Page 2 of Split Decision

Why Unsanctioned Boxing Matches Are Illegal

I stare at it for a second before I pick it up. I don’t need to read the article to know what it’s about. It’s a targeted jab at me… about my past fights, now that my name is becoming better known. Seems the puppeteers are using every piece of leverage against me they can find, and everyone in the media loves a juicy exclusive.

If they can use my past underground, unsanctioned fights to block my sanctioned rise, they’ll destroy me on the six o’clock news and sleep like a baby later. It doesn’t matter how long ago those fights were. They won’t care that I was only trying to gain some street cred, not understanding how the ranking system actually worked at the time. No one will care how long ago that era of my life was. The “crucify him” crowd will be hard at work.

The quiet is officially over, and a new fight—one outside the ring—hasjust begun.

ANDI

The phone vibrates on Luke’s nightstand, and I groan slightly in frustration. Today is his only day off from strenuous training, the day for his body to recover and prevent over-training. The one day we didn’t have to be up before dawn to hit the road for a long-distance run followed by intense repetitions of sprints that fatigue his muscles beyond exhaustion.

He doesn’t move at first. He’s warm beside me. One arm lies heavy across my waist. His breathing is deep and even in blissful sleep. At first, I decide to ignore it. He needs a rest day and his sleep to help his body repair itself after his grueling workouts. Luke still hasn’t stirred, and whoever it is can wait until we’re both ready to rise and shine.

Then it vibrates again.

And again.

Before I even open my eyes, my chest constricts with that familiar sensation of tension and anxiety. It’s from pure instinct. The kind that forms in you young, when you learn the hard way that calm mornings don’t stay quiet. When you’re waiting for the next shoe to drop and the next sucker punch to land from out of nowhere.

Luke rolls onto his back and grabs his phone, squinting at the screen as he forces his heavy eyes to focus on the words. I watch his expression change, and my stomach drops. The pressure in my chest becomes a vice, squeezing the breath out of me. Whatever he sees, I already know it’s about to change our world.

Sleep drains out of him in a single second. He sits straight up in bed. His jaw locks, the muscles jumping from the tautness. His shoulders go rigid as he inhales a deep breath.

“What is it?” I ask, already sitting up and waiting for the news.

He doesn’t answer right away. Then he turns the screen toward me, knowing I’ll want to see it for myself, anyway.

Georgia State Athletic Commission Announces Review of Luke Woods’ Boxing License

The words feel unreal—clinically sterilized and carefully neutral, like an administrative memo meant to pass without resistance. Harmless on the surface, but hiding what’s in the dark depths below it. And that’s what scares me most—how easily this kind of language slips past your defenses before you realize what it’s already decided for you.

My phone lights up at the same time.

Morgan Youth Outreach—Donation Structure Flagged for Inquiry

I stare at the headline. The inquiry isn’t centered on me personally, but it might as well have my name listed in flashing lights. The distinction feels meaningless. The room seems to contract around it. The walls are inching closer, and the air is thinning as if my body already understands what my mind is still catching up to. I’ve seen this tactic before—not with the Commission or the Youth Outreach, but the structure of the attack. The way it skirts direct accusation while still placing you squarely in the frame. Close enough to contaminate. Close enough to make everyone nervous. I’m not named, but the implication is equally damning.

I’m just close enough that denial becomes irrelevant… and I’ve been here before. The language sounds neutral while effectively positioning me as a suspect in everyone’s mind.

The campaign starts as psychological warfare. If we don’t bend or break under the initial public scrutiny, the collective “they” will tighten the screws and up the ante. Jackson and Delia ruined so many people with the same approach when I lived in their house. I was too young to understand what they were doing or recognize the pattern at the time, but their tactics are clear to me now.

My heart breaks knowing what Luke’s about to face because whoever is pulling the strings finally found a way in. If I can’t be hurt directly, the default setting is to annihilate everything I love—Luke, his career, the youth center—anything that results in leverage against me.

Now that their secrets are exposed, the fallout will be colossal.

“Procedural review,” Luke mutters. “That’s what they’re calling it.”

I want to console him. I want to give him the words that will soothe his frustration and quiet his fears. He knows he’s done nothing wrong, but he also saw what they did to Shane. How the lies that were carelessly flung around about him nearly cost him his run for the title fight. The scandal broke his concentration and focus before the most important fight of his life. A boxer’s mental status is equally important as his physical condition. A fighter should never step into the ring if his mind is on anything but the opponent across from him.

When I pick up my phone, I check my email first since I already know what the news headlines will show. I can’t say I’m surprised when I find a formal request from the bank. They’re asking for more documentation on the youth center's financials. They want to see all the fund disbursement breakdowns. The last line of the email includes trust oversight language to make it sound asthough they’re only being helpful, looking out for the financial integrity of the youth center.

The ultimate oxymoron: a standard procedure audit at the same time as a regulatory review.

Everything is “standard.”

But everything is tightening.

Luke throws the covers back and stands, immediately pacing the floor beside the bed. He runs a hand through his hair, thinking through all the angles, opponents, and openings our enemies have to attack us. He fights in patterns. He always has. But he’s used to fair fights, referees, and trustworthy scorekeepers.