Meanwhile, the second bout of the evening is already underway: Mino Anzai of Murakami Boxing Gym vs. Ueno Takauji of Shibuya Wolf Boxing Gym, a six-round B-class match.
With a sold-out crowd of 2,500 people packed wall-to-wall for the Cruel King, these two youngsters are essentially warming up in front of a small coliseum.
And as it turns out, nothing melts a young boxer's composure faster than a few thousand spectators silently thinking, "Come on, kid. Impress me."
The first bout of the night had already demonstrated this phenomenon spectacularly. One fighter slipped, fell, and punched himself in the thigh on the way down. It was a moment so unfortunate it made several fans laugh and Coach Murakami briefly question the meaning of life.
And now, watching Anzai stiffen up and forget half his training, Murakami arrives at a firm conclusion: drop all the complicated instructions.
So the coach pivots to the only workable strategy left: trust in guts and blind determination.
