The Golden Champ
The first seventeen years of Macson Ferrante's life weren't easy. After being born a month premature and having his body grow at a much slower rate than the average infant, he remained smaller than most kids his own age. With that being the case, he was targeted all the time by neighborhood bullies in the rough and tumble streets of the Bronx where he grew up.
Due to his small stature, he was nicknamed "Little Mac". As a kid who hated to be pushed around Macson adopted the nickname and went by Mac from then on. Despite his small stature, Mac was not easily intimated, though given the wrong circumstances…that all changed. When he was just ten years old, he had been walking home from school when he passed by an area gang hanging out.
Mac had been kicking stones as he walk causing one to strike the side of one of the cars belonging to one of the gang members. Angered, they surrounded Mac while brandishing knives and hurling insults. Completely fearing for his life, he fell to his hands and knees and began to cry. As the delinquents closed in, something inside Mac was released and an unknown power exploded.
Mac had no clue what was going on, having an incredible power for him to stop anyone who threatened him was enough to boost his confidence and not to mention knocking out every last gang member that surrounded him. With such a power inside him, Mac never feared anyone ever again. For a few years he was unable to figure out what he was going to do with this power until the day his father asked him to sit down and watch a boxing match.
The moment he saw the two boxers exchanging blows, he knew that boxing was his new hobby and no one would stand in his way to become the champ.
As quickly as he could, Mac began to save all his allowance which he normally used to buy candy of baseball cards with, he slowly had enough to pay for training at the Morris Park Boxing Club. The day he joined, he got paired with trainer Julian D'Amico, a veteran boxer of 23 years. Mac spent most afternoons training and quickly got the technique down. Even though he had a small stature and thin frame, he won most sparring bouts.
When he was sixteen, Mac's trainer Julian took him aside after stretching. Julian pulled out his wallet and removed a twenty dollar bill and placed it into Mac's hands. Upon asking his mentor why he placed the twenty in his hands, he just laughed and patted the young man on the back. Julian told Mac there was nothing left for him to teach the teen. The twenty was for the application fee for the professional boxing license.
Mac was excited to think his path to becoming champ was edging closer and would be in his reach much sooner than he thought. Though the legal age to compete professionally in the state of New York was eighteen, Mac didn't mind waiting a year and a half. His ambitions and anticipation got the better of him though when he turned seventeen, he scheduled to apply for the license anyway.
He fibbed about his age just a little on his application to say he was eighteen and managed to meet every single requirement to become a professional boxer. Mac was happy to hear he met the criteria for the license and became ecstatic when the actual license came in the mail. Holding the small laminated card in his hands, he knew his dreams would come true.
When Mac's former trainer Julian D'Amico heard about the acquired license, he gave a call to his favorite pupil and told him of a professional trainer that he should look into. The trainer's name was Jerome "Doc" Louis and the man was a legend among the ranks on professional boxers and trainers alike.
Mac sat in his room with a phone book open to Jerome Louis' business office number. He wasn't sure if called this guy up would be a good idea, since he wasn't legal age yet the guy could turn him in and it could take years to get into the professional circuit. With the phone receiver in his hand, he bit his lip and stopped being indecisive and dialed the number.
"Doc Louis Professional Training, how may I help you?" a woman said on the other line.
"Oh, yes. My name is Mac Ferrente and I want to set up to have a training regiment with Mr. Louis." Mac said.
"Okay Mr. Ferrante, but first we need you to fax us a copy of your medical history and a copy of your boxing license."
Mac copied down the information and thanked the woman before hanging up. Once he gathered what he needed and borrowing his parents old fax machine, he sent the information and waited. Still a little nervous about his lie, Mac knew this was his chance to make it to the big leagues. A few days later Mac got a call from the man himself, Doc Louis. After exchanging greetings, Doc Louis told Mac everything was in order.
He asked Mac if they could start training as soon as possible, in which Mac without any hesitation said yes and the two began putting together a training schedule. After hanging up the phone, Mac jumped for joy, not only does he now have a professional trainer but the lie was not uncovered. Their first training session was for the Saturday coming up for six o'clock in the morning.
The time wasn't too bad for Mac since he's done it before. The days leading up to Saturday went really slow to Mac but once Friday night came he did all his school work and got to bed early so he could be amped in the morning.
As his alarm beeped 5:30 am, Mac sprung out of bed and got himself ready and headed down the Bayside Marina on his bike. Doc Louis told him to meet him at Dockside Warehouse in the Bayside Marina, which didn't make much sense to him since he thought that such a legendary trainer would be in a highly regarded training school or something. As Mac pulled up to the warehouse, he noticed something off.
On the side of the warehouse sat a sign that read, "Condemned". Mac thought to himself why would Doc Louis tell him to come to a condemned warehouse. As he pondered about it, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Glad to see you came kid..." a voice behind him said.
As Mac turned, he saw a middle aged black man dressed in sweats, with a rotund stomach, and a candy bar in his mouth.
"You're Doc Louis?" Mac asked the man.
"The one and only, let's head in shall we?" Doc Louis said as he reached for the door.
"But this place is condemned, see there's a sign." Mac said pointing to the sign.
"Nah, kid. It's just a ruse to keep people who don't belong out."
The two walked into the dark void until Doc Louis flipped on the light switch. The florescent lights flickered on one by one revealing Mac's new training gym. Mac could see punching bags hanging from the beams, an area with some decent looking weight machines, and in the center a big boxing ring.
"So what do ya think?" Doc asked as he chomped down on his candy bar.
"As long as I'm training, I don't care where I train." Mac said.
"Well I'm glad to hear that, let's get started."
Doc Louis broken down the entire regiment to Mac, telling him about rigorous exercise training, a new diet regiment, and how his actual training was going to work. Mac was completely ecstatic about it and was happy with from what he heard about Doc Louis' training. One thing Doc Louis told Mac to always remember that boxing is mental as it is physical.
Mac didn't think too much of it at the time, but those words would become very important down the line. The two got into the ring and began training so Doc Louis could see what Mac was capable in the ring. Doc Louis noticed three things: his technique was almost flawless, his speed was incredible, and he lacked a lot of strength. He could see that Mac's technique and speed had gotten him this far in the amateur boxing.
"Alright let's take a break Mac. A couple things I want to go over with ya. First off, your technique is great and your speed is nothing short of amazing, but you seem to lack one thing." Doc Louis said.
"What's that?" Mac asked.
"Strength, you are in desperate need or it."
"What do you mean? I've won almost every bout I had while training at Morris Park."
"I understand that, but those were all amateurs. This is the big leagues now, there will be boxers twice as big as you and no amount of skill and speed will get you a knock out."
Doc Louis' words stung deep and Mac didn't agree with him at all. There were plenty of opponents that he was up against that barely hit him with movements he made. Mac vowed to show Doc Louis that he was wrong and he could beat anyone without strength in the ring. But for now he would go with it since the man was Doc Louis after all. Mac and Doc trained for a few weeks when Mac's first match was lined up.
Mac's first opponent was a fighter that went by the name Glass Joe. Not much was known about the fighter from France, but Mac knew this was his first fight to rise to the top. The night of the fight, Mac was pumped for his first professional fight and couldn't wait to jump into the ring. As he waited for the announcer to call him down to the ring, Mac did a couple practice jabs in his new green punching gloves that Doc had custom made.
Doc said it was a gift for the new up and coming professional boxer. Mac had worn his lucky green trunks not just because they were lucky, but they matched his new gloves.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, before our first match begins let me introduce your contenders, returning to the ring after suffering from numerous knock outs, Glass Joe." The announcer said.
As the French National anthem began to play, Glass Joe made his way to the ring. Not many people cheered for him in the crowd but he did have some loyal fans. Once Glass Joe was in the ring, the announcer raised the microphone to his mouth again and introduced Mac.
"And for your second contender, a newcomer to the sport with this being his first match, Little Mac."
Mac threw open the curtains and walked down the ramp with an immense amount of confidence. Nobody cheered for the new fighter and some even booed. But Mac was not deterred, he knew no one was going to like him at his first fight but once they saw him fight, that was going to change.
Doc followed behind his new fighter with a towel in one hand and candy bar in the other. As he reached ringside, Mac climbed the ropes and entered the ring to face against the first of many. Once Glass Joe laid eyes on Mac, he scoffed.
"What iz this? I'm fighting a kid? I'd break him like a loaf of fresh bread." Glass Joe said.
"Hey, don't judge a book by its cover alright?" Mac responded.
"Whatever, I'll take it easy on you."
The ring bell rung and the two fighters began to stare each other down.
"So this is your first fight oui?" Glass Joe said with a cocky smile.
"Yeah, so what?" Mac said not taking his eyes off his opponent.
"Well I decided to be generous and let you have first shot. I mean it wouldn't be fair if I knocked you out so quickly."
Glass Joe opens wide his arms, allowing his body open to any kind of strike. As Mac looked at his defenseless opponent, he noticed a bruise of the left side of his chin. Doc's words flashed in Mac's mind from earlier in the day when they were sparring.
"When you're up against Glass Joe, whenever you have the chance, always aim for the chin."
Mac wasn't sure they he wanted to exploit a fight, especially since it was his first in the pros, but the guy was being too damn cocky and begging to be hit. On another note most people in the crowd wouldn't think he was taking advantage.
"Oaky, suit yourself." Mac said winding up.
Mac's punch passed through the nonexistent defenses and struck Glass Joe's "glass jaw". The strike sent Glass Joe into a whirlwind of pain and putting him in a daze. He fell to the ropes trying to hold himself up.
"See, that's what happens when you underestimate someone." Mac said.
"Oh ya? Well since you now know my weakness, I won't let you hit me there again." Glass Joe said holding his gloves up in front of his face.
Mac shook his head and laughed.
"You're defenses are garbage." Mac said as he struck Glass Joe in his unprotected midsection.
Glass Joe let out a gasp and dropped his arms. With his face now unprotected again, Mac struck his chin again sending Glass Joe to the mat. The referee began to count as Glass Joe lie on the mat face down. As the ref's count reached 10, the crowd cheered. Mac's arm was raised in victory and all the excitement, happiness, and sense of accomplishment swirled inside of Mac, and he loved every bit of it.
"Good work kid." Doc said as he threw Mac a towel.
"Thanks Doc, but this is just the beginning. The road to the top is long and winding." Mac said.
"You got that right, I've already lined up another match next week. Let's get out of here so you can rest up." Doc said as the two left the ring.
After a day of rest, Mac got back to training after hearing his next opponent was Von Kaiser, a very surly German boxer.
"Okay Mac, I want you train hard for this one. Von Kaiser can be a handful." Doc said.
"No sweat Doc." Mac said.
"Mac, I'm serious. This guy is tough."
"Hey, remember I took out Glass Joe rather easily?"
"Yes, but the guy let you hit him, Von Kaiser won't let that happen so easily."
"Okay Doc, let's start training."
The rest of the week went by up into the night of the match. Mac was psyching himself up, getting ready to walk to the ring.
"Good evening ladies and gentleman. Allow me to introduce your contenders, up first is a young fighter with one win under his belt and going for a second, Little Mac." the announcer said.
Mac traveled down the ramp once again, but this time he got some cheers. He climbed into the ring and awaited his opponent.
"And now for the man who needs no introduction, the man who helped break down the Berlin Wall with his fists, Von Kaiser!"
"The Ride of the Valkyries" began to play as a somewhat hulking man came down the ramp. Von Kaiser walked down the ramp slowly, kneading his thick moustache. As he entered the ring, Mac realized what Doc said was true; Von Kaiser was huge compared to Glass Joe. His muscles were thick like stone and possibly hard like it as well. He towered over Mac, casting a slight shadow from the lights.
Though he knew this wasn't going to be easy, Mac wasn't deterred and was anxious to get the fight over with. The bell rung and the match got underway.
"Are you ready to fight boy?" Von Kaiser asked Mac.
"Yeah are you?" Mac said showing his opponent that he wasn't afraid.
Von Kaiser nodded, then lunging forward, hitting Mac in the chest. Mac stumbled back a little allowing Von Kaiser to continue his barrage. Mac's body fell back, stretching the ropes causing him to be catapulted towards Von Kaiser. Rushing towards his opponent, Mac raised his arm up to jab, and struck Von Kaiser hard in the temple. The hit registered to Von Kaiser, causing him to drop his guard.
With his opponents midsection open, Mac unleashed a flurry of punches to the German's abdomen. Von Kaiser reached back, and hit Mac's side causing Mac to stop punching and give himself time to recover.
"Not bad for a kid, but I was born and raised on a military base after WWII an I learned to box from the greatest men in Germany, so this will be no easy win!" Von Kaiser said then ducking down.
With no time to react, Von Kaiser went for a signature uppercut, knocking Mac straight to the mat. The only thing Mac could see were the blurred lights on the ceiling.
"Oh no, Mac get up!" Doc shouted from the corner.
"Maybe next time, you take fight more seriously." Von Kaiser said as he raised his arms in self victory.
In his mind Mac could hear the crowd yelling and cheering.
"Get up Mac, you can't lose this quickly." he told himself.
As his vision began to clear, Mac got up to face the dreaded German once more.
"Oh are you ready to fight seriously now?" Von Kaiser said.
"Yes…" Mac said then gasping for air.
"I don't believe you."
Von Kaiser then hit Mac in the stomach, then once more in the same spot in the temple as Mac did to him before. Mac fell to his knees and began to breathe harder. Seeing his fighter was in trouble, Doc grabbed the towel from his shoulder and threw it into the ring, causing Mac to forfeit.
"Next time we meet, I want you to be more serious." Von Kaiser said as the ref raised his arm in victory.
Doc hopped into the ring and rushed to Mac's side.
"Mac, you okay? Are you hurt at all?" Doc said.
"Yeah, my pride hurts the most though." Mac said.
Mac stood up holding his stomach and barely able to stay on his feet.
"Let's get you outta here, you don't look so good." Doc said putting Mac's arm over his shoulder and helping him out of the ring.
As they walked back up the ramp, Mac questioned his fight.
"How did I lose Doc?"
"Like I told you before, you lack strength, plain and simple."
Mac sighed and realized Doc was right after all. Von Kaiser cannot be beaten with just speed and technique. He knew if he could summon the power that he experienced when he was cornered by those gang members that one time, there was no way Von Kaiser could beat him. But with no real way to use it, he was back to regular training. After resting up Mac went back to training with a new idea in his mind.
Doc introduced a new type of training that he only used on students who desperately needed it. He called "Power Training" and it was going to boost Mac's strength dramatically. Mac was all for it since he wanted to get back in the ring with Von Kaiser and knock him flat out. Day after day Mac trained using the power training methods and quickly saw a difference.
He could tell he was hitting harder and with the speed he already had, his punches started to become devastating. Doc was happy with his progress and he knew next time he would put Von Kaiser into a world of hurt. Doc had placed Mac in for a rematch with Von Kaiser and with Mac's training mixed with determination, he was virtually unstoppable. The night of the rematch came and Mac was never as pumped as he was right now.
Before he knew it, he found himself in the ring again and faced against Von Kaiser.
"Well I hope you will fight more serious like I asked." Von Kaiser said.
"You better believe I am." Mac said slammed his gloves down hard on top of Von Kaiser's.
"Good, then let's get started."
Von Kaiser swung fast at Mac, who was a bit faster and dodged the punch. With his side now exposed, Mac took advantage and gave a hard right hook to Von Kaiser. With a big amount of pain emanating from his side, Von Kaiser took a few steps back.
"Damn boy…that was one hard right hook. Have you been training?"
"Yeah, what's it to you?"
"Nothing, I am impressed on how your fighting has improved and you might have a chance this time to beat me…but only a chance."
Von Kaiser lunged forward and struck Mac in the cheek. Though the sting of Von Kaiser's first blow was felt, Mac endured it and responded in kind. As Mac's glove made contact, the skin on Von Kaiser's face rippled like the surface of a pond. As Von Kaiser took another step back, he could see the seriousness in Mac's eyes and knew this was the fight he was looking for.
"I'll admit kid, I didn't think you'd come back for a rematch so soon and I assumed that your fighting would not have improved even if you did." Von Kaiser said.
"Yeah, well assumptions will get you killed." Mac said giving Von Kaiser a rib shot.
Von Kaiser let out a gasp causing his arms to drop, making him wide open. One after another, Mac left jabbed, right jabbed Von Kaiser's torso as if he was a punching bag. Von Kaiser fell back to the ropes then falling to his knees.
"It seems like it to me that this time you're not fighting seriously." Mac said as he looked down at Von Kaiser.
"Is that what you think?" Von Kaiser said catching his breath.
"No, it's what I see."
"Then look a little harder…" Von Kaiser said as he sprung upwards, upper cutting Mac.
Mac's head snapped back until his chin was straight up in the air. The shot to his chin rendered him defenseless allowing Von Kaiser to strike his abdomen with unbridled force. The pain from the hit was so intense that Mac could no longer stay on his feet. Falling to his knees and his arms wrapped around stomach, Mac tried to regain his composure.
"I'm glad you did not lie this time about being serious, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to beat me." Von Kaiser said raising his arm above his head and bringing it on top of Mac's head.
Mac slumped to the mat, his body spread out on the canvas. Doc was nervous, he thought Mac had it in the bag, but he was now laid out and the ref began to count. There was nothing he could do to help him. Throwing in the towel two matches in a row especially in a rematch would completely destroy any kind of reputation Mac could ever have. He didn't want to just sit there, but Doc knew hope was the only thing he could give to his fighter.
As his body lay motionless on the mat, he began to hear his inner self.
"Mac, get up…there isn't much time."
"I can't…even if I was able to; Von Kaiser would just knock me back down again."
"If you don't get up, you're letting Von Kaiser know that you are not determined to win this fight."
"Yeah so what?"
"Isn't that what you've been doing this whole time? Since that day when you were ten, you were determined to become strong and when you watched that boxing match with your dad you were determined to become the best boxer there was."
"But that's the thing, I'm not."
"The only way to know you aren't something is to give up. You must strive for success and keep at it until what you want is yours. Now get up."
Mac's eyes opened as he pulled himself to his feet. The ref stopped counting at nine and the match resumed.
"You got a big pair on ya but that still won't help you win." Von Kaiser said as he then struck Mac in the same area of his stomach.
Mac was sent straight to the mat again. Sitting on his knees and in incredible pain, he silently wept. Mac thought about what his inner self had said before about striving and not giving up.
"I…I can't lose…" Mac said.
"At the rate you're going kid, it's inevitable." Von Kaiser said.
Looking up at Von Kaiser began the anger to swirl inside Mac. Seeing him chuckle as he knelt on the mat and reeling in pain caused his anger to rise. The day he was attacked by the street gang flashed before his eyes causing his anger to rise further. The frustration of losing after all his training and his strong will and determination began to mix together causing a familiar feeling to swell up inside.
Mac knew his untapped power was ready to be unleashed but didn't have the slightest idea how to release it.
"Sorry to end your boxing career so early but "them's the breaks"." Von Kaiser said as he reached his arm back for the final blow.
"No…I can't lose…" Mac said
"Liked I said, them's the…"
"No, I won't…LOSE!" Mac shouted as his power was released.
An overwhelming feeling came over Mac, none he had ever felt before. What felt like electricity flowing through him, traveled through every inch of his body. The anger, pain, and frustration dissipated as his new power coursed through him. A golden aura surrounded him, shining brightly making the spotlights look dimmed. As Mac slowly rose to his feet, he could see everyone in the arena was in shock and awe.
Even the ref and Von Kaiser himself stood in front of him with his mouth a gap. Von Kaiser stared at his opponent, not knowing what to do. In what he could only understand as some sort of transformation, his opponent Little Mac stood in front of him with a light emanating from him and his hair changing to a shiny golden color. But those were nothing compared to the empty eyes the boy now had.
To Von Kaiser, Mac looked like a demon, a soulless being. Though he did not understand what was happening and not sure if he should hit him or not, he came to a decision to finish the fight. With a fast left hook, Von Kaiser tried to end it, but with moving only his right arm, Mac blocked the punch. Mac's head turned towards Von Kaiser staring at him with his blank eyes.
As Von Kaiser's lip began to shake, Mac's pupils began to take form. Pale green circles took shape and what seemed like to Von Kaiser, they pierced through his soul. Due to the paralyzing fear that he was now in, Von Kaiser's arms fell to his side. Seeing that his opponent was now immobilized by his fear, Mac took his chance to end the fight. With a punch that was barely visible, Mac's glove struck Von Kaiser's face.
The distant look in Von Kaiser's eyes was the only thing visible on his face as he received the incredible blow. In an instant, Von Kaiser fell to the mat motionless. The arena still sat silent as Mac looked over to the ref. He nodded to the official telling him to make a ruling. The ref looked down at Von Kaiser and knew what the ruling was going to be. He raised Mac's arm into the air declaring him the winner.
The silence was broken as everyone in the arena erupted into a cheer. The stoic face of Mac changed to a smile as he realized every last cheer was for him. As he stood in victory, his power subsided changing his hair back and changing his eyes from green back to blue. Doc jumped into the ring as soon as he broke free from the awe.
"What in God's name just happened?" Doc asked.
"I'm not completely sure, but don't worry about it, I won didn't I?" Mac said.
"You're right, you did, but something about it makes me uneasy.
"I said don't worry about it. Come on let's get out here."
Mac and his trainer left the ring and walked up the ramp. Mac noticed all eyes were on him as he made his exit. He knew this was what he wanted and he was on his way to truly earning it. Mac changed into his street clothes and headed home. Most of the way home, people would stop and cheer as they saw him. As he reached home and walked into the front door, he realized this was only the beginning and grander things were to come.