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The sound of knocking at the locker room door drew me out of this deep level of concentration. My eyes snapped open, taking in the worn rows of lockers in front of me. Around the left end of the lockers, two security guards stood at a wide grey door.

The door was cracked open at first as words were exchanged, then widened all the way. An older man with thick hair and a mustache to match walked into the room with his own entourage of security. He wore an expensive tuxedo and bowtie. He walked right over to me with a wide grin on his lips.

“Mr. Dell.” My coach removed his hands from my shoulders and shook the right hand of our visitor. “Thank you for stopping by. This is quite the Coliseum you have here.”

“You’re too kind,” Mr. Dell said with a sideways grin. “I know the lockers aren’t much, but they’re next to get remodeled. Wait until you get upstairs and see the Coliseum with those fans cheering for you. There’s nothing in the world like it.”

Mr. Dell looked at me with that same sideways smile. “And you must be the man of the hour, Dean ‘Steel Hands’ Slade.”

I rose from my seat, knowing exactly who stood in front of me. Mr. Dell was a multi-billionaire, owner of the Titan Coliseum and heavily involved in the sports industry. He was respected as a capitalist, known for his ruthless business strategy and questionable tactics.

“Mr. Dell,” I said, accepting the offered hand. “Thank you for putting on the fight.”

“Of course, it’s what I do,” Mr. Dell said, releasing my hand. “Your reputation precedes you, Dean. I’ve seen every one of your fights. There hasn’t been a fighter like you since Rio the ‘Riot’ McClain. You don’t go down easy and you don’t stay down for nothin’. You’ve won the hearts and minds of a lot of fans. Especially in that last fight of yours. What was it? All ten rounds?”

“He went all ten rounds and knocked out his opponent seconds before the bell rang,” Jonny Bones said the same way a proud father would when speaking about his son. “Dean was knocked down in the third, fifth, and eighth rounds but kept getting back up. That’s who he is.”

“That’s what people love about you.” Mr. Dell looked behind him to the handful of coaches as well as security members. “Do you think we can speak a few moments in private?”

I looked at Jonny. The fight was going to take place in twenty minutes. This meeting wasn’t planned nor was it protocol.

Jonny had a worried expression on his wrinkled face. Wise eyes told me something was wrong. “All right, Mr. Dell. With all due respect, we have to prepare for the fight, but for you, we can give you a few minutes if that’s all you need.”

“Thank you, yes. It’ll only take a few minutes. You have my word,” Mr. Dell reassured Jonny. He looked over his shoulder. “Gentlemen, if we could have the locker room, please?”

Despite his position, our own staff of coaches and trainers looked at Jonny. It was years of respect that led them to defy the most powerful man in business if Jonny asked them to.

Instead, the old trainer nodded for them to go. “It’s okay. It’ll just be a few minutes if you wait outside for us.”

They nodded, looking at me, then to Jonny again. They understood this was out of the ordinary for all of us. Instead of asking questions, they made their way from the room along with our own security and that of Mr. Dell.

A moment later, it was only the three of us in the room: Mr. Dell, Jonny, and I. Mr. Dell waited half a beat after the door was closed to begin. He alternated looking between Jonny and me, laying out his business proposition.

“You two may be the greatest coach-gladiator combo we’ve seen in a long time, maybe ever. Time will tell.” Mr. Dell was still all smiles, flashing his white teeth in that signature sideways grin of his. “What I’m about to ask you will go against everything in your core as competitors, but I assure you if you look at the long game and the future in this industry, you’ll realize that there is really only one choice in all of this. I would like you to throw the fight tonight.”

My stomach tilted inside my gut. I felt like I had been hit by a two hundred and fifty-pound brawler. I knew I had heard him right. I just couldn’t believe it. There were whispers and rumors of course that some of the top-level fights were fixed. I had yet to experience this firsthand, let alone by one of the most respected and powerful men in the industry.

I looked at Jonny. The old man had a dangerous look in his eye. He didn’t say anything yet. I’d been with Jonny for enough years to know we were thinking the same thing. What would happen if we refused?

“I know, I know.” Mr. Dell lifted his hands, palms facing toward us. “It’s a big thing to ask, and it’s blindsided you. You’re going to have to trust me on this one. It’s going to sting to have to go down, but we can make it look good. You’ll go down in the last round, and you won’t get up. In a few years, you’ll fight your way back to another title shot, and we’ll make sure you win then.  You have my word on that. Right now, the money is too good to have you win. You’re heavily favored in this fight and me, and a few of my colleagues have money that you’ll go down. You will go down, Dean.”

Along with the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, a cold sweat broke out over my brow, and a wave of anger washed over my entire body. I’d spent my life getting to this point in