The Art of Being Tony (Tony Winters Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  Rick on the other hand seemed pleased for a different reason.

  “Good call on the sparring fees, Tony. Oh, hey, I was talking to Dan Sweet, over at Leverage and he wanted to know if you’d be willing to go work with one of his female fighters in a few weeks? Ashley was talking you up as a sparring partner. His fighter is going up against a guy from Peru. It’s not a sanctioned fight, but it would be good if she had a shot at winning. You don’t have to. I just told Dan that I’d ask, since we go way back.”

  He thought for a second and then wondered what he was supposed to say about it. Focusing hard, he worked out what Tony would do, being good like he was all the time. That would be helping out Rick’s friend and the woman that was going to be fighting a man, since that sounded like the underdog position.

  “Can I get information on any of the fighters? Especially the man? Video, or records. Even just what style of fighting they do might help. I don’t know where I’d be going, or for how long, but if we can get the road work schedule around? I think we can do it. I can sleep in a closet or something if I need to, so that isn’t a big deal.”

  Rick chuckled a bit but nodded.

  “Let me see what I can dig up? I’ll give Dan a call and set things in motion then. Not for a few weeks though. We have fights coming and I don’t want to mess with the training schedule.”

  After that, he got the rest of the night to pass out towels and water. It was getting warm enough that he made a point of doing that and actually just kept telling people to drink water. It probably made him seem insane, but he had to force fluids himself, to prevent dehydration and a lot of people just wouldn’t, unless reminded.

  It wasn’t just cleaning up the Cardio-Boxing class either. He had to hit the whole facility, almost constantly. Everywhere someone was working, they needed to have their water refreshed and sweat cleaned up. It was bad enough that only about half of the people that normally worked out there had even showed up. Not that anyone was going to blame them for it. Still, you did the work, or you didn’t get the results.

  His answer was to get up earlier, while it was cooler and get people to run then, if possible. Not everyone was willing to do that and the people that were used to running in the afternoons had to stop. They just couldn’t do it any longer. Some of them had jobs that couldn’t be changed, but he was able to talk Jen and interestingly, Rick, into the earlier schedule.

  Neither were thrilled to be up at five, running with the people that bothered to come out for it, but they didn’t call him names. Mark and Riley both did, but they also showed up. That part was what really counted. Ashley did it too and that meant they got Dani. Nick had already been there for it and was about to fight, so he came early, then started his truncated training schedule, getting into air conditioning early in the afternoon and resting.

  The trainer and promoter that Rick had talked about, Dan Sweet, managed to send some video of the man that was going to be fighting his girl. There were some of her fights in the package as well. In all… It wasn’t going to be that hard. The fellow was actually a boxer, who had minimal traditional wrestling, as in the Peruvian country style, which was mainly throws. His ground skills weren’t a thing, or weren’t in his previous fights. He was older and was clearly using the fight as a way to get to visit America.

  Probably not even trying to stay. It was in the information sent over. He was just using the fight for a free trip, to do some sightseeing. Which meant that Sally was probably going to kick his behind, if he wasn’t training for real. They had to assume that he was however and act accordingly. That meant going in like a boxer at the start for Anthony, but also pressing the woman when they got to the ground, just in case the man pulled out some tricks that he hadn’t in any other match he’d had.

  On Wednesday he scheduled a session with Denny and worked for twelve rounds, southpaw. It was still a pain to do, but he was starting to get the hang of it and had reviewed every fight that he could find on Donaldson. Then, as well as he could, he tried to use all of the man’s tricks to push his friend as hard as he could manage.

  That pretty much didn’t work, since Denny was smart, had a real plan worked up by a pro team and had really been working on it. Still, the man seemed pleased when they were done and Rick called them over when they were finished.

  “That looked good. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a real southpaw, Tony. Denny, Jen was wondering if you’d be the corner man this Saturday for Lexi? It’s an amateur match, before the main event. Her trainer had to drop out for some reason. Something about her not being willing to put out?”

  That got rolled eyes and a scowl. A low and disgusted growl, too.

  “Freaking hell. I take it that whoever they were, we aren’t letting them work here anymore?”

  “Damn straight we aren’t. So, we can count on you? I know nothing about the girl as a fighter to be honest. She isn’t old? She has a sunny disposition?”

  That got a tense look.

  “Well, if she isn’t good, she isn’t. There isn’t enough time to change that now. I’m in. We should meet, if that’s possible?”

  The owner of the place nodded.

  “I’ll set that up now. Tony, this is local, so you’re going. A five-hour bus trip, but Jen just about had a fit last time. Just so you know, I’m already the worst uncle ever and might be literally Hitler. That means shaving though and I don’t think a tiny mustache would look good on me, so… Plan on going?”

  “Sure. Just, plan on running in the morning when we get back, instead of sleeping? Jen at least. You aren’t training for a fight right now, right? She is, so remind her of that part. If I don’t get to sleep, no one does!” He smiled, but if her fight was soon, she’d be allowed rest over running. It was a rule.

  “I’ll mention that. Sealing my new nickname as Der Fuhrer, no doubt.”

  Anthony didn’t get that one at all, but Denny smiled at it. So it was probably funny, if you knew what that kind of thing meant.

  Rick went off to find people and Jen came back with a girl in tow. She was actually pretty, about nineteen or twenty and when Denny had her work with Tony for a bit, to see how skilled she was, worrisome.

  She had a fight in two days and was easily dominated the whole time by Anthony. They only went three rounds and she was nearly exhausted when they were done. On the good side she was almost all right for an MMA person, when she was on her feet. Her punches were sharp and controlled and she landed really solid kicks to his thighs that were going to smart the next day.

  Denny actually smiled when they finished.

  “All right! I was worried there for a bit, since your last trainer sounded like a creep. It seems like he actually got you ready for this. We can’t get vid on your opponent, since it’s her first fight too, but if you can do that well against Tony here, I like our chances. You might just win in the first round, with your standing game. We can’t count on that, so remember to bring your heart with you and not give up. We’ll drill on things tomorrow. Tony, can you help with that?”

  He nodded, not knowing if Dennis was being nice to the girl or just honest. Either way, he was there to help. It was kind of the Tony way.

  “Yep. I do want to start some better cardio training before your next fight. Do you work?”

  She made a face then and stared at him for a moment. Like he was being a moron and probably managing that on purpose.

  “Um… Yes? I work here. The morning yoga classes? We’ve met like, ten times? You bring me water and make me drink it? I always wave at you?” She did it then and he had to admit that it did seem familiar.

  “Good. Can you get in early for a run before work?” He hadn’t even known they did yoga there each day. It was a fight club, so it didn’t seem to fit. He’d thought those people were always just stretching, getting ready to work out.

  She grinned then and nodded.

  “That sounds uncomfortable. I hear that you torture the people that work with you, is that right?”
/>   Denny laughed a bit and shook his head.

  “No… But you might want to start jogging before showing up for that, for a week or two. We’ll work that out later. Right now, I think you should get home and rest. As much as possible for the next few days going into the fight. Stay hydrated, too. Now, go away so I can dish about you with Tony here?”

  She smirked a bit and left, which got Denny to turn to him.

  “Okay, we may have dodged a bullet there. For an amateur female she’s going in with a solid base. I’ve seen guys that weren’t that good at first. Not just a few, either. I can see why Jen is looking out for her. The thing is, I’m going to need you to work with her pretty carefully tomorrow. I don’t want you to go too soft on her, but you also can’t shake her confidence. It’s a pretty fine line, especially since you might have to beat her down later, to get her ready for pro fights.”

  He nodded, not certain what he was really supposed to do. He had some time to figure it out at least.

  “All right. We’ll make it work. Thanks for letting me try.”

  That got him a pat on the back, for some reason.

  “Thank you. Normally she probably wouldn’t get to work with either of us at this stage in her fight career. You know that right? Really, if she can’t find anyone better, we should see about working with her, full time. At least until she goes pro. She’s in-house, working here already, which means we might get Raul for that, though he normally only handles high level people and usually not women. That he came in for Jen and Ashley is vast. Normally he doesn’t leave Brazil.”

  Anthony just nodded, trying to work out what he was going to have to do for Lexi the next day. It was kind of complex, so he waved down Jen and Ashley after dinner. Rick came along too, but didn’t say anything.

  “Denny wants me to work with Lexi, light sparring, without treating her like she’s made of glass, but also not making her doubt herself too much. Now… How in the world do I pull that off? I’m open to suggestions? Comments? Ridicule, if that will work? I’ve got nothing.”

  Jen stuck her tongue out, but Ashley actually seemed to be thinking about it.

  “I think I get what he means, Jen. You haven’t seen everything that he’s been doing lately… Sparring with him was like fighting Fox Rends. The only thing there is that his technical ground fighting is better than that. You saw what he was doing with Nick earlier. That wasn’t a drill, he was working him hard, the whole time. Sure, Nick would have won on the ground, because he’s stronger, but when they stood up it went the other way. That’s a male professional fighter. Now he has to back off enough to make a female amateur feel good about herself before her first fight. If he holds back too much, it will be obvious. If he goes full out, he’ll probably send her to the hospital.”

  They worked out that the real answer wasn’t in strength, but in speed. Giving Lexi enough time to react to things, especially on the ground.

  Rick chimed in there, nodding as he did it.

  “That… sounds about right. You get more time to think while grappling. So pace yourself and let her have the next move, but then use skill and strength in what you’re doing. Also, keep even that at about sixty percent. She has a fight coming and being hurt or exhausted won’t help her. You can do it though. You should practice with Ashley, before bed.”

  That was different sounding, but they did it, out in the front yard. If the neighbors thought it was weird they didn’t do more than look through their blinds at them.

  After a bit, Ashley got on top of him and started to pretend to hit him in the face.

  “That’s about the right level. Do that and she’ll be fine and possibly learn something. She told me about the thing with her trainer… That wasn’t good. He basically told her that he’d only worked with her in the first place to get laid and if that wasn’t happening she could get someone else. Trying to use the fight to pressure her into it, thinking she wouldn’t have anyone else in time.” She snickered then. “Worse, she’d been planning on sleeping with him, after the fight, win or lose. So he was a half week from getting some, if he could have not gone all extortionist on her. She’s better off anyway, with Denny. You, too. I mean, how many people plan out how to spar with someone they just met? Especially how to do it to benefit them?”

  If it wasn’t everyone, or nearly, then he was probably being a freak about it all. Still, she stood up and didn’t mention that this other guy having blown his chance meant that Anthony was going to have an in with Lexi. Which made sense. Denny though was just a bit older than her and really good looking, being fit and everything. Also, not fifteen. That made a difference to some people.

  “Well, I just wish we had a little more time to get ready. This will be fun anyway. Steve is going on television doing commentary and I know Nick, which will be nerve wracking. I nearly held my breath your entire fight, by the way. So I’ll probably black out after doing two events like that in one night.”

  She laughed and pushed him a bit, then they went in, since he really had to get to bed, even if it was still light outside.

  The next day went smoothly. He did his road work and goaded people to work harder, then had a full morning training session, working with Steve, Denny and Riley. Mark was there, but had a partial rest day, so did about half of what was normal. That meant getting to go home early for him.

  On their breaks he ran around getting people towels, water and cleaning up. He did see Lexi this time and realized she wasn’t just a nameless face.

  He even brought her water and tried not to notice she was in a blue, skin tight, outfit.

  “Drink. Stay hydrated. Remind your class?”

  She took a sip and made a noise that was playful, “always. See you at four?”

  That being when she got off work, more or less. He nodded.

  “First floor. It will be fun.”

  That got him nodded at, as if he were suggesting they’d be eating ice cream and not getting ready for her first big fight. Still, it was positive of her, so he smiled and acted cheery. Nerves were a thing to keep for right before the thing happened. Though almost everyone had that, he’d noticed. Even the professionals.

  When the time came for her to show up, she was late. Not horribly, but enough that Denny crossed his arms and shook his head at her.

  “I thought we agreed on four, not four-fifteen? Do you know what it costs to hire Tony here for sparring like this?”

  She blinked and shook her head, going wide eyed, as if she’d never even considered the concept.

  “No…”

  Denny spread his hands.

  “A hundred dollars an hour. He was working for hours last night to make sure he showed up having the perfect set up for you. This was twenty-five dollars of him standing here, thinking about what you should have been doing.”

  Which was pretty accurate. Not the cost, but the part about what he’d been doing the whole time.

  So Anthony grinned.

  “Let’s start?”

  Lexi nodded, dressed well enough for it and carrying a water bottle, which she had to put down.

  “Um… I didn’t know that I had to pay you.”

  Anthony shrugged and figured out a good Tony answer. The woman worked for a living and a hundred an hour might just be a bit rich for her.

  “You aren’t. Denny is. We’re trading work on it, so it isn’t in cash, but the point is, this is really valuable and you don’t want to miss out. Because we’re awesome.” He smiled and as soon as she was ready Denny still glaring at her a little, they managed to get a good work out in. It was pretty slow for him and he didn’t give her any easy wins, but in the end she both had things to feel proud about, having really gotten the submissions she was going for and was pushed to the edge of her own skills.

  When they finished, Denny smiled at them both.

  “Niiice. Good. Now, tomorrow is pretty much a rest day for you. You too, Tony. You’ve been pushing too hard lately and not letting yourself just heal. I’ll let you figure o
ut the road work, but I’m thinking you could give everyone a break?”

  That was about right, actually, so he nodded.

  “I’ll spread the word. So Lexi, you know when to be here to get to the fight?”

  It turned out she didn’t and this time Denny nodded at her seriously. They went over it all and then he shrugged.

  “Show up an hour early. It’s traditional, to make sure everyone gets on the bus. Then you’re with me for the trip so we can go over your fight plan. For right now, remember, when in doubt, call me or Tony. That’s for anything that comes up. If you’re going to be late, need a ride or just feel lazy. On that last one we’ll yell at you. Just so you know, but if you need it, make the call.” He looked really serious, but after she left he nodded.

  “That was nearly brilliant. I wasn’t sure you could pull that off with her like that. Really, I don’t know if I could. How did you do it?”

  Anthony looked at him for a moment, locking eyes.

  “I spent hours last night getting ready. Working with Ashley and getting advice from Rick and Jen on how to handle it. Like you said.” He really had, after all.

  “I should have known. I was just saying that so she wouldn’t get used to thinking it was all right to be late all the time. That gets annoying, fast. The work shows, by the way.”

  Feeling happy about it all, he bounced in place a bit.

  “Well, you know if we’re training her, or might be, then we have to take the extra effort, right?”

  Denny seemed to agree, but didn’t say much. It was time for Anthony to go and help Leslie, which actually wasn’t needed, since it was so hot that she’d cancelled her classes for the evening. Really, it was so bad, being nearly a hundred inside, that they closed the whole place down at six that night.

  That meant he had whole hours that he didn’t know what to do with. Interestingly enough, Steve came over to work with Jen and Rick on commentator stuff. They threw scenarios at him and had him respond, trying to sound laid back and natural. He didn’t do too horribly.

  Still, there was nothing for Anthony to do, in particular and it was too hot still, even with the air conditioning on, to sleep. That meant he started to walk outside, to sit on the front porch and noticed the mail sitting on a table to the left of the door. There was a pile of it and all of it was junk. Catalogs mainly, along with a few other things.