King Crush

rish Jimmy Gallagher just wanted to have a little fun at a carnival with his best girl, Ruby, and his bulldog, Steve. He wasn't looking for trouble.

But sometimes trouble comes looking for Jimmy Gallagher.

It's 1955, and Jimmy is a boxer who makes hay in the club smokers and a legit fight when he can. But Ruby, a waitress at Charley's diner, would like Jimmy to give up the fight game for good.

It's all cotton candy and hot dogs at the carnival, until they see a carny pug. That's a journeyman boxer who makes a living fighting all comers. It's not much of a life -- in fact, Jimmy did some time like that himself. But there's something about this boxer that will jolt Jimmy to the core and threaten to disrupt his life for good.

Irish Jimmy Gallagher is a new sensation and an old fashioned hero. "King Crush" is a 6300 word short story in the best tradition of the classic pulp boxing stories. Here is a fighter who is quick with a jab and with a laugh.

But if you cheat him, all bets are off.