This wasn't really what I was expecting for today but if I used the situation right I could make contact with AJ quicker than expected.AJ and the rest of Wright's men came out of their office to watch. The others in the club noticed and interrupted their training. While we were putting on our gear, the crowd had more than doubled. This was also due to the fact that it was now just before the start of training. By the time I got into the ring with Alex, we had suddenly reached a large number of spectators.

When I looked at all the faces from the ring, I wasn't quite sure if I had made the right decision. After all, the old man had said earlier that Alex would soon be making his professional debut. If I look at my fighting record with my old sparring partner, the whole thing could backfire. The one thing I have to avoid is making a bad first impression on AJ.

"Hey, are you ready? We'll start with a 3-minute round," said Alex and put on his mouthguard.

"All right, here we go," I replied and put on my mouthguard too. It was the first time so many people had watched me fight, but it didn't affect me at all. Benjamin taught me often enough how important it is to stay fully focused from the very first moment. In training you have the opportunity to keep going no matter how many mistakes you make. But that doesn't apply in real life - one move, one punch, one blink at the wrong moment and it's all over.

Me and Alex gave each other a handshake with our boxing gloves and the fight began. Immediately after the start I began with 2 jabs to the face. I was able to close the distance easily and then feinted a head hook before swinging to the body with my right. I turned my supporting leg out and took all the momentum with my hips. There was a loud bang on impact but I didn't land a hit. Alex wasn't affected by the feint and blocked the blow with his elbow, unimpressed. Alex then started his counterattack immediately. A lot of straight punches towards my head hit my guard. There was no time between his punches so I couldn't counterattack. I waited a moment for a gap to counterattack. Suddenly I felt my back touch the ropes of the ring and I realized one thing. Benjamin taught me all kinds of martial arts but we only used them in outdoor combat in the wilderness. In other words, I never fought in such a confined space as this ring. My guard was getting heavier and heavier and I knew I had to get away from the ropes. As the speed of Alex's punches slowed slightly I ducked to the right to avoid his left and worked my way up from the bottom with a chopping combination. Alex was able to block most of the punches but it was enough to push him back slightly and this was my chance to turn out to the left and start hitting as many hands as I could. Alex seemed a bit exhausted from the attack before, apparently he was trying to finish the fight with me as quickly as possible. He didn't have that much strength left and I was able to push him into the corner bit by bit. So far, neither I nor Alex had been hit properly in the fight. But that was also my aim - I deliberately struck a little lighter and slower than I could. The aim was to give him a false sense of security. When I realized that the round was about to end and Alex was just stalling for time to get through the round. I decided to call it a day. I finished my hail of left right attacks and moved down for a liver chop. At least that's what Alex thought before I pulled my left back and finished the fight with an uppercut through his guard. Alex staggered briefly before falling over.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Aleeex are you alright? Get a first aid kit now!" shouted the trainer from before. This shout brought me back to reality and I remembered how many people were actually watching us. There was a lot of cheering and talking and the whole club went into a frenzy. The coaches and other members were all looking at me and talking amongst themselves. They were probably wondering who this boy was.

"All right, boys, there's nothing more to see here. Your training is about to start so go and get changed".

These words put an end to all the commotion and the club fell completely silent. It was not so much the words that were decisive but rather who was saying them, namely AJ. After the crowd around the boxing ring slowly dispersed, Alex was carried into a separate room. When I saw Alex's trainer coming out of the room I went up to him.

"Is he okay?" I asked him.

"He's a bit woozy at the moment but he'll be fine. He just needs to rest for a bit"

"Sorry, I was a bit excessive, it was only meant as sparring"

"Alex hasn't had an opponent for a while, so he put you in a position where the fight became very serious. He also wanted me to tell you something and he hopes to get the chance to fight you again soon," he replied with a small smile.

Of course, I'm sure I can still learn a lot from him," I replied. Alex's trainer then had to do some organizational things for Alex's upcoming professional fight. We said goodbye to each other and I decided to join the other youngsters who had come for training. At least that's what I was going to do when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey kid, do you have a minute?"

I turned around and there he was in front of me, AJ. The plan with the sparring seemed to have worked and I drew his attention to me.

"Yeah, no problem. Can I help you with anything?" I replied.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Yes, I've been hearing that a lot lately. I recently moved here alone from Italy."

"I'm not surprised you hear that. Boys from Brixton don't talk like you and I'm not talking about your accent but rather that they don't speak with as much decorum. You seem to have been brought up well."

"Well, as well as you can be brought up in an orphanage I suppose"

"I understand. I also come from an orphanage but you don't really learn decency there. My name is AJ and I own the club"

"Yeah, I've heard of them. Everyone in the area seems to know and respect you."

"I'm glad to hear that. The reason I approached you was the fight just now. You fought well and could go far. Do you want to go pro?"

"No, I'm doing this more as a hobby. I came to London to study but I don't have the money at the moment. It's hard without parents to give you the money, so I'm trying to find a job here and finance my studies."

" Huh to be honest that comes unexpected. So your goal is to go to university. I can't help you with work at the moment, but I wish you good luck in your search," he said in conclusion and made his way back to his office.

So I've managed to make contact with AJ, but either he doesn't need new people right now or he doesn't trust me yet. But this conversation was a good first step in the right direction, I thought as I went to join the others who were training.