Punch-Out!

Chapter 28: The Same Result

So the much anticipated Mac's Last Stand pay-per view event was over with Mac somehow coming out as the winner. The press wanted a statement, the fans cheered, and he had just won more money in one night than he ever dreamed of making in a year. It wasn't like he had won the title or anything, but a contest like this had only been attempted and won a single time before, so it was a pretty big deal. As for Mac, he was completely wiped out, but no one was about to let him out of the arena that easily.

"We're back at ringside with recently declared winner, Little Mac." Brian Russel said into the microphone as he and the cameraman reached Mac's corner where he had just sat down. "Mac, you've just won one of the most significant events in the history of the W.V.B.A., and now there's talk about a title fight in your future. Can we get a few words for the folks watching at home?"

"Damn right, there's a title fight in his future." Doc Louis interrupted. "You're lookin at one of the greatest fighters to ever live, right here, and if there was any doubt about that before tonight, well, you can bet your butt that there ain't no more."

Mac was too sore and exhausted for an interview, and he was glad that Doc was there to talk for him. Yes, the contest was over, and yes he was the winner, but right now all he wanted to do was go home for the night. He was going to be sore as hell tomorrow, just like he was after every fight, especially since getting moved into the Major Circuit, and now there was already talk about his next fight. That meant training, pain, and even less time getting to spend with Alice, who was probably the only person that he wanted to see.

"Mac has done an incredible job tonight in defeating all three fighters." The reporter continued. "But is he ready to take on someone like Mr. Sandman? Let's not forget that the current W.V.B.A. Major Circuit Champion was trained by none other than the legendary Mr. Dream himself."

"That don't matter one bit." Doc answered confidently. "The kid just proved here tonight that he is just as good, if not better than Mr. Dream, since if you were old enough to be at that fight, you would know that his last fight was won by split-decision. That's right, I said it; Mr. Dream only won because the judges said he did, but Mac won by a knockout. That's right, knockout with a K.O. because he is the best."

Mac was no longer paying attention to the interview, and his mind just kind of went on auto-pilot as everything slowly died down in the arena. Then, finally, he was able to go back into the locker room for a much needed shower. A very hot shower to try and relax his muscles a bit before they locked up. These three fights had been more than he had imagined in even the worst scenario that played in his head, and he was so wiped out that he had to put his hands on the wall to keep from falling over. The hot water helped as poured on his head and ran down his body, and he tried to stretch a little bit as well, but he was still too shaky.

Eventually he turned off the water and got dressed, but now that he had some time to relax, his muscles were cramping up just like he was afraid they would. By the time Doc had finished talking with the Officials and came back to check on him, the crowds had gone, which was nice because Mac doubted that he could hold his hand steady enough to sign any autographs. It also took both Doc and Alice to help him walk back to the car, where they laid him down on the backseat. There were a lot of things he wanted to do and say on the way back, like kiss Alice and really rip into Doc about forgetting to tell him that there was a damn kickboxer in the W.V.B.A., but instead he just laid there, watching the streetlights pass overhead as they drove down the street.

"Hey kid, you did good tonight." Doc said as he got out of the car when they reached his home. "Just mellow-out for a few days, and they we'll talk about that title fight, huh?"

Mac nodded weakly while groaning a reply, and then Doc walked away before Alice put the car in gear. A moment later they resumed driving down the street, with each bump in the road causing him pain since it made his body tense up. Oh well, at least now he was alone with Alice, and that was all he wanted.

"I'm so proud of you, Mac." She said. "I can't believe you beat all three of those guys like that, but – but, Mac, honey – I'm worried about you. You always look so beat up after these fights, and I know it's your dream, but I always get so scared when someone knocks you down, like – I'm really worried that you're gonna get hurt one of these times."

"I know, Alice." He answered. "I get scared sometimes, too, and – now I understand why so many people stay in the Minors. I gotta keep going until the title fight, but then – well – then I don't know. I'll talk to Doc and Mr. Quarlow after that, because honestly – I don't know how much longer I can do this."

A few minutes later they pulled into the driveway of their house, and Mac groaned painfully as Alice helped him walk. Once they were in the house, she helped him get undressed and also started a hot bath for him, while making sure to put in a whole bunch of those Epsom Salts in the water since they seemed to help with the soreness. She stayed with him while he soaked in the tub, rubbing his arms and legs, and reminding him once again that he was the luckiest man in the world for having her as a wife.

Still, once, and he meant just once he wished that he could walk away from a fight without having to go through all this. It was always the same, struggle through the match and just barely win, and as a reward he would have to spend the next three days soaking in hot water and stretching. It was always the same result no matter if he won or lost, but this time it felt like he was going to need at least a week before full recovery. One thing was for sure, he was definitely not going to do anything strenuous for a while, but that didn't mean that he was going to just lay around the house. The best way to work through soreness was to keep moving around, and that was what he was going to do – after a good night's rest, of course.

When he finally got to bed, the rest wasn't quite as good as he wanted, but then it was straight to business. With the money he had won, it was easy to buy half of the Super Macho Gym from Greg, and with it he was going to start a boxing school. He was going to hire coaches, and getting students would be no problem since he had received literally hundreds of letter from fans asking for lessons, and this school would allow people to follow their dreams just like he did, although hopefully giving them an easier start. And then, once he was finally done with the W.V.B.A., he would retire and become a boxing instructor himself, doing for someone else what Doc Louis had done for him.

Needless to say, Greg was overjoyed with the idea of having a partner, and the deal was quickly sealed with a sudden hug that was both painful and embarrassing as Greg lifted him off the floor. Well, his future was pretty well secured, so the next thing he did was pay for Alice to continue with school. Before there had no way that she would ever be able to get a Master's Degree, but now they had more than enough money to make it happen. It meant that they wouldn't be able to spend as much time together, but she had been supportive of his dreams, so he would do the same for her.

His wife had nearly fainted when she realized how much money they had left even after all of this, and she wasted no time in going down to the college to get everything set up, leaving Mac with plenty of time to just sit on the couch and watch television for a change. They had Cable now, so there was more on besides just the news or whatever speech that President Reagan was making, and this was actually the first time that he had ever been able to watch HBO. So he pressed the button on his remote control, and just like the cable guy said, it was like having a movie theater in his house.

But the best thing of all was being able to record movies to watch later. It was hard to decide whether he should go with VHS or Betamax, but a simple coin-toss brought VHS into his home, along with a stack of blank cassettes. He really felt like a king as he recorded several movies, from Short Circuit to Footloose, and now he was reconsidering how horrible the aftermath of each fight was. After all, the W.V.B.A. was how he got all these neat things, including his house, so maybe the same result night after night was worth it.

This also caused his thoughts to return to the upcoming title fight against Mr. Sandman, and he was not thrilled to go against someone who had been trained by Mr. Dream. Then again, Mac had just gone head to head with three of the best fighters in the Major Circuit, including Nick Bruiser, and beat them all. Even if Mr. Sandman was bigger and better than all the others, there was no way that fighting any single man could be more difficult that taking on three in a single night. Of course, he had been just as confident before his first loss in the Minor Circuit to Piston Honda, and then again when he lost to Vodka Drunkenski. But that was enough of these thoughts for today. Today he was going to relax and do nothing, beginning with setting his VHS to record the next movie on HBO – and possibly the one after that as well.