Ch.242Wake up

Generally.

“Are you just leaving like this?”

“Are you afraid of Kim Donghu?!”

The second press conference had a somewhat more aggressive atmosphere than the first one.

So the questions were also formulated in an extremely sharp manner.

But regardless.

Edward shrugged his shoulders and lowered the microphone.

“I just realized that when dealing with a primitive man, fists work better than words.”

With that final statement, Edward left the venue.

The reporters wore extremely disappointed expressions.

‘This lacks any flavor.’

Because this time, they had so many questions to ask.

Normally, before the second press conference takes place.

The previous week, they would hold public training sessions or release documentaries.

But Edward, unlike usual, avoided those aspects as much as possible.

It’s not that he didn’t do them at all, but unlike usual, it felt like he was hiding his training.

It was a clear indication of how focused he was on the upcoming match.

And that’s what they wanted to dig into.

But it all became pointless when Edward hastily departed.

‘But at this point, clinging to Donghu Kim would be…’

In contrast, Kim Donghu had cleanly disclosed everything.

From training to promotional SNS and more.

His approach to taking care of Korean fans first was surprisingly impressive.

Of course, despite this, reporters still sided with Edward.

One of the reasons was:

‘Is his technique lacking compared to the power he’s shown?’

There was nothing particularly special in Kim Donghu’s training videos.

So reporters searched for all of Kim Donghu’s past training videos and

came to one conclusion.

‘Is this how he normally trains?’

‘No, someone who trains in such an unremarkable way… has those unbelievable records?’

He was an opponent whose performance couldn’t be predicted at all.

Anyway, in this state, the second official press conference ended rather blandly.

Time flew by, and the day before the match.

The official weigh-in day approached.

+++++

“Donghu! Tarzan hit 600 million dollars just in its opening weekend?!”

“Really? Hearing that gives me even more energy!”

On the day of the weigh-in.

I got up while hearing the news from Seokho hyung.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

Actually, the weigh-in only takes about 1-2 minutes.

The face-off afterward was the main event.

For heavyweights, the weigh-in isn’t that important.

That’s because there’s no upper weight limit.

As long as you don’t fall below the minimum weight of 90.27kg, you pass.

So stepping on the scale was just a performance.

Indeed.

“Both fighters have passed the weigh-in.”

As soon as the weigh-in ended, reporters eagerly raised their cameras.

It was clear how much they were anticipating the face-off that would happen shortly.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

The flashes went off.

Completely different from what I saw at the second press conference.

Edward appeared, smiling brightly.

“Looks like you’ve been eating well?”

Edward flinched momentarily at my words.

“Do I need that to beat up a primitive man?”

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sound of shutters clicking as the distance between us gradually decreased.

The difference from a typical face-off was that.

Now, five guards were ready to intervene at any moment by my side.

“I think you’re the only one who thinks that way? Look, see who has guards next to them.”

A light provocation.

“You bastard!”

Edward immediately took the bait.

Without hesitation, he extended his fist toward my face.

Swoosh!

It was definitely a fast punch.

‘That’s a speed I didn’t see in amateur fights.’

But that was as far as it went.

Thunk.

I lightly caught the wrist of the extended fist.

“You have bad manners. Should I crush your bones before the match?”

As soon as I finished speaking, fiercely.

“Donghu Kim! Calm down!”

“This is too much! Please calm down!”

The guards rushed toward me.

Despite Edward throwing the first punch.

“…damn bastard.”

And Edward, clearly aware of the difference.

Unable to do anything more, he turned around irritably and left.

It was a moment that made me really look forward to tomorrow.

+++++

On the day of the WBC Heavyweight Championship match.

The approximately 90,000 seats at Wembley Stadium were boiling with crazy excitement.

Waaaaaaaaah!

Talk shows, stories between the two, and so on.

Honestly, they had enjoyed everything they could before the match.

Now they wanted to see a real duel with sweat and blood flying.

“The scale is enormous.”

“With Disney involved, and Netflix too, it’s no joke.”

The reporters checked the match schedule again.

“Undercard, semi-main… then opening performance and main event.”

“But I heard a rumor, is it true?”

“What, that Evelyn Queen Ember is performing?”

“Yeah, if that’s true, it’s really vicious.”

“They’re crazy about promotion… I heard she’s performing during the entrance.”

While talking like that, they also checked the list of people coming today.

Not only notable corporate figures.

But even the British royal family attending this insane match.

I heard that after the match.

The actual gloves used in the fight would be immediately auctioned off.

‘I heard that would fetch at least several billion won.’

Just how much money was riding on this one match?

While reporters were amazed at the astronomical figures.

Time passed quickly.

By the time they came to their senses, the semi-main event had already finished.

And after a short break.

“Are you ready to fight!!!”

Finally, the main event began.

The British and Korean national anthems played consecutively at Wembley Stadium in England.

Edward entered the ring first to Evelyn’s entrance music.

As if to show his champion-worthy presence.

Flexing his massive physique, Edward roared on the ring.

“Uaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Following that roar, Kim Donghu slowly made his entrance.

Quietly and calmly.

Without saying a word, he brushed past fans’ hands and slowly entered the ring.

No roaring.

Because when hunting, you don’t want to startle your prey and make it run away.

++++++

‘So noisy.’

Edward frowned while listening to the referee’s final instructions.

Why bother saying things everyone already knows?

‘No, maybe he doesn’t know because he’s been an amateur until now?’

Thinking that way made him smile.

Heavyweight boxing matches don’t have a three-knockdown rule.

That means you can’t win just by knocking someone down a few times.

A match that either goes to a decision after 12 rounds, or ends in a KO.

One of the two.

How long could an amateur possibly last in this?

While thinking that.

“Ready! Fight!”

The match began.

After a light touch of gloves, Edward immediately created distance.

‘I’ll show you what professional boxing is.’

Thinking that, as he was about to approach.

As if waiting for this, Kim Donghu also attempted to approach.

‘Huh?’

At that moment, Edward felt something strongly off.

It was a sensation one could feel after years of training.

Surely it couldn’t be, but.

‘Is this guy copying me?’

Of course, that’s nonsense.

Nevertheless, Edward adjusted his stance as a test.

Swish.

“…?”

Kim Donghu also adjusted his stance accordingly.

With about a 1-second time difference.

Kim Donghu’s stance changed to exactly match Edward’s.

Like facing a mirror.

Swish.

When he throws a jab, Kim throws a jab too.

When he tries to dive in, Kim lowers his body the same way.

Usually, the first round is meant for exploration.

So fighters don’t typically push hard from the beginning.

‘This crazy bastard!’

What Kim Donghu was doing now was just blatantly mocking Edward.

Like a child mimicking words to tease a friend.

‘Then try to copy this too!’

With a mindset of “let’s see you try,”

Edward suddenly dove into Kim Donghu’s range.

Or at least, he thought he did.

“…?!”

Even lower.

Until Kim Donghu appeared from below Edward, having ducked lower than him.

It was impossible.

Moving later than him, yet arriving faster.

Thud!

In that moment of shock, a fist buried into his abdomen.

“Kuhak!”

Fortunately, he didn’t go down.

Because he twisted his body in surprise.

But his mind was almost at the point of going down.

Edward immediately hugged Kim Donghu after the direct hit.

When they entered a clinch, the referee intervened to separate them.

A brief moment of rest.

During those few seconds, Edward gathered his wits and took his stance.

Still in his sight was Kim Donghu, mimicking the exact same stance.

As if asking if this was how modern boxing should be done.

Looking at the motionless Kim Donghu, fear washed over him.

But only for a moment.

Edward regained his composure.

The mental fortitude developed through countless matches raised him again.

Rather, his thinking shifted to finding it ridiculous.

‘Let’s see how far that trick will work?’

If he pushes so hard that Kim can’t keep up, that’s the end of it.

A brief standoff.

‘Hup!’

Edward, holding his breath, immediately rushed at Kim Donghu.

Professional boxers are monsters who can land more than 7 punches in a second.

Realistically, it was impossible to mimic all these punches.

In a game built on prediction and calculation.

Breaking through everything with just physical ability was absurd.

‘There’s a realm that primitives can never reach!’

Muttering that to himself, Edward threw his first move.

As if waiting for this, Kim Donghu’s hand moved.

Both threw punches simultaneously.

Thunk.

But as if it were natural, Kim Donghu’s fist knocked away Edward’s hand first.

And using that opening, he pounded Edward’s body with his fists.

Bam-bam-bam-bam!

A barrage of punches in an instant.

Those punches were like Kim Donghu’s questions.

Is this how you wanted to hit? The questioning fists.

To which Edward couldn’t properly answer.

Thud.

He fell.

It was the first knockdown, just 25 seconds into the match.

Watching this, Kim Donghu spoke without changing his expression.

“Get up.”