“The War of the Century: Kevin Taylor Back to His Peak!”
The latest boxing magazine’s cover was a picture of Taylor holding up his golden belt after he won the match.
“Good picture with a perfect angle from the bottom up. Like Taylor is a king on his throne.” Ayres put down the magazine and turned to Dai Li to ask, “Did you think about what I told you last time?”
“What you said last time?” Li Dai was confused for a moment.
“Finding a full-time manager,” said Ayres.
“You mean that! I’ve thought it over. You’re right. I really need a full-time manager here. In the future, I will expand the training center or open a few branches. I cannot manage it with only myself. ” Dai Li sighed and added, “But there are few suitable candidates for this position. The manager must know both management and sports. So, it might take some time to find a suitable one. I’m not worrying about it.”
“If you want such a manager, I have a candidate for you,” Ayres said.
Dai Li was interested. Ayres was a legendary boxing instructor who knew a lot of people. His recommendation would be better than Steve’s.
Seeing that Dai Li was interested, Ayres then said, “I have a student, whose name is Randy Blake. I do not know if you know him.”
“Your student? A boxer?” Dai Li asked.
“He was a boxer twenty years ago.” Ayres added in nostalgia, “In fact, he was my worst student. Most of my students won golden belts. But Randy-Blake won nothing in his entire career. When I think about it now, I feel pretty embarrassed.”
“Blake likes sports very much. His short legs stopped him from playing American football, and his short arms stopped him from playing basketball. And his near-sightedness limited his development as a baseball player. Finally, he chose to be a boxer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a great talent in boxing. Even I couldn’t teach him to win golden belts.”
“Blake was my assistant coach for a while after his retirement. He wanted to be a boxing coach, which was a common choice for retired boxers. But he is not talented in coaching, so he returned to university to study for a degree in management.”
“Later, he became a sales agent for a brand of protein and healthcare products and did a good job. But he still could not give up sports. Right now he is working as an obscure sports commentator. His advantage is that he knows about many sports programs. Track and field, boxing, basketball, American football, baseball, tennis, and so on. He has many opportunities for sports commentary.”
“Personally, I think Blake is the right man for your training center. He knows about sales and sports. And he knows a lot of people in the field of sports. He is not an excellent athlete or coach, but I think he will become a successful manager.”
“Blake might not ask for a high salary. You know that professional boxers can make a lot of money. The fact that he did not earn any golden belt did not stop him from making big money through professional boxing, so salary is not important to him. What he wants the most is a stage to do something he is interested in, to use his advantages.”
Dai Li nodded. “Sounds like a very good guy. If he has your recommendation, then I’m more than happy to let him try! But let’s be clear; I will weed him out if he is unqualified.”
…
Steve was reading dozens of sports magazines, one by one. Almost every sports magazine had an article about Taylor, especially the boxing magazines.
“Kevin Taylor, 33 years old now. It’s hard to imagine a 33-year-old boxer returning to his peak!” Steve sighed slightly and then opened another magazine.
The magazine had a full page report on Taylor with a different angle than other sports magazines. This article focused on the money Taylor earned from that “War of the Century.”
Taylor was paid $20 million for the match. And that was not surprising. His appearance fee a decade ago had reached that level. The bonus of the game was $100 million. Traditionally, the winner receives 60% of it, and that’s $60 million! And there are other sources of income. It’s a lot of money… D*mn it! I almost became Taylor’s agent not long ago. If I were Taylor’s agent, I would be getting tens of millions of dollars! Not being Taylor’s manager was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.
Steve suddenly felt that he had lost the biggest income in his life. He had been Phillip’s agent for a long time, and had only earned several million dollars. That was less than what Taylor’s agent earned from one of Taylor’s matches.
Steve regretted his decision very much. He hadn’t become Taylor’s agent when he found out about Taylor’s debts of more than twenty million dollars. Steve thought that an old boxing king at the end of his career life could never pay such debts with his limited remaining commercial value. But he hadn’t foreseen that Taylor would come back to the top of the field of boxing to be the super boxing king who could make a billion dollars in a single fight again.
Maybe I still can do something. So far, I haven’t heard that Taylor has found a new agent. I should try again!
…
Dai Li showed Randy Blake around the training center and then they came back to the office.
“What do you think of my business here, Blake?” Dai Li asked as he gave Blake a cup of coffee.
“Thank you.” Blake took the coffee cup and said, “Honestly, I don’t think you’ve done enough marketing. Your training center brought Kevin Taylor back to the top. Taylor is your sharpest weapon, but you have not made good use of the weapon.”
“I had a poster of Taylor on the door, and I had him on the leaflet,” Dai Li explained in a low voice.
“It’s not nearly enough. It’s like being given a sniper rifle and using it as a stick. The rifle will work as a stick if you want it to, but using it as a stick cannot let out its true power,” said Blake.
“Oh, I see. Like an old saying in my country, take a musket to kill a butterfly. That’s what I’m doing here,” said Dai Li.
And Blake added, “Kevin Taylor is known to the world. You need to use his fame as free advertising to let more people know about your training center. That’s not simply advertising with banners and posters. What you need is a series of promotional programs, including media interviews, internet marketing and so on.”
“For example. In terms of media programs, you may have an interview to talk about Taylor’s training after he came back, and how he got back to the top. Such an interview about Taylor will be invaluable marketing for you and your training center. What’s more, you can post some training videos of Taylor online, especially videos of some catchy training programs. And in those videos, you may put some displays with your training center’s name in inconspicuous places in the background. That is a sort of advertising. People watching the videos will also see your training center.”
“And you may…”
Blake went on and on about his ideas. And Dai Li listened carefully and took notes like a student. At that time Dai Li thought Randy-Blake was perfect to be the CEO.
…
“Mr. Taylor, I know you haven’t found a new agent yet. You may choose me if you want,” Steve said and handed a towel to Taylor.
“Steve, thank you for your kindness. To tell you the truth, I don’t want an agent now,” said Taylor.
“Why? You must have an agent. You have now returned to the top. You are now a heavyweight boxing king with the greatest commercial value. I can help you find a lot of top-level endorsements, which could bring you hundreds of millions,” Steve said.
“I’m not going to take any more endorsements. You know, my reputation is not so good. I think advertisers will certainly think twice before asking me to endorse them. My past is not flawless, and sponsors will make requirements that I don’t want to be bound by.”
Taylor wiped the sweat from his head and added, “I just want to make money by boxing. The income of boxers is very high. I can earn tens of millions of dollars for one match. My savings will be enough for the rest of my life if things keep going the way they are.”
Taylor was right. In the opinion of sponsors, he was a man with flaws. Endorsement agreements would surely come with additional requirements. For example, he would be required not to do anything that might harm the brand image of the sponsor. If he violated the terms, he wouldn’t be paid, and he might even be sued by the sponsor for compensation.
Additional requirements of that sort were nothing for well-behaved athletes. But Taylor was unpredictable. It was possible for him to do something stupid someday.
However, Taylor was a sum of walking dollars in Steve’s eyes. Steve would not give up easily. So, he continued, “Taylor, no one hates more money. Your bonus and appearance fees are great, and more than enough for an average person. But who would not want a better life? A better life needs more money. Now you are able to make more money. Why don’t you want it? When you are about to retire in a few years, you will be too old to make money then.”
Taylor shook his head. “I’m very satisfied with my situation now. I am already planning to make some low-risk investments. I know several reputable financial advisers on Wall Street. Giving my money to them can bring me significant income. I was once robbed of almost all my money by James King. So, with all due respect, I don’t trust any agent now.”
“I am not an asshole like James King. I’m a virtuous agent. I’ll only ask for what I deserve. You can ask Phillip if you don’t believe me. I have never stolen his income,” Steve added.
“Forget it. I don’t want to give another part of my income to my agent.” Taylor shook his head firmly.
“Another part? What do you mean?” Steve caught the point.
Taylor smiled. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Coach Li gets twenty percent of the money I make as a training fee. You see, I have lost twenty percent of my income. So, I don’t want to give any more to another agent.”
What? Coach Li gets twenty percent of your income? Steve was surprised. He knew it was tens of millions of dollars without counting.
He asked immediately, “Why does Coach Li get twenty percent of your income?”
“I signed the contract with him during my suspension period,” Taylor said with a simple smile. “I thought he was doing charity and was willing to help a bankrupted former boxer. But now it seems his choice was right. But he deserves it. Without Coach Li, I wouldn’t have reached where I am now. If he wanted it, I would give him more money.”
Taylor showed no complaint, and his words were more like a “thanks.”
Taylor was a smart man. He did not know what Dai Li had done to him, but he knew that he could not have been in his current physical condition without Dai Li. And he knew without Dai Li, “White Devil” Ayres would be coaching Hopkins. Then he would not have had any chance to defeat Hopkins and to get two world-class golden belts.
…
Steve was feeling more and more regretful as he left the training center in his car.
Twenty percent of his income! How much do I get as an agent? Five percent of the game bonus of the athletes, and ten percent of their income from commercial endorsements? My God, Dai Li makes way more money than me! How could such a coach exist? A coach asking for no fixed training fees, but a share of the athlete’s income.
Oh, and Phillip! Besides Taylor, five percent of Phillip’s income goes to Dai Li, too! He’s just a coach. Doesn’t he realize he wants too much?
Steve, at that moment, felt extremely unhappy. Thinking of tens of millions of dollars of income sharing and more money in the future, it seemed that a cake that should have belonged to Steve had been stolen by Dai Li.
I don’t care about Taylor, but the five percent of Phillip’s income is mine. I must get that back. I must renegotiate with Dai Li about the contract that includes the five percent of income sharing! Otherwise… Steve was getting angrier. He stopped the car and got out his mobile phone to make a call.
“Hello? Is this the AP Physical Training Center? My name is Steve, the agent of Barron Phillip, ‘the Blade Warrior.’ Yes! The disabled athlete who lost his legs… His physical training contract is about to expire and he is interested in the AP Physical Training Center… Yes, I think we can meet to discuss that…”