“I think you should train a bit more; your opponent is a formidable tiger.” Daren is one of the best coaches in Fierce Arena, a battle field where boxers display the best of their talents. The platform has been known for centuries. It is a world on its own where some talented boxers make a fortune, some make a living, and others sadly watch their careers come to an end. Several newbies have emerged champions against some oldies, and vice versa.
Just like every other sport, boxing matches in this world are unpredictable. This is why Daren kept advising Stone, his boxer. “You know how we do it, coach. I always knock them out.” Stone’s confidence is good, but overconfidence could get him to the end of his career. As Daren ruminated on these, he remembered the days when he was also a boxer. “How time flies,” he said to himself.
Mike is one of the best boxers in Fierce Arena, with a total of 30 knockouts, 10 wins by judges discretion, and 5 losses. He stands tall as a worthy opponent against Stone. Although Stone’s stats were better, this was the reason for his confidence.
“I’ve knocked 40 people off this ring, and I’ve got 18 wins and only lost in 3 matches. How can someone like Mike stand against me, Daren?” As Stone boasted and kept exuding confidence, Daren kept getting scared about his confidence. Like a mother training her hen how to kill a scorpion, Daren knew he had to show Stone the dangerous aspect of the upcoming fight.
“Have you seen any of Mike’s fights?” As Daren threw the question at Stone, like a sudden knock bringing him to his senses, Stone realized he didn’t even know the fighting style of his opponent.
After watching a video of one of Mike’s knockouts, Stone decided to increase his training sessions. “He needs to see more of these videos,” Daren said to himself. As much as he didn’t want Stone to be afraid of his opponent, he wasn’t going to let him relent either.
Aside from the personalities of the boxers, their coaches have a long, unforgotten history, which made the match quite an interesting sport to look forward to. Like a scar in the flesh, everyone expects the past sentiments to affect the upcoming match. Daren and Mike’s coach, whose name is Yusuf, had a little misunderstanding before they both retired and both became coaches.
It was Yusuf’s final boxing match, and he had an unbroken streak of wins. Although it wasn’t Daren’s final match, Daren wasn’t going to let him retire with such a title, so he denied him the dignity and won the match. Yusuf had always tried to find a way to get revenge, and all the boxing fans at Fierce Arena know this is going to be the time.
On this fateful day at Fierce Arena, the whole place was filled to the brim, as this is a fight of the century, a clash between legends, the boxers on the one side, and the coaches’ sentiments on the other. The crowds cheered as the announcer stepped into the ring.
“The exciting day we have all been waiting for is finally here! Let’s make some noise as we welcome the brutal, formidable, and destructive Mike the dead switch!” Like a choir responding to their conductor, the crowd gave a loud cheer in response to the announcer’s statements.
After the crowd’s ovation subsided, the announcer continued, “To the other corner of the ring, please make welcome the challenger with the highest knockouts, the uncrushable Stone!”
With the help of Daren, Stone was well prepared for the match. However, he was still a bit afraid, as he was sure his opponent would have done the same or even more. He could see the determination in Mike’s eyes, and even his coach was looking so fierce and determined to bring home the win.
All that restored Stone’s confidence was Daren’s unflinching calmness. He could see that surety in Daren’s eyes, like he knew something his opponents didn't. Like Daren could hear Stone’s thoughts, he went closer to him and said, "Go show them that secret ingredient you’ve got, Champ!”
The bell was rung, and the first round kicked off, with Stone taking a few punches more than he could return. Mike was moving so fast that Stone could only see his shadows and could feel the heavy punches landing on his body. He was lucky enough to dodge a few shots launched at his head.
"Oh, you’re making this really easy for me," Mike taunted. Just then, Stone launched his left jab at Mike, and it caught his left shoulder, which ignited a lot of cheers from the crowd. “I’m just getting started,” Stone said to himself. As Stone was about to launch a right uppercut at Mike, two quick punches landed on him, and he had to look around to be sure it was only him and his opponent that were having the fight —Mike was so fast!
After the third round, Daren stepped in to have a word with Stone, seeing that Mike had the upper hand. He whispered something into Stone’s ears and left the stage. Like a magical spell meant to renew strength, Daren’s whisper gave Stone a lot of confidence, which was written all over his countenance. Mike was so worried about the renewed confidence on Stone’s face.
It’s the fourth round already, and even the experienced fighters he had defeated never made it to the fourth. He got angry and started throwing deadly punches at his opponent, and this gradually wore Stone down, but this was not enough to get him out of the fight.
It’s the eighth round, and everyone in the arena was already on their feet, watching the fight with rapt attention and wondering where it'd end. Like a deadly fight between lions, the fight was getting intense.
Just as the eighth round was about to be over, Mike, with all his might, threw a deadly punch at Stone. It was one of his signature moves, but it backfired. In between his gloves, he felt a deadly pain, just like a pin piercing his hands and wrist—his bone got dislocated!
Before he could recover from the shock, Stone landed a finishing uppercut on Mike’s head, and that was the end of the game. As the crowds cheered, Stone ran to his coach and screamed, “It worked!”
Daren had earlier told Stone to watch out for Mike’s signature move, and once he’s able to perfectly dodge it, he shouldn’t lose the opportunity because that was how he won the fight against Yusuf, Mike’s coach. Everyone stood in awe as history once again repeated itself.
