Bang, bang, bang~
In a training room in the underground city, Richard swung his fists, continuously punching the sandbag. Straight punches, jabs, hooks, and uppercuts, one after another.
After training for over four hours, his sweat-soaked shirt dried and got wet again, forming a layer of white dust.
On the table, four of the eight water bottles were already empty. Even in the cool underground room, the air's humidity was much lower than elsewhere, requiring constant hydration.
After a while, his mouth was dry and parched, his nostrils felt like they were filled with sand, and a layer of dry crust formed on his forehead. He wiped it with the back of his hand, and a layer of powdery dust fell, landing on his lips with a salty, bitter taste.
Exhaling, he picked up a water bottle and drank half of it. The bottle contained lemon water, slightly sour, the best for quenching thirst.
Buzz, buzz~
His phone vibrated on the table, showing a missed call notification. Andy had called twice around eleven.
Richard looked at it but didn't call back immediately. After resting for a while, he wrapped his hands again and continued his boxing training.
Recently, his busy filming schedule had reduced his training time to two hours a day, which felt odd to him, like knowing others were working hard while he was slacking off. It felt terrible, so he planned to train for several more hours during the break to make up for it.
He trained for over four hours in the morning, then napped in a chair for nearly an hour at noon, and continued with three hours of weight training, speed training, and footwork training in the afternoon.
By around four in the afternoon, he was exhausted and left the training room.
The training room was in an empty house in the underground city. Since there were few permanent residents, there were many empty houses. He and Mike rented one and turned it into a training room, adding some basic equipment. Though the environment was tough and dry, he found the training quite effective.
After a day's practice, his skills improved significantly. He brushed off the dust from his clothes and walked straight into the largest hotel in the underground city.
This hotel was famous for its meat dishes, featuring Australian specialties like lobsters, emperor crabs, white oysters, kangaroo meat, and crocodile meat.
During his twenty-plus days with the film crew, Richard rarely ate the boxed meals provided. Most of the time, he feasted at this hotel, consuming four or five pounds of meat per meal, with his food expenses exceeding $30,000.
Today, he ordered two lobsters, three chilled white oysters, two pounds of crocodile meat, and a kangaroo tail.
It was said that white oysters could nourish yin and strengthen yang, enhancing health.
Kangaroo meat could regulate male hormone secretion and promote male organ development, with health benefits.
Crocodile meat had even better effects, said to invigorate blood and strengthen bones, and support kidney health.
These three seemed to be the standard diet for a boxer.
Richard had planned to regularly try these meats before coming.
After more than twenty days of testing, the effects of these meats weren't as legendary as rumored but were still better than other meats.
Despite constant training and filming, he gained four pounds and had a minor nosebleed once.
While waiting for the food, Richard ordered a glass of Australian Shiraz wine and called Andy on his phone.
Coober Pedy's underground city was seven hours ahead of Los Angeles. Though it was already dark there, Andy wasn't asleep. He was overseeing the new bar, which had just opened.
Richard got straight to business.
Recently, Roy Jones accepted his plan to fight IBF light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver for the gold belt. Their match was scheduled for mid-October.
Due to their match, Richard's fight was rescheduled, indefinitely postponing his matches against Antonio and Richard Hall.
If Roy Jones won, Richard would have a unification bout with him for the title of champion of the four major organizations. If not, Richard would have to face the two champions himself.
Richard hoped Roy Jones would win.
With the world champion matches postponed, his fights with the international champions were brought forward. Andy called to inform him of the matches.
His fight with British champion Clinton Woods was scheduled for October 31, the day before Halloween, at London's Wembley Arena.
"How are the prize money shares divided?" Richard asked about the key issue. Previously, in domestic matches, the prize money mainly consisted of three parts: appearance fee, ticket share, and PPV share.
Pay-Per-View was the main revenue source, where both fighters only got the base prize if the PPV sales were below 200,000 units.
For PPV users between 200,000 and 400,000, each unit added $1 in earnings.
Between 400,000 and 600,000, each unit added $2.
Above 600,000, each unit added more than $2.5.
But this share wasn't fixed and varied based on the fighters' popularity.
For example, in his first fight with Roy Jones, the base prize was $1 million with a 2:8 PPV split, with Roy Jones getting the bigger share due to his fame.
In their second fight, the base prize was $5 million, and the PPV split was 5:5, shared equally.
In the next fight, Richard would get the larger share.
This was the prize share situation in domestic matches.
For the UK match, the situation was different.
The base prize was $2 million, with a 6:4 PPV split for the UK, giving the opponent the larger share, and an 8:2 split for the US broadcast, with Richard getting the larger share.
Roughly calculated, if he won, the earnings from this match would be similar to his last fight against Dell Valle, around $3-4 million. After the management company's cut, it would be about $3 million, still far from the million-dollar mark.
"Richard, how long will the filming take?" Andy asked.
"Around a month. How's the bar business?"
The food arrived, and Richard asked while eating.
"Not bad. Paul invited O'Neal for a friendly match two days ago, causing a sensation. If you compete a few times after you return, it'll be even better."
"No problem!"
Richard laughed. Having a bar in Los Angeles gave him a new place to socialize and relax. Competing in the ring was just like sparring with Paul, no big deal.
After chatting a bit, Richard hung up and focused on his meal. The white oysters, with their sweet and sour lemon flavor, were tender and delicious, eaten in one bite each.
The crocodile meat was smooth and tender, like a cross between chicken and rabbit meat. As for the kangaroo meat, due to the overpopulation of kangaroos in Australia, which often damaged crops, kangaroo meat had become a common dish, priced similar to beef.
Kangaroo meat was slightly coarser than beef, with a strong gamey taste. Only the tail meat was good, full of muscle, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and chili, making it a gourmet dish.
After half an hour, the food on the table was completely eaten.
Back at the hotel, Richard weighed himself, reaching 190 pounds.
The upper limit for a light heavyweight boxer is 175 pounds. Exceeding that would disqualify him from matches, making weight loss a minor concern.
Bang, bang, bang~
In the hotel, Richard was soaking in the bath when there was a knock on the door outside.
——
(End of this chapter)