Punch-Out!

Chapter 13: Grudge Match

There was no way to really describe how Mac was feeling as he was led away from the cheers of the crowd. Even when he was through the doors at the end of the aisle and back into the preparation room, his mind was still there, standing victorious at the center of the ring. Doc Louis had been called away by an official a few moments later, and Mac was feeling so good that he wasn't even curious as to what they were talking about. He was more focused on the memory of Alice cheering for him in the stands.

Most of the bouts for the night were done, so a lot of the fighters had already left or were too busy preparing for their own matches to offer him congratulations, which he completely understood, since he had felt the same way before his own. It would have been nice, though, to hear words of praise, or at least acceptance, from his fellow fighters. Of course, he didn't yet know most of them, and he would have to find a way to make friends. After all, Piston Honda seemed to like him just fine.

"Mac." Doc called while waving him over. "Come here, kid."

His trainer looked a little anxious, so he wasted no time in walking over to him. The official was still standing there, so this made Mac nervous as well. Had he done something wrong? Had he broken a rule in during his match that he wasn't aware of? Not that there were many rules to begin with, but still.

"Okay, kid, you got a decision to make." Doc said once he reached them. "Some of the newcomers left before their matches, probably got cold feet or somethin, and they're lookin to fill those spots. You already fought once tonight, so you don't have to, but you can have the next bout if you want."

"I'll do it." Mac immediately replied. "Who am I up against?"

"Don Flamenco Raphael." The official explained with a slight laugh. "He's been here a few times; fancies himself some kind of a ladies man. Well, good luck, I'll give the boss the good news."

Mac was all smiles as the official walked away, but apparently Doc didn't share these feelings.

"I've seen this Flamenco guy before." His trainer said sternly. "I know you're feelin pretty pumped up from your first big win, but you got two things workin against you: First, your head's about big as the Statue of Liberty so you think you're invincible, and second, you are not gonna be at a hundred percent for this."

"I understand, Doc." Mac replied. "I'll be careful and keep my head in the game, but if I do this and win, I'll only be one more match away from a title bout."

"Okay, kid. Come on, you're up right after this match, but it just started so we still got time to get you prepared."

Suddenly the bell rang as the crowd cheered loudly, and a few seconds later a newcomer with green hair was carried in on a stretcher. He looked like he had been beaten up pretty badly, and one of the officials carrying him shook his head once they set him down.

"What happened to him?" Mac asked.

"His trainer, that's what." The official replied. "Idiot kept yelling out every single punch he wanted The Green Challenger here to do. That's like a football team giving their playbook to the other team, and the result here was about the same. Humph - Green Challenger, indeed."

Well, so much for warming back up during this match, and before he knew it, Mac was on his way back out to the ring for the second time in one night. The crowd cheered as the Referee announced him, this time much louder than they had done before, but then the good feelings went away as he saw who his opponent was.

"And his opponent." The Referee continued. "Weighing in at 152 lbs., and wearing the white trunks with blue gloves, the Don Juan of the boxing; Don Flamenco."

It was him; the guy who had been groping on Alice out in the parking lot. The crowd cheered as he did a little dance with a red rose in his mouth, and then he tossed the flower out into the stands. It soared through the air as if propelled by an engine, and it would've landed on Alice's lap if she hadn't swatted it away. This caused it to instead fall into the lap of a red-haired girl in the row ahead of her, who immediately squealed and fainted over being fortunate enough to receive this gift.

"Be careful with this guy, kid." Doc said. "He's got a mean uppercut, and he'll try to get you with it when you're open."

"Don't worry, Doc, I got this." Mac replied as the Referee waved him over. "This guy's going down hard."

Anger at the things that this guy had said and done earlier was swimming around in his head like a shark, and now he had the chance to make him pay for it. It was lucky that Doc had warned him about the uppercuts and how Flamenco used them, because it now allowed him to come up with an idea. It was risky, but worth it for the chance to humiliate this guy, and now all he had to do was pull it off.

"All right, remember to give the crowd a good show." The Referee said as the two fighters reached him. "Now keep it clean, and come out boxing. Fight!"

The bell rang to signal the start of round one, and Mac expected to have to dodge his opponent's attack immediately, but instead the guy just stood there. No, not just standing there, but beckoning to him to attack. It appeared like he wanted Mac to throw the first punch, and he almost did, if he hadn't remembered the rest of Doc's warning. Flamenco liked to attack when his opponent was open, as in after a punch had bene thrown, so he would have to figure out a good way to do this.

"Come on, big man." Flamenco taunted while motioning for him to come closer. "Help me show your girlfriend what a sissy you are."

Mac gritted his teeth as his face turned red with anger, but then he calmed back down as he figured out what to do. Appearing to take the bait, he threw a punch which Flamenco easily blocked, but then he also jumped back to avoid the incredibly powerful uppercut that followed. This was the same thing that Piston Honda had done to him; jumping back to avoid a hit, and Mac continued to follow Honda's example by rushing forward as soon as the uppercut was finished.

Flamenco was caught completely off guard when Mac's first punch caught him in the side of the face, and this was immediately followed by another so that he would have no chance to recover. Left, right, left, right, left, right, Mac didn't have the power in each blow that Honda did, but it was enough to drive Flamenco back into the turnbuckle, and the crowd cheered louder than he had ever heard before as he kept up the attack. Left, right, left, right, Mac was enraged that this loser had even dared to touch his girlfriend and insult him, but finally the strength left his arms, and he was forced to stop the attack.

Flamenco stumbled away from the turnbuckle as if he was going to make an attack of his own, but then he stumbled sideways. He managed to regain balance, only to stumble the other way, and finally he crashed to the mat just as Heike Kagero had done in his last match. His opponent didn't even try to get up as the Referee counted all the way to ten, and Mac just wished that he still had the strength to raise them in victory.

"Well, you sure showed me." He taunted as Flamenco groaned weakly. "How will I ever face my girlfriend again after that?"

Flamenco groaned again as he was taken away on the stretcher, and Mac finally found the strength to raise his arms when he looked out into the stands and saw Alice blow him a kiss.

"I love you, Mac!" She yelled, just barely heard over the crowd.

"We all love Mac!" Greg yelled as he stood up. "Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac!"

Slowly the crowd started to join in on this slow repeated chant of his name, and even Doc gave him an approving smile along with a thumbs up. This was truly the best night of his life, and it was also just the beginning of what was sure to be a great career.