Chapter 402: Revival of the Boxing Champion
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Taylor stood in the boxing ring, and everything that surrounded him felt familiar, strange at the same time.
His opponent, Saunders, was a few years younger than him, and they had never had contact prior to that day. When Taylor was the boxing champion, Saunders was still in high school. Even just before Taylor's ban from two years ago, Saunders was only a side character who had just broken into the world of boxing.
But Taylor knew that Saunders was the type of fighter he wanted to avoid most.
Before the match, Taylor had already reviewed all of Saunders' match videos, and he watched them repeatedly. Saunders was truly worthy of being nicknamed "The Trench"; his defense was ridiculously strong, and he was adept at dodging. In the midst of defending and dodging, he would look for spaces to counterattack. If his opponent remained in an impeccable state throughout the match, without exposing any weakness or space for him to attack, Saunders would patiently continue dodging and defending, waiting for a chance to appear.
The fighting style of Saunders made the matches last longer, but patience and cautiousness would ultimately make Saunders the winner. The longer the match, the more impatient an opponent became, and the more chances there were for a mistake to appear. Most of the time, Saunders only needed to grasp a single chance to deal a critical blow to his opponent and achieve victory.
When it came to fighting styles, Saunders' style effectively restrained Taylor's style. Saunders was like a shield, whereas Taylor was more like a sharp spear.
I'm going to beat you up! Saunders glared at Taylor provocatively. If it weren't for the boxing gloves he was wearing, Saunders might have made some indecent gestures with his hands.
The booing that came from everywhere had long since crushed Taylor's fortitude, and Saunders' current posture and appearance made Taylor feel even worse.
It was the first time Taylor had appeared in a boxing match in two years; however, what awaited him was the booing sounds within the arena, the abuse from the audience, the provocation from his opponent, and the rubber ear that insulted him!
Taylor felt something in his heart that he couldn't put into words. He was sad, he felt sorrow, he even pitied himself. All the negative emotions that weaved together had made him numb. He felt the urge to just run away from the boxing ring.
Ding!
The bell that signified the start of the match rang. The referee retreated quickly to avoid getting injured by the boxers accidentally. It was a heavyweight match, after all. Getting grazed or hit accidentally by the boxers might well send an ordinary person to the hospital for an entire day
And at that moment, Taylor pushed his head down slightly and quickly went into battle mode.
At the same time, a voice emerged from behind him.
"Kevin, go!" Dai Li was shouting with his full strength.
The final step for the morale-boosting book had been completed, and at that moment, Taylor suddenly felt vigorous, the depression from earlier having suddenly disappeared.
The match has started, I have to focus! Although Taylor's morale did not soar, at least his condition reverted to a regular state.
He looked at Saunders, who moved with light steps in front of him, looking for an opportunity to attack; however, because of those light movements, Taylor felt something odd.
My body seems lighter, like I'm filled with energy. Taylor attempted to use a shuffle movement, and he could clearly feel the fluidity from his legs.
What's going on? Why do I have this weird feeling? Taylor could not cope with the change immediately.
However, Saunders was right in front of him and began groaning, "What are you waiting for, come and hit me!"
Saunders wore braces, so his words were unclear; however, he was obviously trying to provoke Taylor. Even before the match began, he had been trying all sorts of tricks to provoke Taylor. He clearly wanted to bait Taylor into attacking so that Taylor's stamina would drain quickly.
Taylor made a punch. He did not put much strength into the punch as he was just testing out Saunders' movement when he dodged. Saunders guessed correctly that Taylor was just testing, so he ducked quickly when Taylor made the punch.
What's going on? That punch just now was completely different than my normal punches, but at the same time, it feels familiar.
Taylor did not immediately recognize the punching feeling he had when he was younger. It was more agile and much more powerful, and that familiar feeling helped him gain a strange sense of confidence.
My movement and punches, they are different than usual. Looks like my body's in pretty good condition today. I should be able to make better swings, perhaps I should try attacking!
As Taylor reached this conclusion, his steps instantly became nimble.
...
Taylor's steps began to shift quickly, and his body also began to sway from left to right.
Is Taylor attacking! Saunders immediately prepared himself for defense.
The technical features of Taylor's fighting style were not a secret. Professional boxers, even boxing fans understood the technical features of Taylor's fighting style.
Taylor was considered very agile among heavyweight boxers, and at his peak, it could even be said that Taylor was the world's most agile heavyweight boxer. Taylor's height and reach were disadvantageous in heavyweight boxing, or to be more precise, his attack range was too small. Thus, the arms of his opponents were more extended, so they would hit him first. So, with an athletic body like Taylor's, he could quickly dodge and avoid the punches of his opponents.
For Taylor, a boxing match meant attacking. He continually moved forward, using his fantastic swaying techniques to dodge his opponents' punches before getting a vital hit in. When moving forward, Taylor was used to lowering his head and bending his body sideways. Plus, he wasn't tall, which meant the area for his opponent to target was very small, and it was easier to use swaying techniques to dodge his opponents' punches.
At the same time, Taylor moved forward very quickly, his nimble footwork and explosive strength allowing him to accelerate instantaneously. It was difficult for his opponents to react in time. He had a lot of feints, the swaying of his body and the movement of his footwork were very deceiving, and his punches had a strong sense of continuity. Most of the time, even when the audience could see the trajectory of Taylor's punches very clearly, his opponents in the ring still wouldn't be able to defend against them.
Perhaps he'll try that trick again, rushing in quickly to bait me into parrying with a jab, so that I become exposed. Following that he will use a straight to cover himself, and once I enter his attack range, he'll quickly use a hook to knock me down!" Saunders thought.
That was Taylor's best attack method. Every step, every detail of his actions had already been analyzed thoroughly. However, when Taylor was at his peak, even when everyone knew how Taylor would fight, no one was capable of defending against him.
You are not the Taylor from ten years ago! Saunders mocked coldly in his mind. He began retreating as he attempted to maintain a distance between Taylor and himself.
Retreat, drift about, no direct contact. If there really isn't a way to dodge, clinch. I have to thank Highfield. You are too easy to deal with! Saunders thought.
In the match two years ago, that was the method Highfield used to defeat Taylor. It was also the match that opened up a new window for all boxers. Highfield had found the best method for dealing with Taylor.
As Saunders expected, Taylor dashed forward quickly and continuously attacked using jabs, trying to force Saunders into showing some space in his defense.
Retreat, and continue to retreat. Move and drift around the boxing ring! Saunders was executing his game plan perfectly, but after only a few steps, Saunders discovered that something seemed to be wrong.
After a few shuffles, Taylor was already in front of Saunders.
Taylor's forward rush was completely out of Saunders' expectation!
How is his shuffle so quick, he's so close to me! Saunders exclaimed in his mind.
Taylor's fist was already in the air, and Saunders had only just realized that it was too late for him to retreat.
Hurry up and clinch! Saunders commanded his body, and at the same time, something crimson appeared in front of his pupils. It grew larger and larger.
It was a boxing glove, it was Taylor's boxing glove!
Bam! A crisp sound rang, but Saunders could no longer hear it. He could only feel his brain buzzing and a tone ringing in his ear.
Saunders instinctively moved backward to dodge, and then…
Bam!
Everything suddenly went dark for Saunders, and he could no longer hear anything.
...
"The match has started! Neither side started their attacks immediately, they are feeling each other out. Taylor punches, just a simple punch to feel his opponent out." The commentator soothed his emotion slightly. He thought that since the match had just started, both boxers would begin feeling each other out and would not start fighting immediately.
"Saunders is retreating, maintaining a safe distance between Taylor and himself. Saunders obviously knows about Taylor's weakness, and he has chosen a brilliant strategy. By constantly retreating and keeping a safe distance, he can expend Taylor's stamina, and once Taylor's stamina is depleted, Saunders can launch his counterattack!"
"Two years ago, Highfield taught us how to deal with Taylor, and that is to continuously circle and expend his energy. Saunders is now using the same strategy, and Taylor doesn't seem to have a countermeasure, he is still attacking, just like two years ago. It doesn't look too good for Taylor today!"
As soon as the commentator finished speaking, Taylor landed a punch directly in Saunders' face. In the following second, Saunders fell to the ground.
"What… What's going on? What just happened? Why is Saunders down?" The commentator stared at the boxing ring, dumbfounded.
...
"Taylor, you rapist, go home!"
"Saunders, go all-out, destroy that as*hole!"
"Hurry up and knock him down, make him regret coming here!"
Voices surrounded the arena, and James King couldn't help but turn his head to look.
Looks like a lot of people bet that Saunders would win! James King's eyes flashed with contempt.
Suddenly, everyone in the arena exclaimed in unison.
"Oh…"
A sense of panic was mixed in with the exclamations.
James King went blank for a brief moment, and all the shouts stopped at that instant. Not a single person around him did not have a shocked expression on their face.
What's wrong? James King turned his head towards the boxing ring. However, he only saw Taylor standing there while Saunders was already lying on the ground.
KO'd? Saunders was KO'd by Taylor? What happened?