Against the Ropes Page #5

before I hot-dog him.

- One more fight.

- What's your rush?

Well, I got fired. Or maybe I quit.

As if you didn't know.

The point is, I can't wait for you to

decide if Luther is newsworthy. He is.

Luther Shaw weighs in at...

...159 pounds on the dot.

Here you go.

They get on the scale thirsty.

They get off even thirstier.

- He's heavier since Buffalo.

- Yeah, he's stronger.

Your guy looks pretty good too.

Thank you so much.

Don't drink that.

Don't even smell it. I'm serious.

I'll get you another one.

Hey there, Mathias.

Hi.

Listen, I saw your last fight, and wow.

That was one beautiful left hook.

Oh. Oh, oh, sorry.

Oh, thanks.

I just wanted to say

may the best man win.

No hard feelings,

no matter what happens.

No.

Stay back.

He don't like it down there.

He don't like it down there.

Nice jab. Good jab.

Luther, go back to the body.

Jump on him, that's right.

Get up on him. Hit him hard.

Beautiful jab.

Break clean. Come on.

You OK, Mathias?

- He don't wanna fight no more?

- Turn around and box.

Can you continue, Mathias?

Do you want to box?

- All right.

- It's over.

Way to go to the body, huh?

That felt good.

- That's the way to work downtown.

- What happened?

- Easy, take it easy, easy.

- Get them off. Get them off!

Oh, kid.

Thanks.

OK, well, that's my job...

...to see sh*t coming.

Break it up.

Neutral corner.

Four or five more miles.

Come on, grab my hand.

If you grab my hand, I'm going

to bring you up the hill.

Come on, keep turning.

Get on the inside and turn.

Get back. One...

- Sounds like things are going great.

- Oh, better than great. Terrific.

It's over.

No.

No? Why?

All right, no elevator, but the rooms

are huge. Electric's included.

The fireplace burns real wood.

Open this thing on the top

before you light a fire.

It's called a flue. Don't ask me why.

What do you think?

Tell you, the place is tight.

I think I like it.

You know, I hope I can afford it.

It's all about balancing

your checkbook.

Did you fill out those bank

applications I gave you?

Oh, I don't know.

I don't even remember

what I did with those.

This is the lease agreement

for you to look over.

It's the usual, first and last. And I got

you an extension on your tax returns,

but get it in next week. Envelopes,

stamps, stationery, all in here.

So how come you don't

have any kids?

It just never came up,

the opportunity.

It could still, later. I guess.

I think that you would

be dope as a mom.

Oh, thanks. Luther, I think you're

going to want to get renter's insurance.

Yeah.

Yeah, sure. Listen, Jackie...

Man, this is embarrassing to admit,

but, you know, guys like me...

I don't know nothing

about tax forms

and lease agreements,

insurance or whatever.

Hell, man, I never even voted.

In my former line of business,

I dealt with cash.

It's either cash on the barrel,

or I'm gonna hit you with the barrel.

You know, balancing a

checkbook... Forget about it.

Luther, you don't need to be ashamed

or embarrassed about anything, OK?

All kinds of people don't know

all kinds of sh*t.

I can really help you with this stuff.

We could fill those forms out togeth...

What was that for?

For everything.

We're the new kids on the block,

we expect to be picked on,

but we don't run from anybody.

I can't say the same for some people.

By "some people",

do you mean the newly crowned

Middleweight World Champion

Pedro Hernandez?

Hernandez claims he's hungry

for a worthy opponent.

Everybody knows

Luther's that guy.

I mean, what, to him,

Luther's the invisible man?

Oh, but I guess it's hard

to see someone

when you're running away from him,

especially if you're running scared.

Now, Pedro Hernandez

won the middleweight crown

in devastating fashion

against a great ex-champ.

Luther, with only 14 fights,

do you think you can beat him?

I can, I could,

and I most definitely would.

I'd probably knock him out

if he didn't faint first, Pedro.

Well, there's only one way to see

how this cliffhanger will end.

Stay tuned to Channel 28.

Don't miss what you can

see here with me.

Exclusively. You're our local guy.

As for Pedro Hernandez,

if you're watching,

this is Gavin Reese, desperately

hoping it wasn't something I said.

You think I can't smell bullshit

when I see it? Kallen's baiting us.

I don't care. I don't care what

you think, because it ain't your rep.

That b*tch has people believing

I'm a b*tch...

And you're whining like one,

and it's starting to annoy me.

I'm not sitting on my

hands no more.

Listen, I'm fighting Shaw.

You set it up.

Pedro. Pedro, come here.

Every piece of garbage

I float to the top

gets in his head he can tell

me what to do. That's a mistake.

You fight who I say,

when I say.

Now go away before I get upset.

Hey, Jackie. What's up?

Brunch. Oh, I didn't know you had a...

Renee. There's

just enough for two.

- It's OK, I already ate.

- Well, here's an idea.

You take this. You're not

hungry now, save it for later.

- You sure?

- Yeah. I gotta go home anyways.

I've got a lot of stuff to do.

What?

Let's go. Let's go,

let's go, let's go.

- Good evening, sir.

- How are you doing tonight?

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

Luther, listen.

All right, now, this is our shot.

Stay calm.

Act natural

and let me handle it.

Look, Jackie, look,

I'm down with you, OK?

But I only get one day off.

Sh*t, I could've been kicking it.

Kicking it with who, Renee?

Now, look, Luther,

Renee is my friend. I love her.

But she has school to finish.

You have everything ahead of you.

The last thing either of you want

is to get in each other's way.

If I want what's best for her

and she wants what's best for me,

how can we get in

each other's way?

You look great in that suit.

You know what I'm saying, half-pint?

Let bygones go by.

Life's too damn short.

Right, Lou?

Name's Luther.

We want a shot at Pedro, Sam.

I know that.

Look, why don't you

close your mouth,

drink a drink and relax.

I gotta tell you, I like the way

Luther here listens.

A win in Tampa could put him on the

undercard the next time Pedro fights.

After that, down the line,

maybe a shot at the title.

Of course, that would mean

you would start to do some

very serious pro-Pedro press.

Like what an honor it is for you

to be fighting him, sh*t like that.

And the expiration date on sh*t

like that is fight night.

- Of course.

- Sure.

Sounds like we got a deal.

So if you'll excuse me,

I gotta go, but I'll be back.

I'd watch half-pint if I was you.

Believe me, man,

I already know how she walks.

Well, she'll walk all over you.

Why do you think it's her name on

everybody's lips? Her name, not yours.

Oh, that don't bother me, man.

Keep up the good work.

She'll be famous. You'll be...

Fine. You understand that?

I'll be just fine.

It's the tenth round, understand?

Don't leave it to the judges.

Go ahead, baby.

Henry Armstrong his ass.

All right? Henry Armstrong.

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