Chapter 1023: The Unstable Edge
As the controversy over who was responsible for Umemoto’s condition finally begins to fade, the boxing world slowly returns its attention to the sport itself.
Even a month after that brutal night at Edion Arena, Ryoma versus Umemoto remains the most discussed fight in boxing worldwide. Sports news programs, social media clips, YouTube highlights, and in-depth podcasts continue dissecting every exchange.
In much the same way, inside a gym in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Derrick Allen and his management team are studying footage of the fight, carefully analyzing Ryoma and the performance that has kept the boxing world talking.
"Oooh! Would you look at that?"
"For some reason, Ryoma is finding it far too easy to leave his mark on Umemoto’s face!"
The commentators’ voices carry a mixture of amazement and genuine curiosity, as if even they cannot quite understand why such a simple sequence is producing such a striking result.
On the screen, Umemoto continues eating jab after jab from Ryoma, repeatedly taking the same punch without finding an answer, almost as though he has temporarily forgotten how to box.
Yet everyone inside the room watches the footage with unsettling seriousness. Derrick Allen and the members of his management team remain fixed on the screen, their expressions tense and analytical, studying every movement with far more attention than a few ordinary jabs should warrant.
Nathaniel Brooks, the promotion manager, blinks in amazement as he watches the same jab land cleanly on Umemoto’s face again.
"That’s an elite jab he got right there."
Malcolm Bennett, Derrick’s head coach, watches several more jabs land before finally responding.
"Calling that an elite jab is almost insulting."
Nathaniel turns toward him, slightly confused.
"What do you mean?"
"You think there’s nothing beyond that?"
"There’s a level even above elite?"
Andre Campbell, the assistant coach, finally speaks without taking his eyes off the screen.
"If you really knew what he was doing, you’d start questioning your own sanity."
After several more seconds, Derrick Allen finally pulls his eyes away from the screen and turns toward Nathaniel.
"So, I came across an article trying to break down this kid’s jab. It’s actually interesting. They said he deliberately adjusts the angle between his left shoulder, his glove, and the opponent’s line of vision, then only fires the jab when everything is perfectly aligned. Could you imagine how difficult that is?"
Nathaniel begins to look genuinely concerned before turning back toward Derrick.
"Is it going to be that difficult to deal with?"
Derrick simply shrugs. He clearly has an answer, but for whatever reason, he does not seem interested in giving it.
"That’s going to be our main problem," Andre says. "It’s just a jab. But you can’t do anything if those jabs keep landing on your face."
After that, nobody says a word. The mood in the room grows heavier, even though for several rounds, Ryoma has done little more than fire one economical jab at a time.
By the fifth round, however, Ryoma gives them an entirely new problem.
"Four tight counters from Ryoma! Fast, sharp, and deadly clean!"
"Umemoto kept firing after every shot! But Ryoma paid him back every time without dropping his tempo!"
On the screen, Ryoma’s footwork becomes something else entirely. At times, he moves with an almost leisurely smoothness, gliding just outside Umemoto’s range before suddenly exploding into rapid, precise shifts that carry him away from danger and directly into the openings created by Umemoto’s own combinations.
"Look at that accuracy from Ryoma!"
"He’s finding the opening in every single combination Umemoto throws! His reactions are unbelievably fast!"
"That is clinical boxing! Umemoto is throwing sharp combinations, and Ryoma is answering every one of them with absolute precision!"
"How does he keep finding those gaps so quickly?!"
The exchanges become increasingly intense as Umemoto attacks with sharp, fast combinations, mixing punches to the head and body while constantly changing their rhythm and direction.
He presses forward aggressively, trying to overwhelm Ryoma with speed and volume, but Ryoma slips through each combination with almost surgical precision.
Then, they finally reach the moment that makes the entire sequence feel genuinely strange. Ryoma suddenly stops moving and simply stands there as Umemoto swings a brutal hook directly toward him.
The hook crashes into his head with enough force to send him to the canvas, yet almost as quickly as he falls, Ryoma gets back up and immediately resumes fighting.
"What the hell is wrong with this kid?" Andre asks.
"Well, that’s exactly what people have been talking about the most," Nathaniel says. "From this moment onward, he suddenly seems like a completely different individual."
From that moment onward, they are subjected to something that looks less like a boxing match and more like two fighters descending into madness.
Ryoma begins dodging punches with remarkably little footwork, slipping and twisting away without even raising his guard. And Umemoto continues forcing exchanges whenever Ryoma traps him with a counter.
The pace becomes increasingly brutal as both fighters repeatedly enter exchanges that seem impossible to survive cleanly.
Then, at the most violent point of the fight, Ryoma drives a horrifying uppercut directly into Umemoto’s chin.
At that exact moment, the door to the room opens and a voice cuts through the tension.
"Hey, you guys."
The sudden interruption steals everyone’s attention for a moment, drawing every pair of eyes away from the screen.
"Leonard. How was it?" Malcom asks.
Leonard walks farther into the room with an easy grin. "Everything went smoothly. I’ve already contacted them one by one, and they’ve all agreed. They’ll all be here tomorrow to work as Derrick’s sparring partners."
By the time they look back at the screen, however, the scene has already changed completely.
Ryoma is now on his knees and tears streaming down his face as he breaks down after battering Umemoto into a critical condition.
For several seconds, nobody speaks before slowly turning back toward the newcomer, their displeasure obvious despite his amused grin.
"So, did I miss something?"
Malcolm lets out a long, tired sigh before turning toward Andre and gesturing toward the screen.
"Replay that last part."
Andre reaches for the controls and begins rewinding the footage they have just missed.
After replaying the sequence, the room grows noticeably quieter. Whatever curiosity they had about the footage is replaced by a creeping sense of doubt, and several of them begin wondering whether watching that part again was such a good idea.
"That was brutal," Andre says quietly.
"It’s not exactly an exaggeration when his fans call him the Cruel King," Nathaniel replies.
"And it’s not surprising that someone eventually started a petition to cancel him," Andre adds.
"What? They actually tried to cancel him?" Leonard asks, looking genuinely incredulous. "Seriously? They should be grateful to have a world champion like him."
"Well, he nearly killed his opponent," Andre says. "And that final stretch was especially disturbing. There were moments when I almost felt like some of those punches were deliberately placed to keep Umemoto standing so he could continue beating him down."
"I heard Umemoto regained consciousness, right?" Leonard asks.
Andre nods. "He did. But it’s already been confirmed that he won’t be returning to the ring."
He turns back toward the television, watching Umemoto being carried away on a stretcher.
"That makes him the second fighter Ryoma has sent into retirement, after Jade McConnel."
"Well," Derrick says, "when you step into this world, that’s a risk you have to accept. You can’t expect your opponent to show you mercy. But at least I know I can trust my fate with you guys."
The room falls quiet again, and this time the silence carries a much heavier feeling than before.
They are beginning to understand the danger created by the decisions made throughout a fight against someone like Ryoma.
The problem was never simply whether Ryoma was too strong to defeat. It was what happened when the fight reached the point where every decision mattered, from how aggressively Derrick chose to engage, to how his team responded when the situation began slipping beyond their control.
If they make the wrong decisions at the wrong moments, Derrick could end up suffering the same fate as Umemoto.
"Look," Malcolm says, drawing everyone’s attention. "I’m not going to pretend I have some magic answer for his super elite jab. We don’t. But that’s where our philosophy comes in. If you can’t find a reliable way to defend against something, don’t waste the whole fight trying to solve it defensively. Attack instead. Keep your opponent occupied until he has less time to do what he does best."
Derrick squints, still skeptical. "You really think that’s enough against him? You saw what he was doing in there. He was slipping punches like they weren’t even there."
"I do," Malcolm says. "But you should see what happened when he became more focused on defending himself. That little trick with his shoulder, glove, and line of sight is brilliant, but it requires an absurd amount of precision. If you keep forcing him to deal with your boxing, maintaining that precision becomes much harder."
Derrick remains quiet for a moment, considering the point. "Let’s say the jab won’t be a problem anymore. Then what about those ridiculous reflexes of his? And his sharp counter?"
Malcolm glances back toward the television, studying the footage of Ryoma standing surrounded by his team after the announcement.
Even then, the champion still looks shaken, fragile, as though the violence of the fight has left him disturbed by what he had done.
"I don’t know how," Malcolm says slowly. "But there’s something unstable about that kid. That fighting instinct doesn’t seem completely consistent. I have a feeling it becomes sharper when you push him too far. So as long as you don’t force him into that kind of situation, maybe we can keep him from reaching that level."