Throughout the entire pre-fight phase, Coach Brown and Jason Luo had been racking their brains for ways to break through Tomio's jab control as quickly as possible, hoping to end the match early.
Jason, too, had planned to use Tomio as a test case—his goal was to knock him out fast and outshine Carl in front of the world.
Who could've guessed that after a simple warm-up run, the plan would flip completely—now he had to figure out how to act like the underdog!
What a turnaround!
But Rod's reasoning made sense. If Jason fought all-out now, the next title match could be delayed indefinitely. Thinking about his aging coach's health, Jason set aside his desire to show off.
So what if he took a few extra hits? He'd treat it like endurance training. His only concern was whether his acting skills would be convincing enough to fool David Morell sitting ringside.
Still, they had to try. Once the decision was made, the entire team put their heads together—turning into a crew of master directors, meticulously scripting tomorrow's "performance."
...
The next day, while Jason and his team were fine-tuning their fight strategy in the locker room, a group claiming to be from VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) suddenly burst in. They announced that someone had filed a formal report accusing Jason Luo of using banned substances, and by regulation, he would have to undergo an immediate blood test!
Everyone froze. They had already completed the standard pre-fight urine test—why another one now?
Raul stepped forward to argue, but it was no use. The VADA officials were firm: the blood test had to be done immediately or the fight would be canceled.
Jason was furious at their arrogance and was about to speak up when Brown quickly held him back. VADA wasn't an organization anyone wanted to offend—not even Canelo Álvarez had dared cross them.
Back in May 2018, Canelo had been scheduled to rematch Gennady Golovkin, but pre-fight testing found trace amounts of clenbuterol—a banned substance—in his system. The fight was postponed, and Canelo was suspended for six months.
The incident had caused a massive uproar. Canelo later accepted the punishment, claiming he'd accidentally eaten contaminated beef, and agreed to long-term, random testing by VADA. Over time, the issue died down, but not before fans had branded him with an unflattering nickname that hurt his reputation permanently.
With things at this point, Jason and his team had no choice but to comply. Still, everyone was uneasy—these people wouldn't act so boldly unless they were confident. Was something going on behind the scenes?
Brown gave Jason a discreet glance. Jason looked completely puzzled and shook his head slightly.
VADA brought out professional test kits, and the results came back fast—everything was perfectly normal. There were no traces of any banned substances in Jason's blood.
The officials were stunned. Reluctantly, they proposed taking another sample after some strenuous exercise, claiming the banned compounds might not have fully spread through his system yet.
But the second test was also clean.
Now Jason had had enough. Rolling up his sleeves, he barked, "Gentlemen, take your time! I'll run a few more laps if you want. Just say when to stop—we'll cooperate all the way. But if you still come up empty, I'll need a damn good explanation today!"
The VADA staff exchanged nervous looks. "Well... maybe the informant made a mistake. We're just following protocol."
Rod, now emboldened, snapped back, "A mistake? That's all you have to say? Do you realize how important this fight is to us? The match is about to begin, and you've had him drawing blood and doing physical exertion right before it—do you even understand what kind of impact that could have?"
Raul joined in, shouting, "And what about the mental toll and the damage to his reputation? Who's going to take responsibility for that? If you don't give us a reasonable explanation, expect a letter from our lawyer!"
"Yeah—sue them!"
The inspectors were sweating bullets now and hurriedly called their superiors.
Five minutes later, the WBA's executive chairman himself intervened to calm things down. He allowed the fight to proceed first. If Jason won, both sides would drop the issue. But if the distraction negatively affected the match and Jason lost, the chairman promised to personally handle negotiations with VADA.
With that assurance, there was no point arguing further. The fight had already been delayed by over five minutes—any longer, and the crowd would riot.
And so, Jason Luo's match with Tomio finally began under this bizarre tension. Ironically, the VADA officials suddenly found themselves becoming Jason's biggest supporters, silently praying he'd win so they could walk away unscathed.
But this was going to be a nerve-racking night for them.
...
From the opening bell, Jason went straight on the offensive, charging at Tomio. But Tomio's jabs formed an airtight defense—an invisible wall Jason simply couldn't break through. No matter how he attacked, Tomio kept him at range, denying him any chance to close in.
Jason lost the first round completely.
The VADA officials were horrified. "You've got to be kidding—he's this bad? Even without the blood test, there's no way he'd win!"
No one could believe what they were seeing. Even Tomio himself was shocked—how could someone with this level of performance have beaten Siham in just four rounds?
In truth, this was Plan C—an improvised strategy from Coach Brown. The VADA interruption had inspired him. Those guys needed to learn a lesson. Jason would still win in the end, of course, but they weren't going to let those troublemakers walk away scot-free.
In the second round, Jason showed fierce determination, breaking through Tomio's defenses several times with a flanking rush. But despite his reputation for brutal close-range fighting, he somehow lost the exchanges up close!
Tomio used his charged rear-hand punch to deliver heavy blows, rocking Jason backward before the round ended. Had the ropes not caught him, he would've gone down.
The VADA representatives were on edge, practically terrified. Thankfully, Jason's solid Toughness allowed him to endure until the bell.
As the round ended, confusion swept through the crowd. What was happening to Jason Luo?
It wasn't that fans expected him to be invincible, but how could an aggressive power fighter lose in close quarters to a control-oriented boxer? What was going on?
Supporters in the stands held up their banners uncertainly, unsure whether to keep cheering or just lower them. Disappointment spread across their faces. Had Jason's best days already passed?
Even David Morell looked bewildered. He'd wanted Jason to be strong—but not too strong. Yet now, seeing him perform this poorly, he couldn't help but doubt everything.
At this level, Jason didn't look like a future champion—barely even a top contender.
But that couldn't be right, could it?
Tomio's punches were clearly landing with force, and Jason's face was visibly swelling. His footwork had grown unstable... but Morell just couldn't understand why Jason would deliberately appear weak or throw a fight. There was absolutely nothing for him to gain by doing that.