Canadian Politics

Unfortunate News

Emma McGale may have been born in Canada and by that mere fact she was ‘Canadian,’ but she still didn’t feel like she was Canadian, despite the fact she had now lived in Toronto for a few years. She still considered herself to be English.  After all, that was where she had lived for the majority of her life.  However Toronto was, if not starting to feel like home, it was at least starting to feel comfortable. But the Canadian identity? She didn’t have that. Canadian accent? Not yet.

Emma entered one of the local restaurants that she, Virani, and Thomas often ate at, given it was nearby to MacVicar’s Gym. It wasn’t the fanciest restaurant in the world, and it’s imposing outward aesthetic of the mental hospital that it had been, the restaurant could seem imposing. But the staff were friendly, the food was good and the prices were reasonable. All around a solid combination.

Assisted by the helpful hostess, Emma made her way to the small private room that Anita had booked for their meeting. The other two participants were already there – Anita Martin, her promoter and manager, and Thomas Nagy, her coach and co-coach of a number of fighters in MacVicar’s gym.

The fighter affectionately known as ‘The Peach’ took the remaining seat at the table. The three shared some pleasantries and ordered their dinner. After the meal it was time for business. Emma wasn’t looking forward to it. By the fact that Anita paid for the dinner, she knew that the news that Anita was about to reveal was not going to be good. The fact that Virani wasn’t here was interesting. Emma wondered why the owner of Cobra promotions had been omitted from this meeting and whether she even knew she was being left out.

“So, we heard from the Canadian Boxing Federation about the Featherweight title today,” said Anita.

“And they’re going to give me the Canadian title and a special bonus?” Emma replied hopefully.

Anita folded her hands in front of her on the table, “No. They’ve ordered a title eliminator between you and Lexi Mills, with the winner taking on Mechelle Gauthier for the Canadian title.”

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Emma let out a long sigh. “They are really making me win TWO fights before I can become Canadian champion? I have the best record in the division. Why aren’t they making Lexi fight Mechelle and have the winner fight me?”

Anita grimaced, “It’s politics.”

Thomas rubbed his forehead, “Can you give us a better explanation than that?”

Anita shrugged, “Sure. First of all, there’s almost certainly a bit of retribution against us for Virani dropping the belt.”

Thomas groaned, “Oh, come on! Virani played nice and wore that Canadian title all over the place. She defended it on a big platform on DAZN. What more could they want?”

“They want fealty,” Anita answered. “These guys are like petty bureaucrats, and now without Virani, there’s no chance of them getting plush VIP seats for a gigantic fight, or other perks. In fairness, having a marketable champion would make it easier for them to sell sponsorships, so there is a real reason there.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Emma said. “I’m way more marketable than someone like Lexi. And the last time Mechelle was on a broadcasted fight, she was laying on the canvas, knocked out by Heather Barker.”

“There’s a more complicated politics than that at play as well,” admitted the veteran promoter. “It’s…Canadian politics.”

Emma looked down in consternation.

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“Spell it out, Anita,” said Thomas impatiently.

“There’s two things. The first is just some classic xenophopia. You’re not from here. You may box under a Canadian license, but you speak with a funny accent. They aren’t going to hate it if you are champion, but they aren’t going to be inclined to give you any favours either. The second, is the most boring kind of politics. Canadian politics,” said Anita. “The last champion was from Ontario, and that means preference has to be given to the fighter from Quebec, aka Mechelle.”

Emma took a moment to parse that. She didn’t exactly blame the Canadian federation for favouring homegrown fighters. It rankled, but she understood it. The second part she did not understand at all. “Can you explain to me, an Englishwoman, why that is?”

“Can I distill hundreds of years of Canadian history and politics for easy consumption?” laughed Anita. “Sure, I’ll give it a shot.” Anita took a drink of water, “The best way I can say it is…basically, French-Canada thinks its special. If things don’t go their way its discrimination against French-Canadians, so they exert a lot of influence on things like these. And the reason that the Federation wants either of you to fight Mechelle is so they can market an Ontario vs. Quebec showdown. A battle of the two solitudes.”

“Two solitudes?” Asked Emma.

“I’ll get you a history book,” laughed Anita. “Basically Toronto vs. Montreal. The longest rivalry in Canadian history.  Predates the founding of the country.  But, I think we have to deal with the reality as it exists. I’ve spoken to Lexi Mills’ people and I think it’ll be easy to get a match made. We’ll do it in a small show here, where you can be the co-main event.”

Sizing up the Competition

Emma supposed there was no point in getting upset over what had already been decided. She turned her attention to Thomas, “You saw Lexi up close. What do you think?”

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Thomas rubbed the back of his head, “Well, she’s one dimensional, but she’s pretty good at that one dimension. She’s a pure boxer. Not much pop in those gloves, but she stunned Virani a time or two. If I’m her, I’m thinking about jabbing my way to a boring victory. You’re bigger, more powerful, but Lexi moves well, so it won’t be easy to just punch your way to victory.”

“Lexi’s not durable though,” pointed out Emma. “Virani landed only a few power shots, but each one that landed really seemed to hurt her.” Emma turned her attention to Anita, “We should make sure we get judges that prefer power punches and a referee with a quick trigger finger on stoppages.”

Anita nodded and took out her phone to make a note. Emma leaned back in her chair and thought about Lexi Mills. She had seen Virani fight Lexi, and she had scouted Lexi in preparation for that fight. She was, as Thomas pointed out, one dimensional. If she couldn’t beat Lexi, a girl she would probably outweigh by 7-10 pounds at fight night, she didn’t deserve to be champion.

Emma, her brain working overtime, stood from the table, trying to gather her thoughts.

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“What do we think about Mechelle,” Emma asked.

Thomas shrugged, “I trained her a bit, but she left a few years ago to go back to Montreal. Honestly, she is your doppelganger. She’s not gifted athletically, but she gets the most out of her talent. Her biggest weakness is she doesn’t have a good chin, but her strength is she has great coaching and she knows how to execute gameplans.”

“So she’s me.”

Thomas nodded, “Yes. You’re a big bigger, maybe. But you are mirror images of each other.”

Emma blew out a long breath, “So I have two win two fights in a row, neither of which I’m going to be much of a favourite in, to win the Canadian title. This sucks.”

Thomas shook his head in disagreement, “You’re the best non-Virani Featherweight in Canada. This will just give you the stage to prove it.”

The beautiful sentiment from her coach made Emma feel something deep inside. Tears welled in her eyes for a moment and she turned away to give her a moment to push them away. When she turned back around, Thomas was standing. Emma held her arms out and Thomas accepted the embrace.

“You’ll be champion if you believe you can be champion, Emma,” he said.

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He released the hug, appraised her for a moment and then sat back down.

Emma smiled. “Alright. Let’s get started.”

Emma McGale
Emma McGale
A self admitted boxing nerd and friend of Virani. Especially powerful and dangerous working from in close Super Featherweight contender.