The Last Fight
An aging, on his way-out boxer bets everything on one last fight.
“Never mistake motion for action.” - Ernest Hemingway
Given the high stakes both share, Life and Boxing have more parallels than one might think.
Among them, the need to commit when it counts. Dancing in the ring can look fun from a distance, but one can’t stay in there forever. Eventually, we’ve all got to take that risk and throw a punch.
In James Austin McCormick’s drama with a smart SF twist, we meet Carl. Carl’s an old school boxer with cybernetic enhancements. Ones which may “up” his game a little, but ultimately lead to more injuries. And ever more expensive repairs.
At this stage in his career, Carl’s body is so bruised and battered it’s in desperate need of retirement… much more than another recalibration or Ben Gay rub down.
The script opens in a locker room as older brother Rennie carefully tapes Carl’s bloodied knuckles – while talking up the next (and hopefully last) opponent Carl will ever face: a boxer named Lucky Lagowski.
Picked by Rennie, “Lucky’s” an easy mark. Allegedly. All three of his last fights were won on technicalities. One KO Lagowski boasts of was actually sealed by the stiletto heel of his opponent’s ex-girlfriend. Now, there’s a prize to write home about!
Financially on the ropes, Rennie’s bet everything on Carl cleaning Lucky’s clock. Do that, he tells his punch drunk sibling, and they can all retire… maybe even purchase a tropical island to call their own.
Carl reluctantly agrees. Soon enough, the battle’s on!! As riveting as any Rocky head to head, this fight reveals to have more twists than Carl’s previously fractured nose. Will Carl win this one – in life, and in the ring? Or will Lucky Lagowski tragically live up to his name?
Read The Last Fight, and enjoy the spectacle - every swing. If you pick this script as your next project, it’s sure to go the distance, as well!
“I made a lot of mistakes out of the ring, but I never made any in it.”
- Jack Johnson, “The Galveston Giant”