Acrostic Quotes
Fox-Trot-9

12. Frank Bruno
(To Kuyerjudd) 

Boxing used to be about one thing and one thing only—boxing,
Mono-a-mono, you and the guy facing you, where real
Boxers win glory from the fight itself. A visceral experience.
And I know, because I fought the best and was the best,
Beginning with my first professional bout in 1982
When I got the chance to prove myself to the world. 

I'll admit, I was a young baby face at twenty-one,
A skinny but hungry dude wanting to make a name for myself.

Just like George Foreman, Mohammad Ali and Joe Frazier,
Just like all the greats that ever stepped into that ring,
As strong and fast and tough as anyone of them,
Best of the best—that was me when I began my career.

So I did just that, winning matches and taking names for
The first twenty-one matches, a perfect record to
Show potential rivals that I was the real deal,
The warrior of warriors, the next king of the ring.

But something happened to me along the road to fame.
I used my talent in the ring to garner the will of the crowd
Instead of fighting for myself, because it wasn't enough anymore.
And I started to go down hill from there, fighting
For enthusiastic crowds of loyal fans, then for money, then for 
These entrepreneur types that controlled the fights
And got sums of money in the millions for doing it,
A business for the money and the show.

Where did I go wrong? What happened to me?
Winning used to be about winning the fight,
Not taking orders to win or lose a match to make money. What
The hell's going on with me? I'm better than this! Or at least, I was.

Boxing is just show business with blood, man, because
Blood is the liquid of suffering through which
A money-making boss makes his bloody profits
Off of. That's why I threw the match with Mike Tyson and retired, because I
Won't deal in this shit anymore. Real boxing is dead. 

Boxing is just show business with blood.
—Frank Bruno

(To be continued...)

A/N: Frank Bruno was a former WBC Heavyweight Chapion back in 1995, though I'm sure you guys haven't heard of him much; he's one of the more mediocre boxing champions, though he started out incredibly well with a 21-match undefeated streak. He lost the championship to Mike Tyson and retired shorly afterwards, but I still respect him. Sidenote: This is a diagonal acrostic quote; trust me, it was a toughie to write.

Meter: Free verse
Rhyme Scheme: None