“It’s not looking good.” Carl told him flatly.
“How so?” Even though Jasper had been losing fights, he still got paid for competing; he was just missing out on bonuses given to the victor. But surely those losses weren’t enough to affect his financial situation?
“I had Event Sports on the phone this morning.”
“Okay.”
Event Sports were Jasper’s biggest sponsor. They’d supported both him and his career ever since his first big win. The money from the sponsorship deal had bought him his apartment and two of his fancy cars.
“Jasper,” Carl smoothed a hand nervously across his temple.
“What? Just spit it out.”
“They’re not looking to renew your contract.”
Jasper slumped down on to a nearby stool feeling as though he’d just been shot in the chest.
“Are you…are you serious?” Jasper clung to the counter top beside him to prevent him from crashing to the ground with shock. Jasper Duboix was the face of Event Sports. How could they not renew his contract?
“I’m afraid so,” Carl sighed. “They said they’re looking to go in a new direction with the brand this year.”
“That’s bullshit!” Jasper raged.
“I know,” Carl sympathized, nodding. “The problem is that now we’ve lost Event Sports, others will follow, like a domino effect. You risk losing Power Quench and Protake.”
“I can’t lose my sponsors,” Jasper was holding his head in his hands. The money from competing alone wasn’t enough to even cover his mortgage. He replied on the income from his numerous sponsorship deals. To lose them now wasn’t even worth thinking about.
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Carl’s gaze had drifted to the tiled floor.
“It’s because I’ve been losing, isn’t it?” Betrayal burned through Jasper as he asked the question. How could these companies be so fickle? To stand by him while he was on top but the second he takes a tumble to cut him loose, it was so cruel!
“Probably.” Carl didn’t sugar coat his response.
“Shit,” Jasper groaned. “I just…I don’t even get why I’m losing. I’m killing myself at the gym every day.”
“I know.”
“Carl, what do I do?” Jasper felt like the naïve teenager he’d once been, feeling lost in the world of professional sports. This was supposed to be his arena, where he was champion, but all too quickly he was losing his grip on everything. His success was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.
“We prove them wrong,” Carl told Jasper confidently.
“How do we do that?”
“By winning.”
Jasper’s shoulders sank. He’d been desperately trying to win, but for some reason he just wasn’t up to it anymore.
“If you win, you show Event Sports how wrong they were to replace you,” Carl insisted, his voice rising as he started to get fired up by his own words. “We have to reclaim your champion status!” “And you can do this, Jasper! You’re the guy who came up from nothing; you’re definitely capable of being able to win back what was once yours.”
“Yeah!” Jasper clapped his hands together, Carl’s enthusiasm was contagious. And he was right – Jasper had built himself up from nothing, and he could do the same again. He was a born fighter; it was in his blood. He was just going through a tough patch, everyone did. He’d come out the other side of it, of course he would, he was Jasper Duboix championship fighter.
“And in the meantime,” Carl’s tone became more serious, “I suggest easing off on your spending for a while. At least until things are more balanced and we can be certain that we won’t lose any more sponsors.”
Jasper nodded. He was still reeling from the news about Event Sports, but he knew better than to dwell on it. Negative thoughts would only bring him down which was the last thing he needed when training. Before a fight mental preparation was equally important as all the physical input.
“A week from Friday I’ve booked you in for another fight. That gives you almost two weeks to train. You’ve got this, Jasper. You can do it.”
Jasper was almost humbled by his agent’s confidence in him.
“Thanks, Carl.”
“You’re Jasper Duboix,” Carl came over and slapped him on the back. “You’re a born champion – don’t you forget that.”
Chapter 75
Jasper bounced on his feet as he moved around the ring, pausing only to deliver strong punches in quick succession.