Show r L I LAST FIGHT j I By Norman Disher t 4 IT WAS my last fight I 1 knew It and Drone Bronc my manager knew it No one had come out and said so but they must have known from the way I had fought taught tonight Its It's over now so it doesn't matter too much A week ago Tony Mendel had come to me and explained it all aU You been Champ a lon long time now right Timmy Yeah Tony yeah I 1 had answered answered an an- I wondering what was coming com com- ing Too long maybe kid We need needs needa s a new boy and end besides you know aU all the good money Is on you next Frida Friday night You know that than JI I 1 know it It so what lIe He was after something I 1 hated to think of ol what it might be j Y So So we get good odds and a new champ Sees You want me to throw it that it Tony I tried to sound casual Yeah kid that's It it Tony spoke softly You wont won't let me forget that first fight for the welter crown will you Tony Now youre you're going to do it all over again and this time Im I'm the guy who does the fade out I could have won that first one without you paying th the theold theold old Champ off oil but the money was wason wason wason on him then and you had to collect collect col col- lect right Now the moneys money's on me supposing I 1 say no go uh uhf You remember what happened to DeFranco Tony co scowled lell That's what I 1 figured Yeah I remember him lIes lIe's still a crip pIe So I guess that's that You dont don't give me much choice That's being a smart mart boy you know how to do it t Just make it look real See you later I 1 began to think about It a little i later and I 1 felt s sick I 1 remembered DeFranco alright Somebody had taken him out in the country and they did a real good Job of workIng working work work- ing him over Hed He'd never been able aWe to w walk right again after that I Tony TonT was the one who had setup setup set et up the fight that had made me the Welterweight Champ hed he'd fixed bed it 1 I would win because the one on 1 to so J thing Tony wanted was money and andall andall and andaU all aU the money had been on the old Champ Hed He'd cleaned up b by betting betting bet bet- ting heavily on me I Now it was my turn After two minutes in the ring rift with Harry Damrell the challenger challenger chal chal- lenger I 1 knew be he didn't know knot about the fix I fought heartedly half for the first six rounds and then in the middle of the seventh Harry caught me in the solar and I went down I wasn't faking taking it had hurt plenty and I 1 stayed on the canvas for or a n nine count Then something screamed inside of at me mt and I got up and started fighting mean In Inthe Inthe the eleventh round I smashed Harry liar Har ry over the heart and he staggered and then a right cross a left hook and a rI right ht uppercut finished him He lie stayed down for the count often of often often ten and still didn't get up Well ft Its It's all aU over now and theres there's nothing else to do Drone Bronc looked scared plenty scared When we came back here to my dressing room be he broke loose What ya think ya doln kid what ya done Were We're finished d boy boy they'll they'll get us for this Im I'm out I 1 gotta family to think about I I gotta leave Im I'm loin goin Ok Bronc ok oh I 1 interrupted Its It ok I understand go 10 ahead I know how you feeL You got to tomake tomake tomake make a living Goodbye kid kid Dye Bye Bronc Drone rushed out into the hallway and didn't look back Im I'm here alone now Just sitting hers her thinking about what I did inthe in inthe inthe the ring tonight I was fighting lighting more than a man I was fighting myself I was fighting lighting for tor all aU the guys lUys that ml might ht come to this racket rack et after me The ones onea who wanted to make mate o a lIvin living out o of t it it they're the ones onea I h had d to win for tor Now it its it's too late for tor me but I dont don't care It was something I bad had to do I can ean hear footsteps coming down the baU ball now I dont don't care eare it its it's done and Im I'm through I can bear the heavy footsteps probably two or three of ol them Ill I'll get nt one ono of ot themi |