With a final shout – 'FIGHT', the referee bolted out of the ring to his reserved space where an envelope containing his generous pay of $500 was placed.
Generous, because his only job for the whole fight was to read out the rules and commence the fight, though he knew the high pay was for something else– his silence, and he would be a fool to break it.
Back to the sand ring, the moment the referees shout had been heard, Shinbreaker soared through the air with a flying knee, hoping his attack would find purchase on Mateo's head.
With a simple backward step and his guard lifted up,Mateo was able to defend himself from the first attack only to soon find himself under a flurry of arm strikes.
Jab, Cross, Jab, Jab.
Left hook, Right rising elbow, Jab, Jab.
Shinbreaker was relentless, burning out his own stamina to land as many hits on his opponent before the 5- minute round ended.
Since they were both somewhat veterans, they knew the ways to emerge victorious in these types of matches.
The obvious two being by Knockout and by the opponent giving up. The other less common ways of winning the match were by having your opponent break one of the two rules, or winning the match by fan votes.
These underground matches in essence had unlimited rounds, with each round lasting 5 minutes and combatants having 2 minute breaks in between.
If by the 10th round, no one had been knocked out nor surrendered, the audience could ask for the end of the match, deciding their winner based on who made the fight more enjoyable for them.
This encouraged fighters to give it their all in every round and focus on impressing the crowd, since they were the final judges and not the usual panel of 3 seen in boxing.
It was this information that Shinbreaker was looking to abuse in the first round, get their attention and support early on then keep distance away from opponent in the later stages of the match.
Looking to counterattack, Mateo loosened his guard looking to take a few hits in exchange for a heavy one of his own when all of a sudden Shinbreaker dropped on the floor.
With a brutal soccer kick Mateo intercepted the leg sweep Shinbreaker was aiming for, switching the tempo of the fight.
"Tsk. I see you took your time to study my fights ", Shinbreaker said, trying his best to buy time as he massaged his calf a bit.
Swoosh
Mateo appeared in front of him with speed unnatural for his size as he threw out a fierce right hook, looking to end the match.
With sheer luck, Shinbreaker managed to duck in time, taking advantage of his position to land an attack on Mateo's gut, hoping to knock the wind out of him.
'Fuck. Are his abs made of steel or something, why the hell are they so hard.'
Shinbreaker cursed internally, unaware that he was the first one to feel the effects of Mateo's enhanced constitution.
Rolling away, Shinbreaker had just saved his spine from being cracked by the force of Mateo's downward hammer strike. Quickly crawling back to put as much distance between himself and Mateo, Shinbreaker felt his heart leap out his chest as he saw a foot closing in on his face.
!DING!
Saved by the bell, Shinbreaker crawled back into his corner under the slight boos of the crowd, barely audible due to the heavy cheers the crowd gave at the short but fast- paced bout.
"For your own sake, don't allow there to be a round 2." Mateo said his first words of the fight, his calm measured tone and even breathing made him appear menacing, like someone who just stated a fact rather than offered a threat.
"Fuck you", Shinbreaker shouted, a pathetic attempt at removing his newfound fear from his heart.
***In Shinbreaker's corner.***
"Boss, PLEASE PARDON MY FAILURE AT NOT ELIMINATING THE MONKEY IN THE FIRST ROUND." A tired Shinbreaker's exaggerated shout was heard, gathering a bit of attention.
His situation, while not exactly ordinary wasn't really rare either.
Kneeling to the only man sitting just outside his corner, a man who stood out worse than a sore thumb due to the guards armed with metal and wooden bats surrounding him.
"Don't stress yourself Shinbreaker, the boss was wise enough not to bet on your absolute victory in the first round. In fact, we managed to win 2.5 grand just because you survived the first round." A man in decorative glasses, the gang leader's personal assistant stated, venom practically oozing out of him.
Keeping his head lowered so as not to show how pissed he was, Shinbreaker praised the boss for his insight before making a declaration that shocked everyone, going far enough to even elicit a reaction from the gang leader himself.
"BET EVERYTHING ON MY VICTORY IN THE NEXT ROUND. I WILL KNOCK THE MONKEY OUT, I SWEAR ON MY LIFE."
Stealing the attention of the nearby spectators once more, the previously buzzing crowd homed in on the conversation with a few brave ones even attempting to break through the guards' defensive perimeter.
Unfortunately for them, the wooden and metal bats the guards possessed were not just for decorative purposes, a lesson that some learned the hard way.
Back in Shinbreaker's corner, the gang leader's P.A took a moment to compose himself, resetting his face to the default cold expression he had cultivated over the years.
"Are you sure you want to do this, your gambling addiction is the reason you're in our mess to begin with.
Just think about it, how will little Judy feel when we tell her that dad gambled once again and now she'll be the price that is paid, huh. Trust me, I wouldn't want that to happen, I've quite taken a liking to her– she's smart for her age, clearly her mother's DNA at work."
Hearing the sickening fondness in the tone used to describe his daughter, Shinbreaker's almost lashed out, barely keeping his anger restrained though his hold was slipping slowly.
"I know the risks but I also know that the amount you'll rake in after my victory would be enough to clear my debt and make me a free man according to our contract."
Shinbreaker muttered, staring past the annoying assistant and straight into the gang leader's eyes.
He received a nod, faint as it was it still counted as a sign of approval.
Offering his thanks, he began psyching himself up, recalling and retracing the feeling he had the other day which would secure his victory for the night.
Peeved at having been so easily ignored, the assistant started prodding for answers, asking how Shinbreaker expected to win after being manhandled in the earlier round.
Not even sparing him a glance, Shinbreaker found himself recalling the source of his confidence – a mysterious being who radiated power.