Bell to Bell: A Boxing Story

CHAPTER EIGHT

As morning rose, Gabe received a call.

"Gabe, this is Micah Brown, the promoter for the Golden Eagle Tournament. I'm calling to let you know we are still letting you compete in the tournament despite your arrest. The officer you assaulted explained to us that he antagonized you to hit him. He told us you were going through a lot and letting you hit him was the best way to let you vent your anger. However, even though you still get to fight in the tournament, you will have to pay your own fine for what you did. Your fight is at 8, tonight. See you then!"

Soon after his call ended, Michelle walked up beside him.

"Hey, what was that about?"

"It was the promoter for the tournament, he was telling me that I have a fight tonight."

"That's great, I'm happy that they didn't kick you out of the tournament."

"They did, initially, but the officer that I hit vouched for me. Anyways, shouldn't you be getting home. You've been out here with me all night, your parents are probably pissed."

"It'll be fine, I told them that I'll be at a friend's house for a few nights. She'll cover for me."

"That so? That means you'll get to see me train for my fight tonight."

"Actually, I was hoping we could just spend the day together. With all the things that have been going on lately, we haven't really had a chance to relax. I thought a nice, calm day would be nice for us."

"Spending all day with you sounds a lot better than training all day." Gabe said giving Michelle a flirty wink.

"I'm glad it does." She said as the two shared a quick kiss.

Gabe and Michelle spent the day relaxing and talking. They talked about the upcoming fight, school, their friendship, and many other things. 

"Gabe, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Gabe said with a laugh.

"I'm being serious. It's important."

"Yeah, you can ask me anything."

"You said after your tournament ends, you are gonna leave. I can't go with you because of everything that's happening here. Once you're done, what's going to happen between us?"

"I have been thinking about that, actually. I'm going to wait to leave. I don't want to live life to fast and miss out on what I have, especially since that involves you. I think waiting is the best thing to do for now. As for us, nothing will change this. Like you told me, I'll be by your side until the very end. I'm not going anywhere, especially not without you."

"I'm glad you decided to change your mind. Anyway, it's almost 7, we should start heading to the boxing place."

"We?"

"We!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight's main event is definitely one you do not want to miss. The man coming to the ring, has recently been through some tough times and even had a run in with the law, give it up for the delinquent boxer with anger issues, GABE CALLOWAY!! His opponent is quite the problem child as well, known for pummeling his opponent into utter defeat, LIAM CAINE!!!! Two fighters with excellent skills will square off in just a few moments, but first let's remind everyone here that the winner of this fight will advance to the finals of the Golden Eagle Tournament! Now, let's begin!!"

"The two fighters are measuring each other up in an intense stare down. You can feel the intensity in the air. Gabe starts the action off with a few light jabs. Caine dodges the jabs with ease. The fighters still seem to be in the measuring stage of the match. Caine fires off a rapid combo of strikes from out of nowhere! Calloway is being pushed backwards! Calloway's on the ropes, but Caine is not letting up. A vicious right hand from Caine! Calloway is rattled, but his guard is staying up. Another heavy right by Caine, but he's slipped by Calloway! Calloway is pummeling Caine's body heavily. The tables have turned around completely! Calloway is continuing to pound Caine on the ropes! Caine attempts to slip Calloway's blows, but Calloway denies him and pushes him back on the ropes! Calloway throws a heavy shot to the liver, as the round comes to an end."

"Amazing first round! It's very surprising to see Caine getting pummeled like this! Hold on, what's this? Ladie and gentlemen, it seems that Caine has suffered a major injury from the blow to his liver and is not able to continue. The winner, by default, is Gabe Calloway. Calloway advances to the finals! Let's give him a round of applause!!"

After the fight, Gabe met with his opponent backstage to check on him. The scene that Gabe saw was frightening. Caine was being carried away on a stretcher.

"Hey, hold on! Caine, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a bit of internal bleeding."

"I'm sorry man. I didn't mean to injure you like that."

"It's not your fault. I've had liver problems for a while now. Plus, I didn't even try to defend against your shot. To be honest, I didn't expect it to hurt that bad. Don't feel bad, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Congrats on your win. Once I get better, I want my rematch. Got it?"

"Got it! Get better man."

Gabe left the locker room as Caine was taken to the hospital, he was met by Micah, who had an announcement.

"Look Gabe, the tournament is coming to an end soon. Even though tonight's event is technically over, these fans are still hungry for action. Do you remember Michael Brown?"

"Yeah, he was my first round opponent. Why?"

"Well, he mentioned something about a rematch a few weeks ago. I was going to wait until after the conclusion of the tournament to make the match official, but he's here tonight. Since your fight went by quickly, I would like you to give him his rematch tonight. It won't affect your position in the tournament, it will just be a sanctioned boxing rematch. What do you say?"

"Yeah, I'm down, just give me about 20 minutes before the match begins so I can get ready."

"Of course."