. A short fight would, probably, mean Ashley being overwhelmed by raw power in the first minutes.

  A long fight would mean that Fox would get tired and that their fighter would be more likely to catch a mistake.

  They had the tale of the tape, which showed that Fox was a bit heavier, had longer arms and a background in several different martial arts. Ashley did too, however, so that part was about the same. When the referee started the fight, it went…

  Almost e
xactly as they’d practiced in sparring. It was a devastating backhand, that was perfectly blocked by Ash and almost the exact same kick that Tony had used the last time they sparred. That was stopped in place perfectly, with an oblique kick that made it look like she could read minds. Then Ashley stepped back as the rush for the double-leg came, hitting Fox in the head with a solid uppercut, really hard, several times. It was enough to knock the other woman flat onto the mat.

  That didn’t last long and the whole fight wasn’t as smooth, but when Rends tried to dominate using power, she was shut down by good technique, every time. Then, as things went on, Ashley looked good and kept her cool, as Fox started to seem winded. In the last round, the former man made a mistake and ended up in a triangle choke, which of course, she wouldn’t tap out from.

  So, just before the last bell, Ashley sent her opponent to sleep. The hard way.

  No one said anything for a bit and then, both on the screen and in the house, people jumped up and started shouting.

  “Whoooooh! Did you see that? Did you see what she did?” That was from Nick, who actually jumped around as Jen and Raul ran into the ring to hug Ash on the screen.

  Steve clapped and called something out that Anthony didn’t hear. Denny pumped a fist, celebrating. In all, it was great to see, really.

  He was on his feet too, but didn’t say anything. No, like a little girl, Anthony just teared up. Smiling. No one said anything about it. It was strange, but he felt something that was different than he was used to. Pride. Not just that, but he felt proud. Ashley had done it. It was a big thing. One that wasn’t lost on the announcers.

  T-shirt man clapped and looked like his face was about to split open, he was smiling so hard.

  “Okay, that was one of the best fights I’ve seen this year. It wasn’t what I expected to see… but it’s what I was dreaming of.”

  Then they had a few minutes before the next match. Fox hugged Ashley, after she was announced the winner and seemed to take the loss like a pro. Not happy about being beaten, but knowing it had happened. Not everyone had that much grace all the time.

  Then Ash and Jen were ushered to the side to speak to the men with the microphones.

  Joey the t-shirt man smirked a bit and then spoke directly to Ashley, who was just barely out of breath.

  “That was incredible. Just… Fantastic. I’m just going to admit this up front, I didn’t think any woman was going to beat Fox Rends. I thought that she was too strong for that. I need to go find a hat to eat, I guess. You didn’t just win, you dominated the entire fight. At every turn it seemed like you had this one. Even in the third round, which was probably the rockiest for you, you totally had this. You didn’t seem flustered at all. Can you tell us what you were thinking out there?”

  Ashley wiped at her head, which was a bit damp.

  “I was totally focused on the plan. I’d had one of the best teams in the world working with me for months on this and I knew what to do. Honestly, it was like I’d had this fight three times already, so when Fox came dancing out with her little fog machine going, I was prepared for it.” She laughed a bit, then shook her head.

  “Can I give a shout out to a few people?”

  The man looked at the clock and then nodded.

  “We have a few minutes, so let’s hear it?”

  “Naturally I want to thank everyone at Winters Gym, Jen, Rick and all the men and women there. I couldn’t have done it without all of you. Thank you all so much.” That got a bit of a cheer from the room. Not a loud one, but people seemed pleased. “Also my trainers. Raul Sousa, who made this all possible and got me to take the fight in the first place and my cardio trainer and sparring partner, Tony Winters. Thanks everyone.”

  Hearing his name got him to blink, but Denny reached out, leaned over the arm of the chair and punched him in the arm.

  “Darned straight. Part of that win was right down to her conditioning. Though the important part here is that our girl won. I’m totally claiming this one for myself, too. She said people at the gym. That’s all of us.” He smiled, but he did that a lot. Now it just seemed to fit, since almost everyone else was doing the same thing.

  Then, riding that high and it really was one, they watched the next two fights. They were good, each in their own way. It was interesting, since everyone had an opinion on what was going on. Steve got his yellow pad out and took more notes, working out what kind of things went over with the listeners and how bits of facts were used. Even feeling happy, the man didn’t give up on what he had to do next.

  That was a real point, so at the end of the night, after watching Ashley’s fight again all the way through, Anthony grabbed Nick.

  “Sparring tomorrow afternoon? Ten rounds, five minutes each. Three in the afternoon. First floor. Don’t slack on training, since I want you going into this tired. Exhausted if possible.” Otherwise the strength difference would be too great.

  “Got it. Thanks, Tony.”

  He nodded, then, after everyone else left, before going to bed, he watched one of Wilcox’s fights again, trying to figure out how to copy what he did as closely as possible.

  It wasn’t going to be easy, but he had to find some way to get it done. After all, Ashley didn’t need him now and if he wasn’t constantly useful for something, people might want to get rid of him. So he watched the video and would try to do what he could.

  That was what the art of being Tony really was after all. Trying and not giving up.

  Smiling, he went off to bed then, feeling fairly happy with things for the first time in a long while.

  Chapter thirteen

  Anthony had a pentagram inked on his chest again, very nicely this time and was pressing Nick just as hard as he could, using each of the top twenty moves that Brian Wilcox tended to go for first, when he fought. Not one right after the other, but when they came up, in preference to other things. They were mainly grappling, which meant working full force the whole time. The other man wasn’t going to go softer than that at any point, so Tony couldn’t.

  It was another case of him needing to be stronger and just not having that kind of ability at the moment. To make up for it, he used leverage a few times, since that was part of technical ground work anyway. The problem there was that Wilcox would be using that too. Constantly if possible. So, while he thought he was doing okay faking the man’s style and his speed and energy were a bit higher than Brian was used to showing in a fight, it wasn’t really the same.

  Just to add something different, he stood up and stepped back, starting them on their feet, partway through, just as people walked into the room. Not that he was going to let himself be that distracted. Then, as Nick shot in, trying for a leg, he opened up a flurry of punches that Brian Wilcox had never demonstrated being able to do at all, in any fight.

  It was rocky for a bit, but Nick defended himself and managed to do it decently, though they ended up on the ground again.

  At the end of the extra-long sparring match, there was clapping, if only from one person.

  Raul stood there next to Rick, Jen and Ashley. That got him to run over and pass out some hugs. Ashley got to go first.

  “Everyone!” He was happy to see them, which was a first in his life. Being happy that anyone had come back like that. On time and everything.

  Ashley hugged him back, but Jen let go almost instantly. Then Raul slapped him on the back before Rick did it.

  “I see you have the right idea? I heard from a little bird, who works out at the same gym as Wilcox, that he’s been pushing to learn better standing skills. I come in now and what do I see? That already added to the work. You are like a witch, Tony. It is like you channel the people you work to be. I suppose you already have boxers lined up to work with Nick here? Hmm?”

  He actually did. In fact they already had done that.

  “Just Denny. Tomorrow and it won’t be a hard match. We need to start tapering things a bit.” He spoke before thinking and figured that someone would call him on act
ing smart like that, but Raul just nodded.

  “Perfect. Very much so. Especially if we don’t have to pay for him to do it?”

  That hadn’t been discussed at all, but they were from the same gym, so that wasn’t always done. Sometimes, but that was mainly to pass people that needed it some cash to get by.

  “Get with Rick on that part? Now, I need to shower, then get with Ashley.”

  The woman looked puzzled for some reason.

  “You do?”

  He nodded and spoke like he was serious.

  “Oh, yeah. You know, you’re done here now, so I have to try and hit on you before you leave.” For some reason everyone just stood there, as if waiting for her to respond to that. He was being kind of mean, but that was even worse, since these were the kind of people that would have a problem with that sort of thing.

  “Or… I was hoping we could look at some video and see about setting up some serious sparring for Dani? Also, we need to keep up with your road work and I want to plan that out. You get a break, but I don’t think you should take a layoff. What do you think?”

  She sighed then and nodded.

  “Good. I was thinking of moving here for a while, since Raul is here… That sounds good actually. I’d hate to lose this. I’ve never been in this kind of shape before. I can look at the tapes, too.”

  Jen smiled, getting that he wasn’t really going to get Ash in trouble. The funny thing there was that these people had trusted him with their home and to not shoot up smack in the back yard, but were acting like he might actually be able to just tell a girl her eyes were pretty and pick her up. That was different. Sure, he’d had sex, but it wasn’t like women just came when he snapped his fingers.