VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Elliot raises the pace slightly, his pendulum rhythm becoming sharper as the small bouncing steps begin to come faster.

His jab now carries considerably more weight behind it, followed by heavier lead hooks as he shifts his weight through each step.

Ryoma parries the jab with his right palm, and simply adjusts his right guard well to catch the following lead hook on his forearm.

Dp. Dug.

But this time, Elliot holds his ground a little longer, throwing several punches at close range.

Holding his ground, Ryoma twists his lead shoulder inward to deflect a right, catches a lead hook on his right forearm, and then uses the same right to parry the next cross.

Dug. Dug. Dp.

The moment Ryoma slips the incoming left, Elliot immediately steps back after that missed punch.

But he does not retreat too far. He settles at mid-range instead, sending two sets of one-two toward Ryoma.

Ryoma doesn’t stay in line for this one, parrying the first jab and slightly changing his angle while slipping the second. The moment Elliot forces the second one-two, Ryoma is already at a new angle, ready to strike back.

Elliot quickly cancels the second cross, parrying Ryoma’s flicking jab, then steps further back before adjusting his angle.

That’s when the difference appears. Instead of maintaining his distance, Ryoma follows Elliot’s retreat almost at the same moment, applying pressure with three fast flicking jabs.

He’s still fighting with the principles of American Philly boxing, but appearing far more aggressive than what Elliot knows of Celeb Mercer.

Even as Elliot blurs the distance with his pendulum steps, Ryoma keeps himself at mid-range with every flicking jab and lead hook rather than throwing from a safe distance.

”He’s getting greedy...”

For once, Elliot sets a trap, subtly inviting Ryoma to keep coming as he lightly parries the left while gradually making a measured retreat.

Then he takes a slightly deeper step in, baiting Ryoma into committing to the cross.

Ryoma bites and sends a right toward Elliot’s head.

Elliot steps back and lightly catches the glove before stepping in again to launch his counter.

But without Elliot realizing it, Ryoma never fully retracts his left after the earlier flicking jabs.

Before he can send his right, Ryoma’s left suddenly snaps upward from beneath Elliot’s right.

It catches Elliot on the right jaw…

Dsh!

Elliot was clearly not seeing it coming from that angle. And the short punch is enough to disrupt his counter timing. When his right finally comes forward, the angle and timing are already compromised.

Ryoma easily slips the punch before sending his own right straight toward Elliot’s face.

Dhuack!

A simultaneous gasp erupts from the spectators as Elliot’s head snaps backward from the impact.

Ryoma seizes the opening, landing two more punches to the body before slipping a lead hook behind Elliot’s guard.

Thud! Thud! Dsh!

When Elliot’s head snaps sideways from the hook, Ryoma immediately resets and steps back, making it clear that he has no intention of letting his ego carry the sparring any further.

Elliot gets enough time to collect himself, and Ryoma even gives him room to rebuild his rhythm.

Ryoma stays reactive and defensive until the bell finally ends the first round.

Ding!

For a moment, a silent tension hangs between them as both men remain where they are, their eyes still locked before eventually retreating to their respective corners.

”Good work, both of you,” Sergei calls out. ”Take a breather. We’ve got another round in a minute.”

Around the ring, restrained murmurs spread among the spectators, with several of them struggling to contain their excitement.

”Bloody hell…”

”That was only the first round.”

”Did you see that counter?”

”Ryoma completely disrupted his rhythm.”

”Elliot nearly had him with that trap, though.”

”Nearly. That’s the problem.”

”Christ, imagine what these two would do if this were a real fight.”

***

As Ryoma reaches his corner, Nakahara greets him with a small, amused smile, leaning against the ropes from outside the ring.

”What was that?” Nakahara asks in Japanese. ”Going easy on your sparring partner? That doesn’t sound like you.”

”I promised this would only be a polite sparring,” Ryoma replies. ”I don’t want him getting hurt and then losing his fight afterwards. It could get complicated if the WBC title ends up back with Celeb Mercer.”

”Of course,” Nakahara says. ”This sparring session itself will probably become news. And if Celeb hears that you bullied Elliot in here, he might get even more frightened and keep avoiding you.”

At the opposite corner, however, the mood is considerably more intense, with Elliot doing his best to contain his irritation while catching his breath. His pride is bruised badly enough that he refuses to turn around, unwilling to let Ryoma enter his line of sight.

”Bloody hell…” he mutters, his voice low but edged with frustration. ”He said no ego, but he’s fighting like he’s putting his belt on the line.”

Sergei scoffs with a teasing smile. ”What are you on about? You’re lucky he pulled his punches just then.”

Elliot’s expression shifts slightly, confusion creeping across his face. From where he stands, that certainly isn’t how it looked.

”What?” Sergei leans closer. ”You think he backed off because you forced him to go defensive?”

Elliot blinks. ”Sergei, what are you saying?”

”Maybe it’s your ego that’s hurt, and you can’t see the situation clearly,” Sergei replies. ”If he wanted to, he could’ve scored a knockdown back there.”

Elliot falls silent, glancing over his shoulder toward the opposite corner for a moment before turning back to Sergei.

”I was expecting him to fight like Celeb Mercer,” he says. ”You see, I asked him personally. I expected him to do what he did before my fight against Renji Kuroiwa. But that pressure… it caught me off guard. That’s clearly not what I expected from Celeb Mercer.”

”You may not know this,” Sergei says. ”But Celeb has a different trainer now. When I went to the States to meet Bowman, I saw Marcus Vane there too.”

”Marcus Vane? The former lightweight champion?”

”Yeah. And he’s got a slightly different philosophy from Celeb’s previous trainer. Marcus Vane hates fighting safe. His philosophy is to dominate an opponent through strength and aggression.”

Sergei pauses, watching Elliot’s expression. ”He won’t change Celeb’s character completely, of course. But at least you won’t be fighting the same Celeb Mercer you fought before.”

Sergei tilts his head slightly, watching Ryoma over Elliot’s shoulder before looking back at him.

”That kid’s sharp,” he says. ”He’s got the eye of a bloody good promoter. I’d bet he already knows about the change in Celeb’s camp. So, instead of getting wound up about it, be grateful. He’s giving you exactly what you need right now. He’s showing you what a more aggressive version of Celeb Mercer might look like.”

***

In the second round, Elliot becomes more cautious in his approach toward Ryoma. He does not slow his pace or resort to fighting safely from a distance; instead, he becomes more focused, taking greater care with his positioning and no longer throwing himself into traps simply to force a counter.

More exchanges begin to take place at mid-range, accompanied by a greater variety of feints and subtle changes in rhythm from both men. The sparring looks increasingly intense despite the lack of heavy or dangerous punches, with neither champion yet producing anything that threatens to bring the session to an early end.

The journalists around the ring exchange quieter looks, their earlier excitement replaced by a more attentive curiosity as the second round unfolds.

”Elliot’s not biting anymore.”

”Neither is Ryoma.”

”Yeah, but Ryoma’s still the one dictating where the exchanges happen.”

”I wouldn’t say dictating. Elliot’s making him work for every opening.”

”Fair enough.”

”Still, neither of them has landed anything that looks fight-ending.”

”Because they know exactly how bad it would look if someone got carried away in a bloody sparring session.”

One man among them, however, remains unusually quiet, watching the sparring without taking notes or attempting to push toward the ropes.

His thin, slightly curly brown hair falls loosely around his forehead, while a small carry bag stays tucked beneath his arm in the casual, almost habitual way more commonly seen from middle-aged women carrying their handbags.

He does not look like someone waiting for an interview. When the sparring finally ends and the other journalists begin gathering around Ryoma and Elliot, he quietly slips away from the gym without attracting attention.

Only after he is inside a taxi and the gym has disappeared behind him does he open the bag. He pulls out a camera and checks the footage for several seconds, his expression gradually tightening as he watches the screen.

A moment later, his phone rings. He answers the call and remains silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.

”Yeah, I recorded their sparring,” he says. ”And you might be surprised by this. He’s not sparring just anyone. He’s sparring with the Chameleon.”

He pauses, his eyes still fixed on the camera screen. ”And that kid is fighting Elliot by deliberately copying Celeb’s style.”