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„It's not just about brute strength, it's also about technique, Ice! Put it in your head!"
Jaden and I were on the ring, moving around like panthers. Sweat was pouring out of every pore of my body, while Mike shouted instructions from below like a nervous hen.
"Shut up, old man! I can't concentrate with you yelling all the time," I shouted at him.
"Don't think you can just rely on your strength, kid." Mike said.
I used to enjoy getting on his nerves, but now I'm not in the mood. Jayden was a formidable opponent, and I knew I had to stay focused to avoid losing my edge. As his left hook came at me, I quickly dodged and landed a strong punch to his face. He stumbled back for a moment, but quickly regained his footing and got into a defensive position.
"Yeah, that's it, dammit! Keep going!" Mike yelled.
I landed a series of blows on Jaden's face, breaking through his guard and ending with a powerful uppercut that knocked him down.
"Yeah! That's how it's done, Ice!" Mike bellowed, his voice echoing through the gym like we were in a packed arena instead of just working out in his Vegas space. It was a long way from the cramped, dingy halls we used to train in back in the Bronx.
I lent Jaden a hand as we got out of the ring, and we began taking off our gear. When I was finished, I stepped down and was handed a towel and water bottle by Daniel.
"I'd say the old man's pretty satisfied with your training today," my brother noted, watching as I wiped the sweat from my brow and took a gulp of water.
"You know that old dude could still take you down with a single slap, right?" said Mike as he came over to us with a big smile. "Nah, but for real, you did good today. Just remember to stay focused and don't let your ego get in the way of your skills."
He gave me a pat on the back before turning to Daniel.
"Get in the ring, Draco" he said.
Daniel had already slipped on his gloves and was ducking under the ropes. I watched his movements closely. His inked, athletic body was in peak shape. We were the same height and looked alike, but he had piercing green eyes while mine were a light brown. He always kept his hair cut short while I preferred mine longer.
Ice and Draco, that's what Mike calls us. He gave us our nicknames when he took care of our false identities ten years ago back in the Bronx.
Our legal names were Anthony and Damien now, but we took on Mike's last name, Bryson. He acted as our official adopter from an orphanage we had never set foot in.
However, nobody in our environment called us by those fake names.
Mike gave me the nickname Ice because when I was a kid, I used to play with ice cubes in my hands until they melted. It started as a way to fidget when I was nervous, and eventually became a habit. I would just grab an ice cube from the freezer and hold it until it melted. Daniel got his nickname much later, after he decided to get a huge dragon tattooed on his left arm.
Mike was more than just a dad to us, even though he didn't exactly give us a warm welcome ten years ago. But Jada? She was like a mom to us. That foul-mouthed, pious, and unyielding woman raised us and made us who we are today.
Things weren't easy for us in the Bronx, but we slowly started to make ends meet by lending a hand to Jada at the diner. It wasn't long before I discovered that Mike owned a boxing gym for training fighters. Daniel and I would secretly go to watch the men fight. One day, Mike caught us, but instead of punishing us, he brought us to the gym and introduced us to all the fighters training there.
The crazy thing was, both me and Daniel turned out to be natural born boxers. It was a surprise to all three of us. Mike saw it right away and started giving us one-on-one training. Jada didn't approve at first, but Daniel and I begged her like she was a saint for a whole week. We convinced her that boxing was our calling and that God was on our side. She wasn't too sure, but when Mike praised our potential and showed interest in us, she finally relented.
She agreed, but it was clear she wasn't thrilled about it. What mother wants her sons to fight until they pass out?
But Jada had become our mother figure, and our real mother was buried six feet under. We didn't know much about what happened to her except what we saw on TV. The whole situation was hushed up pretty quickly.
Many times I wondered if whoever killed our mother might have also had us in their sights. But we had left our past behind in the Bronx and headed to Las Vegas - the boxing capital of the world. Mike became not only our father figure but also our coach, and we trained tirelessly. We poured our hearts, sweat, and blood into the sport of boxing.
When I was 17, Mike got me into my first three boxing matches, and I won all of them. It was then that we realized we could make some serious cash. Daniel and I started off fighting in illegal matches, but eventually we moved up to official fights between clubs and started raking in the dough.
By chance, Mike connected with a guy named Jack Colton who was a savvy investor and knew how to help us grow our money.
After some time, Mike asked Jack to become our manager, too, since we needed a reputable person to represent us in the boxing industry.
After a few more years, Colton advised us to start our own boxing club and train young talents. Daniel and I agreed because we didn't want to keep returning to Jada with bruises and bloodied faces. It was time to put on suits and manage the money we had earned through sweat, blood, and many sleepless nights.
And so the money machine worked in our favor, and we, poor white boys raised in the Bronx, New York, by a black man and woman, became very famous and wealthy boxers and entrepreneurs in Las Vegas.
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