Story of the Ring

by Storm the Wind

What if the game of Punch-Out had more of a story to it? Well this story takes the game and shows a more in-depth story to go with it, following Mac's journey to the championship, though with a few unique twists here and there.

'It all starts where all legendary boxers start, in the boxing ring of the minor circuit.'

"Ngh!" A man wearing green shorts and boxing gloves is knocked into the ropes of the boxing ring.

"Hahaha! Come on Mac, iz zat all you 'ave!" A very scrawny Frenchman taunts.

"No people you're not imagining it; you are truly seeing this! Glass Joe has an opponent on the edge of defeat!" An announcer commentates.

"Ugh!" Mac groans in pain.

"Come on Mac! We can't lose here!" A larger man calls from the sidelines.

Mac stands back up and charges at Joe but is knocked down into the ground.

"1! 2! 3!" The referee starts counting.

'This is the story of the world's smallest and weakest boxer, Mac.'

"10! Knockout!" The ref calls.

"I-I won? I won!" Joe exclaims in cheers.

"That's it folks! Glass Joe has won his first match in his entire career! Making his win-lose ratio now 1 win to 99 losses!" The announcer exclaims.

Glass Joe stands over Mac with a smirk.

"Perhaps you are not meant to be a boxer, LITTLE Mac!" He exclaims and laughs.

Mac groans as he slowly gets up before walking off.

"Mac…." The larger man says to himself.

Little Mac

At a small gym, both Mac and the large man are training.

"Good news Mac! I was able to get the WVBA to clean your slate!" The man says. "So when you go back, your loss won't count! Though Glass Joe has a big head over his single win!"

Mac says nothing as he punches away at a punching bag rapidly.

"You just need an intimidating stage name! Like Big Mac!" He says.

"Doc, are you being serious or are you just hungry?" Mac asks.

"Eh, little of both." Doc says, smiling. "Come on Mac you know I'm messing with you!"

"I just can't believe I lost to Glass Joe, the worst boxer in the WVBA." Mac sighs as he stops punching.

"It was your first real fight! You will get him next time champ!" Doc tells him. "You have something most boxers either don't have or just forgot about."

"Oh really? And what would that be?" Mac asks.

"A reason to be in the ring!" Doc tells him. "Don't tell me you forgot already."

"To be fair I'm trying to remember a lot of things after that fight." Mac says and groans. "I barely remember anything before now."

"Just some temporary memory loss, happens when you take a beating. It'll come back soon." He says. "Your rematch is tomorrow so we need to get you ready."

"A little too soon don't you think?" Mac asks as he walks over and grabs a pink hoodie and puts it on.

"I have faith in you Mac. Just like I did when I first met you." Doc tells him. "Now let's get to it and get you into shape!"

Throughout the day Mac trains with Doc until night. Mac goes home and sits on a couch and groans in pain, tired from his training.

"Tomorrow is the day of my rematch with Glass Joe." Mac says to himself. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I can't run from this fight, not again."

Images of the past come to Mac.

"I can't lose again."

The next day comes and both boxers are back in the ring.

"Welcome boxing fans to the rematch between Glass Joe, a man from France who originally had no wins until just the other day and now is hoping to add on that today." The announcer exclaims. "His opponent is still new, sized at under five feet and barely a hundred pounds, Mac!"

Mac punches his gloves together. Joe smirks with a confident look.

"Don't worry Mac, you can do this!" Doc tells him, patting him on the back. "Just dodge, block, and hit when you find an opening."

Mac nods and walks up opposite of Joe.

"I'm so surprised you'd show your puny self back in zis ring again!" Joe mocks and laughs.

Mac frowns and gets into a fighting stance.

"Begin!" The ref announces.

Joe starts throwing weak punches, which Mac dodges and blocks.

Mac tries to find an opening before dodging a punch and aims one of his own at Joe.

Joe dodges and returns the favor by punching Mac straight in the face.

"Ngh!" Mac groans as he is pushed back.

"Hehe let me show you ze might of France!" Joe laughs as he punches Mac more.

"Ngh! Gah!" Mac grunts in pain as he is continually knocked around, unable to get his bearing to block.

"Mac!" Doc exclaims.

"Looks like this fight is going south for Mac; who is yet again getting beat by Joe!" The announcer says.

Mac grunts as he is knocked down to the ground, similar to how it happened in the last fight.

"1! 2! 3!" The ref starts counting.

"Mac! Get up champ!" Doc calls to him.

Mac just groans in pain.

"4! 5!"

'I can't believe I lost to Glass Joe.'

"6!"

'I have faith in you Mac.'

"7!"

'Perhaps you are not meant to be a boxer.'

"8!"

'You have something most boxers either don't have or just forgot about. A reason to be in the ring!'

"9!"

"You lose again, LITTLE Mac!" Glass Joe exclaims and laughs.

Mac's eyes widen as he recalls back his memories.

"Te-." The ref starts before seeing Mac starting to get up.

"What!?" Joe exclaims.

"That's my boy!" Doc shouts. "Come on!"

Mac stands back up, fire in his eyes.

"AAAAAH!" He yells as he suddenly strikes upwards into Joe's jaw.

"Gah!" Joe yells in pain as the blow sends him flying out of the ring.

Everyone goes silent and stunned.

"…. Knockout!" The ref calls and the crowd starts to cheer.

"Unbelievable! The fighter who was only mere seconds ago flat on the ground, made the biggest turnaround in the history of the UVBA!" The announcer exclaims.

The referee walks up to Mac and raises his arm up.

"The winner is…" The ref starts.

"Little Mac." Mac says.

"… Little Mac!" The ref exclaims.

Doc cheers and claps.

Later that day, both Mac and Doc are back in the gym.

"That was amazing Mac!" Doc tells him, punching his arm.

They were both eating bars of chocolate in celebration.

"I don't know what happened, I just felt power come to me." Mac says.

"That's your reason for boxing coming to you Mac." Doc tells him. "It'll be all you need from here on to become a true champion."

"Champion of the WVBA." Mac says to himself. "The greatest boxer there is."

"So why don't you remind me, what is your reason to box?" Doc asks.

"…. To show people like me that they aren't powerless; that even those who are small and weak that they can overcome the odds." He says.

"That's the Mac I chose to train! A man of believe!" Doc exclaims. "But now we can't just sit back and relax! You got a fight next week, Little Mac!"

Mac nods and both of them get up. Mac faces a punching bag and takes his fighting stance before punching the bag.