The cold had set in. Chicago's winters always arrived early, and with Lake Michigan so close, the air carried heavy dampness. A thin frost had already formed on the car windows.
Tony was at the wheel, driving Jason Luo's whole family to Podiat to watch the fight.
The tickets had been provided by Mr. Raul. Henry Luo and Grace stared at the tickets in their hands, shaking their heads.
"Seventy-eight bucks! Just to watch a boxing match?"
Tony Huo laughed. "This is only the points tournament. The knockout rounds cost even more. You know, when Jason first fought here at Podiat, I spent over a hundred just for a standing ticket. Almost didn't even get in, ha ha..."
Grace winced at the thought, even though it wasn't her own money. "If I'd known it was this expensive, I wouldn't have come. That's nearly a whole day's wages for me."
When they reached the arena, Jason Luo split off from his family. Tony led them to their seats while Jason went straight for the waiting area.
Since no locker rooms were provided, he had already put on his groin guard and boxing shorts at home. After taking off his outerwear, Raul and Pedro helped him finish his pre-fight prep.
Jason quickly spotted his opponent—towering over everyone else.
Matthews wasn't just tall—his arms seemed impossibly long. From a distance he looked wiry, but up close he resembled a giant ape, moving through his warm-ups.
Jason quickly loosened up too; stepping into the ring cold would only stiffen his body and slow his movements. His coach reminded him from the side, "Don't be intimidated by his size. If you can break through, winning shouldn't be a problem. The key is your father—stay focused, keep it clean, and above all, don't take heavy hits. Don't let him worry about you."
Jason knew that already, but the difficulty was real. "I'll do my best, Coach. At least Mr. Brown's medicine is working. Let's just focus on winning first."
The points tournament had entered the third round, and the crowd was swelling. From the chaotic stands, Jason couldn't spot his father and the others at all.
Raul saw him looking around. "Forget it—you won't find them now. Once we know your ring, I'll call and ask. Just focus on your fight. Win this one, and you'll basically lock in that 1500 ranking. Don't slip up."
Yeah, another goal was already within reach.
Jason steadied himself. He had to win this fight—and win it convincingly.
About ten minutes later, it was finally their turn—Ring Three.
Jason Luo and Matthews followed the staff in. Side by side, Jason was a full head shorter. Matthews wasn't just tall—his long arms swung as he walked, almost stirring the air like a breeze.
Matthews glanced down at him. "Don't stare, buddy. That's rude."
Jason felt embarrassed. "Heh, I've never faced an opponent like you before. Sorry if I was being impolite."
Matthews smiled. "My family wanted me to play basketball, but I preferred boxing. Looking at it now, maybe they were right. Either way, I'll give every fight my best."
Jason found him likable. "You're right, buddy. I like that attitude."
They both shared a laugh...
Once in the ring, the referee went through the routine checks and immediately signaled the start of the fight.
At the bell, Matthews stepped straight to center ring. His long arm shot out with a jab, then his rear hand whipped around in a wide hook!
Jason slipped his head past the jab and retreated two steps. Only then did Matthews' heavy hook swing through, the gust brushing cool against Jason's face...
Jason's heart skipped. No wonder Matthews had so few knockouts—it wasn't that he lacked power, but his arms were simply too long, slowing his swings.
If that punch had landed, it would've been brutal.
Jason tightened up. He couldn't afford mistakes here.
After a few exchanges, Jason realized this was tougher than he'd thought. First, Matthews' legs were too long. Jason needed two steps forward to close distance, but Matthews erased it with a single step back.
Second, even when Jason got close, he couldn't land clean headshots. Matthews just leaned back slightly and was out of range. Even when Jason strained to connect, his punches carried little threat.
After Jason closed in twice, Matthews adjusted. He abandoned those useless looping hooks—they were too slow to ever land.
Instead, both long arms fired straight punches to keep Jason out. Breaking through suddenly became much harder.
Jason had to switch tactics. He ditched the rush and began slipping low, weaving side to side as he searched for an opening.
This immediately gave Matthews trouble. His reach worked great going forward, but striking downward was awkward. To reach Jason's low stance, he had to bend his knees slightly.
That was exactly the opening Jason had been waiting for. The moment Matthews crouched, Jason feinted a weave forward, then burst upward with a hip-driven uppercut aimed at Matthews' head!
But Matthews wasn't so easy to catch. With an exaggerated lean back, he pushed off his legs and sprang upright in a bizarre, almost unnatural motion...
Jason was stunned.
That kind of evasive move wasn't something he could even pull off himself. Was this giant trained in martial arts? This... this was unreal.
Though he'd avoided the blow, Matthews was sweating heavily. He knew he'd just dodged disaster. He backed off in long strides, quickly widening the gap.
When the fight resumed, Matthews refused to crouch no matter how low Jason dipped. Jason, realizing his tactic no longer worked, pressed forward behind head movement, hammering the body instead.
Matthews was driven back under the furious assault, unable to respond. He tried shoving Jason off just to catch a breather, but the referee quickly stepped in, warning him for repeated fouls.
That only made things worse for him. His occasional jabs during Jason's slips had no effect. After Jason closed in and landed several body shots, pain spread across Matthews' face...
Then, his coach threw in the white towel.
The referee grabbed Jason, who was still charging forward, and declared the match over—his opponent had surrendered!
This was the first time Jason had ever seen a fighter give up. The fight had lasted just over ninety seconds—and he'd won?
"Ding! Congratulations on defeating your opponent in an official match. The Greedy Wolf talent has extracted one point each in Coordination, Explosiveness, and Jab Power from your opponent's attributes."
"Congratulations on completing the minor achievement: Ten Consecutive Wins. Reward: one Talent Skill Point. Ten consecutive KOs detected—title earned: 'Little Madman of the Ring'. Please check your profile!"
Whoa!
This was big. The attribute points gained from Matthews weren't much, but the ten-win streak had earned him a precious Talent Skill Point. Finally, the Greedy Wolf talent could be upgraded!
As for the "Little Madman of the Ring" title, he didn't have time to check it now—the scoring was about to be announced.
Matthews, having surrendered, received only one point.
Then came Jason Luo—four points!
Four points! The judges must have seen him dominate purely with skill. They actually gave him four points! Jason leapt with joy.
In the stands, Henry Luo clutched his ticket in frustration. "This... this counts as a win? Seventy-eight bucks! I barely warmed my seat! Can we get a refund?!"