Empire of Shadows

The referee once again warned this “Mr. Ninth.” “If you say these things again, I will directly rule a loss.”

Mr. Ninth made a zipping motion across his mouth, and then the match continued.

The two did not make contact again until the end of the round.

Mr. Ninth returned to his corner and sat on the stool, looking very relaxed. His coach, while handing him water and having someone fan him, asked, “How is it? Any pressure?”

Mr. Ninth had a wild smile on his face. “Didn’t you see?”

“I almost knocked him out just now!”

“This is a rookie. There’s no problem winning.”

As he spoke, a smile couldn’t help but appear on his face. An appearance fee of 350,000.

In fact, his normal appearance fee was only between 100,000 and 200,000, and very few people would give 200,000. 150,000 was a relatively normal price.

His agent had heard that this “King Kong’s” team was very eager for him to quickly improve his ranking, and the other boxers were not willing to fight a rookie, so he had seized the opportunity and had extorted a large sum.350,000, and then let the other party see the cruelty of the boxing world. His own value could also rise a little. It was pretty good!

In any sports event, there is no shortage of this kind of person. They enter the industry with their talent, but their goal is not a higher record, but to make money.

The coach was very satisfied with Mr. Ninth’s current state. He helped the guy rub his muscles. “Then put in a little more effort and knock him out directly. Don’t drag it out!”

“You are older than him. His stamina is better than yours, and his recovery speed is faster than yours. Don’t drag yourself into an unfavorable environment, understand?”

Mr. Ninth nodded. “I know what to do. I will let him know what he is still lacking.”

He suddenly seemed to have felt something and looked across. He saw Ethan staring at him fiercely. A brilliant smile appeared on his face.

He made a knocking-out motion, as if he were telling Ethan what he was going to do in this round.

On the other side, Ethan’s coach was also checking his injuries, his face a little worried. Maybe it was still too fast.

After training for more than a year, he had started to fight with a well-known boxer in the light heavyweight division. Even if Ethan’s talent was extraordinary, it seemed a bit too fast.

He blocked Ethan’s gaze towards the other side. “Don’t be affected by factors outside the match. Pay attention to his small movements. If necessary, pull away or just clinch, and don’t give him a chance to land a heavy punch.”

“Drag the time out. The longer it is, the higher your chances of winning!”

This was a problem that almost all boxers over the age of thirty faced. The speed of their stamina recovery would be much slower than when they were young.

This boxing match had eleven rounds. It might seem that the total time was not much, but the consumption of stamina was actually very astonishing.

Just as people watching a runner think that they don’t use much strength, many people also think that throwing a punch doesn’t require much strength. Only the person who is really throwing a punch knows how terrible the consumption of stamina is in this kind of high-intensity battle.

Ethan’s gaze shifted back to his coach. “His punches are only so-so.”

The coach was stunned for a moment. Ethan continued, “I can take his punches, but he definitely can’t take mine.”

“Don’t joke!” The coach came back to his senses and lowered his voice. “You have an advantage…”

Ethan didn’t listen to him. “If I can’t defeat him when he’s at his strongest, why should I challenge him?”

“I can wait until he’s too old to throw a punch and then fight him. I’m sure to win!”

“I am a boxer. What I want to challenge is always someone stronger than me, not weaker.”

“I want to knock him out when he’s full of stamina!”

The coach still wanted to say something, but Ethan pushed him aside and stood up again.

The coach could only return to the side of the ring helplessly and watch Ethan walk to the middle of the ring.

At the referee’s signal, the match began again.

The audience, who had been resting for a while, became restless again. They were holding their betting slips and waving their arms, shouting loudly. The atmosphere of the entire stadium was extremely intense!

Just by being in it, you could feel every cell in your body trembling with excitement!

Lance lit another cigarette. “What’s the situation with Ethan’s opponent?”

Elvin briefly introduced, “A boxer signed by a management company. It is said that this management company has a gangster background. Besides the fact that his fighting style is a bit dirty, I haven’t heard any other rumors.”

He complained a little, “This is the only one in the top ten who is willing to fight for money that we could find. The others are not interested in Ethan.”

Only a evenly matched battle was what they were willing to fight. If they won, it was naturally worth being happy about. If they lost, it would not be a shame.

But if you lose to a rookie, then you’ve really lost face.

Money can be earned at any time. If you lose a match like this, it is very easy to lose your supporters.

For a public figure-like athlete, if he disappoints his supporters, then his commercial value will be greatly reduced.

So to spend 350,000 to find such a guy was also a matter of no choice.

Lance did not speak anymore and continued to watch the match. The atmosphere at the scene was getting more and more heated.

Speaking of which, there was a joke.

A group of sports enthusiasts were chatting together. They were talking about their favorite sports. As they chatted, they came to the question of the cost-effectiveness of tickets.

The first to speak were the golf enthusiasts. They pointed at the sky with an arrogant air. “One of our tickets can be watched for half a day!”

The others all nodded. Then it was the baseball enthusiasts. “We are about the same. A game can be played for three hours.”

The football enthusiasts couldn’t help but interject, “Actually, football is not bad either. If you count the halftime break, it’s more than an hour and a half.”

Then it was the basketball enthusiasts. “We are also okay. It’s an hour.”

Then they looked at the last boxing enthusiast. The boxing enthusiast was silent for a moment.

The others all asked him, “And you?”

“How long is a boxing match?”

He did not speak, but his face was red. After a short while, he said, “It’s over.”

The price of a boxing ticket is not cheap, but the match sometimes may not last for five minutes. Sometimes it may be just a few dozen seconds. A single complete knockdown can kill the match.

However, even though a boxing ticket is the least cost-effective ticket, people are still obsessed with it, obsessed with the moment when a boxing glove hits someone’s face and deforms it!

All the accumulation is for that moment of an adrenaline explosion!

Ethan and his Mr. Ninth were now like adrenaline pumps, preparing for the upcoming explosion!

Mr. Ninth was still talking trash. The referee turned a blind eye to this. After all, Mr. Ninth was the ninth-ranked boxer in the light heavyweight division.

And he had also signed with a famous management company with a gangster background. He was not a loner.

The referee could warn him many times, but he didn’t dare to really rule a loss or have him leave the competition venue. That would cause him trouble.

He could only constantly warn, to have Mr. Ninth not talk so much nonsense, but he was always talking.

It was just that this time, seeing that the third round was already more than half over, Mr. Ninth realized that there was a high probability that he could not take down Ethan in this round. The dirty words in his mouth became even dirtier.

Seeing that there were only seven or eight seconds left before the end of the round, and the referee was already starting to count down to end this round, Ethan seemed to have lowered his guard in advance.

“My God, he has exposed a fatal flaw!” the commentator’s mouth was like it was on fire, speaking at a flying speed.

But no matter how fast, it was not as fast as Mr. Ninth’s hook.

He looked at Ethan in pleasant surprise. This one punch would be enough to knock him down!

A light heavyweight battle, a full hit could definitely kill the match.

But he did not see any fear or panic on Ethan’s face. On the contrary, he saw the firmness and perseverance in his eyes.

He suddenly, with his own face, met Mr. Ninth’s fist, and at the same time, an uppercut went to his unprotected side. In the disbelieving eyes of countless people, in the last three seconds of the third round, the two were knocked down at the same time!

The entire competition venue, after a moment of silence, all stood up and shouted wildly!

They loved this scene!

The two strong men, like iron towers, fell heavily on the ring. The referee had never encountered such a situation before. He quickly checked the condition of the two boxers, and then began to count.

If they could not stand up before the count was over, then this match would be a draw.

Mr. Ninth was lying on the ring. His consciousness had not completely fallen into a dead silence. He was still subconsciously swallowing his saliva. His eyes were fixed on Ethan, who was not far from him. He tried to support his body to get up, but he couldn’t do it at all!

Ethan was also staring at him, but he did not move, but just lay there quietly.

When the referee counted to five, he began to support his upper body.

The movements were very slow, but at least he did it!

He slowly squatted, holding his knees, and took a deep breath. In the disbelieving eyes of Mr. Ninth, he stood up!

The moment he stood up completely, the whole place was filled with cheers!

The referee had also finished counting the last number.

In the deafening shouts, he came to Ethan’s front, checked his mental state, and then looked at Mr. Ninth, who was lying on the ground and still couldn’t get up. He made a gesture to end the match, and at the same time raised Ethan’s hand.

Countless people at the scene tore their betting slips and threw them into the air, but there were also some who held their betting slips tightly and laughed wildly!

Mr. Ninth’s team began to protest to the referee team. They protested that the referee’s countdown was too slow. If it had been counted normally, Ethan would not have been able to stand up. This should have been a draw.

But a sports competition is like this. You can question the result, but you cannot change it!

Ethan raised his arm high, accepting the cheers. He turned his head to look at Mr. Ninth, who was being carried away on a stretcher. His eyes revealed something that made Mr. Ninth feel humiliated…

(End of a Chapter)