Fight who? Fight monger

 It has been over two years since I visited my favorite barber shop in Glendale. Truth be told I have a hairdresser now and she charges me three times as much as Al the Barber used to, but that’s life; vanity has its price tag. However time stood still as I decided to pop in at Dave’s Barbershop on a lazy summer afternoon. It looked as if I never left. Al the Barber was leathering Big Steve’s mug for a close shave with a straight razor. Dave the Barber was trimming his own beard and ageless Downtown Ronnie Brown was humming the blues:

I make a buck with my raw knuckles

I hurt all over day and night

If I’m too po’ for my baby to chuckle

 Girl! Why do I still have to fight?

Baby!  Tell me why do I still have to fight?

“Look what the cat’s dragged in?” exclaimed Dave the Barber:” I heard that you quit doing stories about boxing and you don’t look like you need a cut. So what the hell are you doing here, boy?”

“Thank you for making me feel right at home,” I smirked:” I didn’t quit boxing, I just took a sabbatical for a personal reason and now I am back and I need some new material.”

“You’ve come to the wrong place,” cried out Downtown Ronnie Brown:” These folk don’t know shit about boxing: Call Uncle Roger (Mayweather) in Las Vegas. He’ll tell you all you need to know.”

“Nice seeing you too, Ronnie,” I replied:” Actually I have a few boxing scribes that want to write for me so I am expanding my blog into an online magazine. I even got a name for it � Fight monger.”

“Fight who? Fight monger! What’s wrong with you boy?” exclaimed Dave the Barber:” I thought you got a formal education. There is no such a word, Fight monger. There is a fishmonger or a warmonger, but no Fight monger. Just take your four eyes and open Merriam Webster’s dictionary; no Fight monger!”

“Forget Webster’s Dictionary,” cut in Al the Barber:” Bunch of stuffy white folk. They got the word �selfie� in there for taking your own pictures, but no Fight monger. I like it. You got to have a little imagination. Fight monger! It has a nice ring to it. It�s you Ronnie a fight lover, a lover of sweet science.”

“Yeah baby,” exclaimed Downtown Ronnie Brown:” I am not a fighter. I am a lover. I am a fight lover. No, man! The way I see it Fight monger is a rat or a ferret trying to penetrate the corrupted walls of boxing game and be all up in it.”

“It only took us half a century to agree on something Ronnie,” said I:” But you are right and hence our slogan- We put the bite in the fight– we like to sink our teeth into the boxing business and see what we can find.”

“Wait a minute,” opined Big Steve as he was inspecting his face after a shave:� If fishmonger is a fish seller and a warmonger is a war promoter then by the same logic fight monger should be selling and promoting the game of boxing.”

“Very good observation, big guy!” I confirmed:� By writing our stories and exposing readers to nuances of the game we will help to promote and sell the sport of boxing to fans. Check it out at http://www.fightmonger.net