The AP Training Center
"Well, this set is finished, let"s take a break." The coach picked up a towel, wiped the sweat off his head, and then walked away indifferently.
Phillip sat on the stool and panted. But his eyes were full of helplessness, because he had sensed the indifference of his coach, which was totally different than when he had just come here.
Phillip still remembered that when he first came to the AP Training Center, every coach was so enthusiastic about him. They even gave him a small reception party. But now when the coaches worked with him, they were impatient and perfunctory.
It was true that Phillip"s performance was disappointing, at least for the coaches who trained him, because they felt that their hard work was not being rewarded.
It was just like a teacher who found a very talented student, then spent a lot of time teaching the student, giving the student special attention, and trying to cultivate the student to be an elite. However, the student"s academic performance became increasingly worse, until it was the worst in the cla.s.s. Then the teacher who had endeavored to cultivate the student would be very disappointed, so the teacher"s patience for the student would disappear gradually, and his expectation for the student would eventually transform into disgust.
The same was true of the coaches. When Phillip first came to the AP Training Center, all the coaches had great expectations for him. They hoped that Phillip would make it to the Olympic Games and make brilliant achievements. So, when he first came here, they were very patient and gave him much attention.
But Phillip"s performance declined until it was practically free-falling. So the coaches were dissatisfied, and they were also under great pressure from their management, which made them put in more effort.
However, who would continue to try when their efforts were not rewarded?
When the patience of his coaches was worn out, Phillip"s performance was still as terrible as before. So they chose to give up. They were not enthusiastic about Phillip, and they no longer paid special attention to him. On the contrary, they were indifferent to Phillip, just like numb workers standing in an a.s.sembly line.
Phillip didn"t like this feeling, and he was eager to get away from the training center as soon as possible. He wanted to go back home, where he could feel more secure.
At that moment, Phillip"s phone rang, and he took it out only to find it was a call from Steven.
Shouldn"t he be negotiating with the sponsors in Oakland now? Has he succeeded? Phillip was slightly pleased, and he answered the phone.
"Have you reached an agreement with the sponsor?" asked Phillip.
"No! What a d*mn sponsor, they want you to cut the ribbon for a pizza restaurant, then promised to give you two hundred bucks as appearance fee, among which one hundred dollars are vouchers for their restaurant. d.a.m.n it, who would want to eat pizza in their restaurant! It"s insulting! Well, let"s talk about another topic. Can you find today"s Sport Today around you?" asked Steven.
"Probably? What"s the matter?" asked Phillip.
"Looks like we were betrayed by the AP Training Center!" Steven said gloomily.
Dai Li picked up a copy of Sports Today, and there was a news report about Phillip, one which read, "We specially interviewed the AP Training Center in Los Angeles, and a coach, who didn"t give his name, said Barron Phillip didn"t pay much attention to his daily training, which was the main reason for his bad performance..."
When Dai Li saw this report, an unnatural expression twisted his face.
"How could they say that? Barron has been with me for two years, so I know him. He"s definitely not the guy to be lazy in training! He has no feet, so he needs a pair of prosthetic legs for training. He"s suffered more difficulties and pain than ordinary people, but he persisted! He spares no effort," said Dai Li.
"Don"t you understand? This is just an excuse of the AP Training Center. They want to pa.s.s the buck." Blake made a helpless gesture and added, "The AP Training Center won"t tell the press that they are not as good as we are in terms of training, yet Phillip"s performance is getting worse and worse! They have to find an excuse to put the blame on someone else!"
"But they may destroy Phillip"s future by saying so. This is a lie!" Dai Li said excitedly.
Even if it"s a lie, the AP Training Center wants it to be true! Blake crossed his legs with a poker face, and then said, "You may think it"s despicable behavior, but if you were in the position of the AP Training Center, you might find that the AP Training Center is just trying to minimize their losses. It"s true that it is morally wrong to do so, but it is okay to do so when it comes to business operation. I think if I had faced that situation, I might have chosen to do the same."
"I know, business is business. It is stupid to talk about morality with a businessman," Dai Li said with indignation.
Blake changed the topic and said, "Well, do not feel wronged on Phillip"s behalf. He is an adult, and he should take responsibility for his decision, whether it"s good or terrible. As for you, you are supposed to focus your attention on Kevin Taylor. Has his next opponent been confirmed?"
"Not yet." Dai Li shook his head and added, "Taylor wants to challenge Highfield to get back the WBA"s heavyweight gold belt. But the cunning Highfield has been looking for excuses to refuse Taylor"s challenge."
Blake thought for a few seconds and then said, "If you want to make the challenge happen, you have to start with the WBA. Highfield certainly doesn"t want to lose his gold belt, but the WBA should be happy to see Taylor challenge Highfield. The story between Taylor and Highfield would attract the world"s attention even without much advertising. For the WBA, this challenge is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, so they might be motivated to make it happen."
"Highfield, the WBA just denied your fight with Meo," his agent said regretfully.
"Why? Meo agreed to challenge me two months ago. And we will split the bonus evenly. That will free me from worries about other matches for months to come," Highfield said as he frowned.
"The WBA arranged another opponent for Meo. So it"s impossible for him to fight with you at the same time," his agent replied.
"Use another plan, then. Ask Bruno or Hayes to fight with me. It"s okay to share the bonus evenly with them, too," added Highfield.
The agent shook his head and said, "The two are unavailable to fight with you, too. The newly issued schedule from the WBA shows that Bruno"s next opponent is Hayes. For them, the timetable is too tight. They cannot challenge you."
"d.a.m.n it!" Highfield cursed.
"Highfield, it"s the WBA that is behind all this. They want you to have a fight with Taylor. The story of you and him will draw the attention of the world without any hype. That means several hundred million dollars to the WBA. They will spare no effort in stopping other challengers from fighting you. So, this time, I"m afraid you can"t avoid a fight with Taylor. You must fight him. And I think boxing fans all over the world are looking forward to such a match," said his agent.
"Maybe they want to see Taylor bite my other ear!" Highfield said, pouting his lips. He didn"t want to accept Taylor"s challenge at all. But if he was faced with the WBA, he had no choice.
"Okay, I will have a fight with Taylor. But I have a requirement. The WBA heavyweight gold belt will be his if I lose. Otherwise, both his WBO and IBF Heavyweight Golden Belts will be mine!" Highfield said.
"You are going to bring both the WBO and the IBF to the match, and make it a compet.i.tion to decide the champion of all three leagues!"
Each of the top four boxing leagues in the world had innumerable resources. A match held by three of them together, with all of their resources, would definitely be a global focus. The agent could even foresee appearance fees of ten or twenty million dollars, a match bonus of more than one hundred million dollars, and a large amount of money gained from advertising.
We can make one hundred million dollars by this match if it is held by the three leagues together! The agent became very excited as he thought of the money. It seemed he would get an income of more than ten million dollars as an agent in the future.
In the empty villa, Phillip sat alone beside the pool, staring at the sky in a daze. On the small table next to him, there was a little red wine left in the bottom of a gla.s.s, and next to the gla.s.s was a stack of thick doc.u.ments full of tables and numbers.
Phillip turned to look at the stack of doc.u.ments and his heart settled a lot.
It was the annual report that Phillip"s financial adviser had just sent to him. The figures showed that over the past year, his financial management had a decent return.
"I"ve made quite a lot of money in the past two years!" Phillip took up the gla.s.s and drank it away. He turned his eyes from the swimming pool to the main building of the villa.
The luxury home had cost him three million dollars, and although its facilities were luxurious, it was a little expensive. Houses in Las Angeles were already pricey. The same luxury homes, if not on the West Coast of the United States, would cost half as much.
"Three years ago, I wouldn"t even have been able to pay the property tax on this house!" Phillip recalled his toughest time and suddenly felt a sense of happiness. Compared with the old days when he relied on relief money, he was now living in heaven.
"I lost my legs on the battlefield, and G.o.d compensated me with my athlete"s gift. Now G.o.d probably feels that my compensation is enough, so he has to take it back. From nothing to what I am, I should be satisfied, thank G.o.d!" Phillip put down his gla.s.s and felt a bit tipsy. He took out his phone, opened his Twitter, and typed in the phrase, "I"m going to retire…"