By noon, Raul returned with a broad grin. "Ha! Now this is impressive! Guess what? We're sitting at 171st in the super middleweight rankings! So far, only two matches have earned a full five points, so everyone ahead of us has just four..."
Pedro gave Jason Luo a meaningful glance before saying, "The first round isn't even finished yet. What's the point of that ranking? You're an experienced agent—you should know it takes until at least the fourth round before any trend becomes clear. Why don't you talk about our next opponent instead?"
Realizing Pedro was keeping Jason Luo from getting cocky, Raul chuckled awkwardly. "Well, even a temporary rank like this isn't easy to get... Anyway, here's the next opponent's info. Let me read it out."
"Cesca, 22 years old, from Colorado. Height: 181 cm, reach: 178 cm, weight: 77.3 kg. Nickname: 'Forest Beast.' His style is tough and aggressive, specializing in close-quarters clinching. His rear hook is especially dangerous. Current amateur record: 9 wins, 2 draws, no losses, with 4 wins by knockout.
"Although he only advanced from the qualifiers as a replacement, he still won his first main tournament match. He now has 3 points and is ranked 682nd."
Jason Luo frowned. "Mr. Raul, how do they sort rankings when fighters have the same points? It doesn't seem to show much difference."
Raul smiled. "Of course there's a system. How could a tournament this big rank randomly? Even with equal points, factors like overall strength, number of rounds needed for victory, and how dominant you were in the fight all matter. Three points from a win are always more valuable than three from a loss. Understand?"
"Oh, I get it now." Jason Luo, still young, often had questions he couldn't figure out.
The coach scowled. "You can't be worrying about stuff like that. I've told you before—leave those details to us. You won't be cheated with us around. What you need is focus. If you can't beat your opponent in the ring, no amount of studying points will help."
Seeing the old man get angry, Jason Luo quickly sat down quietly.
Brown grabbed the file and skimmed it. "Forest Beast? Looks like another bruiser. If he's good at clinching, we'll need to keep distance. That hook is trouble, we'll need to watch for it..."
Pedro tapped his cane. "Competition this year is really fierce... another tough one. In my view, we shouldn't push training too hard over the next couple of days. If this kid keeps grinding like this, his condition will suffer."
Brown nodded slowly in agreement.
"But technical drills and defensive practice can't stop! Today in sparring, you picked up something about using the front-hand punch. Strike while the iron's hot—tomorrow, focus on expanding its applications."
"Huh?" Brown widened his eyes. Wait—so it was only his training that got paused...
...
Because Jason Luo had taken a beating in the fight, leaving his face swollen, the coaches—at Raul's suggestion—finally gave him half a day off as a reward for his win.
But a boxer's life was monotonous. Even with time off, the battered Jason Luo had nowhere to go but home to rest.
As soon as he arrived, Grace called. "Jay, I watched the match video Tony sent me—it was terrifying! I didn't know fighting was so brutal. I thought my heart would jump out of my chest! Thank goodness you won in the end..."
Jason Luo laughed. "You're way too timid. Maybe you shouldn't watch anymore. I'll just tell you the results directly."
"But... but I kind of want to watch. I want to see how you won..."
"Heh, it's nothing serious. It looks intense, but honestly, I didn't feel a thing. Don't worry about me."
"Really? But if you keep talking to me, won't that scary coach of yours yell at you?"
"Oh, it's fine. The fight just ended, and I've got the afternoon off."
"Really? Then won't you have to cook for yourself? Perfect timing! I'll come by after work to cook dinner and help you build up strength. Ah—someone's at the door, I gotta go. It's settled!"
"Hey, no need to—" Sigh. The line had already gone dead. That girl...
Unable to just sit around, Jason Luo tidied the place before checking his stats.
Strength: 10
Stamina: 10
Boxing Technique: 10
Footwork: 8
Reaction: 8
Punch Speed: 8
Coordination: 7
Explosiveness: 7
Recovery: 7
Dodge & Anticipation: 9
Toughness: 12
Jab Power: 7
Cross Power: 12
Free Attribute Points: 1
Opening the stats panel, Jason Luo was shocked. After just two fights, his numbers had improved significantly. Even his lowest stat was 7, and five were already over 10. His Boxing Technique, once his weakest stat, had finally caught up.
Thinking back on his recent matches, Jason Luo had gained insights. Silvaliev's heavy punches were overwhelming—one clean hit was enough to break an opponent.
Sasaki Ichiro's Dodge & Anticipation gave him headaches.
And Joseph was the most frustrating—his mastery of front-hand punches nearly locked Jason Luo down completely!
It was clear: when one stat was exceptionally strong, it became terrifyingly effective in real combat. But should he specialize in one attribute?
His strongest stats now were Cross Power and Toughness. But the coach had said toughness alone couldn't win matches. If he focused only on power, wouldn't he just become another Silvaliev?
Remembering Silvaliev's slow, clumsy form, Jason Luo shook his head.
Dodge wasn't the answer either. Even if you could evade perfectly, what if the opponent closed the distance? At close range, mistakes were inevitable...
After thinking it through, Jason Luo decided against specializing. A single strength could always be countered. Balanced growth was still the better path.
Still, Joseph's front-hand punches left the deepest impression. Jason Luo's own jab had always been basic, but Joseph's front-hand repertoire included upper jabs, flurries, short jabs, front hooks, body jabs—even one-handed combinations like jab into hook, or upper jab into body jab...
It was eye-opening. Lost in thought, Jason Luo began practicing.
Once he started, he lost track of time...
By dusk, Grace arrived with bags full of groceries. Jason Luo panicked. "Really, I should cook myself. It's just me here—it's awkward..."
Grace blinked, then grinned. "What are you talking about? You're my friend—what's there to be awkward about? I'm not scared of anything!" She squeezed inside.
But as soon as she set the groceries down, she gasped. "Oh my god! Your face is so swollen! And you said it didn't hurt? How heavy was that punch?"
"Keep it down, will you? I don't need the whole neighborhood hearing..."