A/N: Hey, guys! In the previous chapter, Little Mac defeated Super Macho Man, who didn't take the defeat well and almost attacked the referee. To protect him, Mac was almost strangled to death, and only the arrival of other boxers forced Super Macho Man to let go of him, resulting in a ten-day suspension. In this chapter Mac will face the World Circuit Champion, Mr. Sandman. Let's get started!

Chapter 17: Brains beat Brawn: VS Mr. Sandman

''Excellent, Mac! You were great in yesterday's match against Super Macho Man! Now you have to face the World Circuit Champion. Your parents will also attend the match, and will be in the row closest to the ring, next to the President.'' said Doc Louis.

Little Mac did not expect his parents to attend the match directly, he knew they would normally follow them on TV. ''Really?'' he asked.

''Yes. If you can win this match, the title will be yours. Be careful though: Mr. Sandman is undefeated and is so short-tempered that Bald Bull is calm by comparison.'' Doc replied. ''Your opponent is Mr. Sandman.''

Mr. Sandman was a heavyweight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was 31 years old, was 1.96 meters (6 feet 5 inches) tall and weighed 129 kg (284 pounds). In 31 matches, he won them all by knockout.

''I'll make it.'' said the young boxer. He reached the ring and saw a big, muscular man with dark skin and black hair. He wore black shoes, green boxing gloves and yellow shorts with an orange stripe. It was Mr. Sandman himself, who burst out laughing when he saw his opponent. ''This would be my challenger?'' he said arrogantly.

Doc was frightened and intimidated by Mr. Sandman's size(1). ''I sweat just looking at him.'' Mac, on the other hand, was not intimidated at all and had a determined expression. ''Do you really think you can judge me by my size? You're wrong, if I were you, I wouldn't be so sure.'' he said, entering the ring, then let out a lion growl. The coach gave him a proud smile, while Mac's parents cheered on their son from the stands.

''Beating you will be a piece of cake.'' said the older boxer. He immediately moved to attack, but was stopped.

''Don't move! You must wait for my signal!'' cried the referee.

''This is it, Mac. Give it your all for me and your parents. You can do it.'' said Doc. The referee gave the signal, and the match began.

(''Now Or Never- High School Musical 3 OST'')

Mac successfully dodged Mr. Sandman's right hook before hitting him in the stomach four times, then he also avoided a quick left hook and hit him six more times in the face, but during the first round, he had a lot of difficulty: even when he managed to hit him after dodging an attack, the Champion defended himself by covering his face, forcing him to hit him in the stomach, and his punches hit hard. He was hit in the face by an overhand so fast that he could not react in time, then by an uppercut on his chin. He managed to hit him with a jumping downward hook, but was then caught by a left hook. ''If you really think you're going to beat me, you'll have to face my speed!'' he said, starting to move quickly.

''Little Mac is trying to face Mr. Sandman with speed! Let's see how it ends!'' said the commentator.

Mac's swift movements allowed him to dodge many of Mr. Sandman's attacks, quickly frustrating him. ''Stand still, you nasty bug!'' yelled the Champion. Halfway through the first round, the young man hit him with an overhand that knocked him over. The referee started the count.

''1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6-''

Mr. Sandman got up, and this time he was serious. He somehow managed to counteract all Mac attacks, then used his signature move, the Dreamland Express, a series of three quick and powerful uppercuts. The boy tried to block them and dodged the first one, but the other two caught him on the stomach and made him falter, leaving him exposed to a powerful right hook, and a left one dropped him to the mat one minute from the end of the round.

''1! 2! 3! 4! 5-''

Mac got up and the two boxers continued to exchange blows until the end of the round. ''I'll eat you like a midnight snack!'' said Mr. Sandman.

''They all say you will never be the champion, Mac. Prove that everyone was wrong about you! You're the champion, so make everyone understand how little they know about you!'' exclaimed Doc, giving Mac a bottle of water.

In the second round, Mac was at a big disadvantage. Mr. Sandman dodged or blocked a good number of his attacks, and even his attempt to stop him with speed didn't change much, forcing him to use his more powerful attacks, including the Star Punch, more often. Due to the Dreamland Express, he fell to the ground two more times, while the opponent fell to the mat only once during the round.

''Despite doing his best, Mac is struggling against Mr. Sandman! Just what is expected of the Champion!'' exclaimed the commentator.

Mac's parents continued to cheer, but they began to feel a little unsure. ''Mac has to take advantage of his speed, so he could get out of the disadvantage.'' said Mom.

''Yeah, that's true, but he won't be able to do much if he can't dodge the blows.'' said Dad.

There was a minute left until the end of the second round. ''This match is practically over.'' said Mr. Sandman, ready to use the Dreamland Express once again. This time, Mac managed to dodge all the blows by jumping, avoiding the risk of losing by at TKO forty seconds to the end.

''What a dodge! Little Mac managed to dodge the entire Dreamland Express! This teenager doesn't seem to want to give up!'' shouted the commentator.

''Way to go!'' shouted Dad.

After an exchange of blows between the two boxers, the second round ended.

''The title is mine, and you will never beat me!'' yelled Mr. Sandman arrogantly. Now his hair was disheveled, and he had bruises on his forehead and a bigger one on his belly.

Mac was breathing heavily, sweating and with his hair all disheveled. ''You're almost there, Mac! Believe in yourself, soon the title will be yours! It all depends on this!'' Doc encouraged him, giving him a chocolate bar.

The third and final round had started. Mac dodged an overhand from Mr. Sandman and hit him five times in the face, but a series of repeated attacks forced him to back off to dodge the blows, and he was now very tired from the previous rounds. Soon, he was pushed to the corner.

''Oh-oh! Little Mac is on the corner! What will happen?'' asked the commentator.

''It's over, Mac! This will be your never-ending nightmare!'' yelled Mr. Sandman, using the Dreamland Express again. The boy knew that he no longer had an escape: there was no room to jump to the side and his opponent covered all the space in front, while the ropes were behind him, and jumping away would have been a bad idea. Having no other choice, he blocked his opponent's fists, but it was all in vain. The first two uppercut hit him on both sides of the neck, making him end up with his back against the corner, and the third nailed him in the throat, straight on his Adam's apple, making him moan in pain. He fell for the fourth time in the match, and everyone gasped. There were two minutes left.

''Oh, no! That's not good!'' exclaimed Dad.

''Now what?'' asked Mom.

''A tremendous blow for Little Mac! He fell to the mat for the fourth time in this match, and he looks exhausted!'' shouted the commentator. The referee started the count as the young boxer tried desperately to get up using the ropes as support.

''1! 2! 3-''

''Mac, you gotta get up! It can't end like this!'' cried Doc.

''4! 5! 6-''

Mac tried to get up, but fell to the ground again, with one hand on his throat and heavy breathing.

''7! 8- Time!'' the referee stopped and looked quickly at Mac. ''Can you go on?'' he asked.

''I... can't... give up...'' murmured the young man, who, with some difficulty, managed to get up. His vision was blurry, and he could only hear his parents shouting at him not to give up.

''Wow! Despite the power of all the blows he has suffered in this match, Little Mac has managed to get up!'' yelled the commentator.

The young boxer breathed heavily, with his head down. ''Doc, I can barely breathe. I don't know if I can make it.'' he said.

''Come on, Mac! You can do it, I know you can! I believe in you, as do your parents, so don't give up!'' Doc encouraged him.

Mr. Sandman was frustrated. ''You're only making it worse for yourself, you idiot, so it's better for you if you just give up!'' he snapped.

''Never!'' Mac replied, full of determination, leaving everyone speechless. He dodged the first two blows of the Dreamland Express, but the third threw him away when he noticed the pillar behind him. He gave himself momentum with one foot, then launched a cross at full power(2) that hit the opponent straight on the chin and caused serious damage, but Mr. Sandman managed to remain standing. Mac's parents were shocked to see that technique.

''Awesome! After suffering the blow, Little Mac used the pillar to his advantage to increase his power!'' yelled the commentator.

''Keep it up, Mac!'' yelled Dad.

The young boxer continued to attack, taking advantage of Mr. Sandman's frustration to counter his attacks by hitting him, but within a minute of the end, he was hit by another Dreamland Express who made him end up on the ropes.

''Oh, no! It could be over for Mac!'' said Doc worriedly.

To everyone's surprise, after bouncing off the ropes, Mac stuck his right foot forward, managing to remain standing, and let out a lion-like roar. ''IT'S NOT OVER YET!'' he screamed, and the crowd cheered.(3)

''Amazing! Little Mac is still standing! I have officially gained a newfound respect for him, I have never seen anyone so brave and determined!'' screamed the commentator.

''That's how it's done, Mac! Give him the final blow!'' Doc yelled.

Mac nodded to his coach and created a star shape with his fists, then both boxers lunged at each other to hit each other with a Star Punch and a powerful cross that created a thick cloud of smoke. Thirty-seven seconds left.

(''Now Or Never- High School Musical 3 OST-s'')

(''We Are The Champions- Queen'')

As the smoke began to clear, everyone wondered how it ended, and when the cloud disappeared, Mr. Sandman was prone on the ground. The referee came closer and saw that he had spirals in his eyes, which left him incredulous. Full of emotion, he announced the result, loud and clear. ''UNBELIEVABLE! MR. SANDMAN IS KO! THIS MEANS THAT WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION: LITTLE MAC!'' he screamed, lifting Mac's arm.

''YEAH!'' Doc screamed, overjoyed at Mac's victory, and the audience screamed at the top of their lungs.

The commentator screamed so loudly that his voice seemed to echo in the room. ''What a victory! Little Mac surprisingly defeated Mr. Sandman, and is officially the new World Circuit Champion! Tell me it's just a dream, wake me up!''

Mac couldn't believe it. While he was breathing heavily, he heard everyone's screams, especially his coach, his parents, and the President, but the whole thing was so shocking that he didn't know if this was true. He took off his boxing gloves and pinched his cheeks to find out if it was all true or if he would have woken up in the bed of his house as nobody like he had always been. He suddenly felt six arms pressing against his body and saw his parents and Doc hug him so tightly that he almost fell to the ground.

''I can't believe! You actually won!'' yelled Dad.

''I didn't know you would make it!'' exclaimed Mum.

''Very good, Mac! You were amazing! You're the best!'' Doc cried out, with tears of joy dripping down his face.

The young boxer still didn't know if it was all true or just a dream. ''Am I dreaming? Am I dreaming or am I awake?'' he asked.

''No, it's all true.'' said a voice. The referee was holding the belt with the World Circuit logo: a golden circle with five small stars united by a larger star in the center, between two red boxing gloves, a crown above and six other small stars on the sides. He turned to Mac, with red eyes and tears on his face. ''Mac, Mr. Sandman was really unhappy with his loss, even more than Super Macho Man, and I had to force him to give me the Champion's belt to give it to you. Now that you have defeated the undefeated champion, you are the new champion, and you have also made history: you are officially the youngest and lightest boxing champion in history. I can't believe you made it, I'm so emotional that I'm crying. Congratulations, Champ. You deserved the title.'' he said, giving him the belt, then shook his hand tightly and hugged him. Mac was a bit surprised by the latter gesture, but returned the hug, then raised the belt to the sky and Doc lifted him on his shoulders, while the two were framed by a camera and a photo was taken. For the young boxer, it was the happiest day of his life so far, and he was curious about what the future will hold for him.

(''We Are The Champions- Queen-s'')

(''2 PM- Animal Crossing Wild World OST'')

Within hours, the news of Little Mac's victory over Mr. Sandman was now everywhere. By lunchtime, the news was in all the newspapers and could be heard on television. A large number of people in the world had followed the match and had witnessed one of the biggest upsets ever in the world of sport. To celebrate the victory, Mac stopped for lunch with Doc in a luxury restaurant, and they were eating a Sloppy Joe, a sandwich with minced beef, onions, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and spices.

''Damn, I still can't believe I won. I feel like a real man.'' said Mac.

''Yeah. But I knew you would make it, Mac. I'm proud of you, son.'' replied Doc.

''You know, my parents didn't know about my techniques. Did you tell them how I learned them? They were like dormant powers inside me.''

''Yes, they didn't expect that. When Mr. Sterling was with you, you couldn't show your true potential, and now, you have awakened unexpected and powerful techniques inside yourself while you trained with me. After lunch, get some rest, you may have to defend the title. Who knows what the future has in store for you.''

''Yeah, I'm really curious. Speaking of victory, Mr. Sandman was all brawn and no brain. Brains beats brawn.'' said Mac.

Doc laughed. ''You're right. He thought he could beat you with his brute force, but you never gave up, which is why you won.''

(''2 PM- Animal Crossing Wild World OST-s'')

A/N: Alright! In a very difficult challenge against Mr. Sandman, Little Mac didn't give up and won the Title of Champion! Title Defense will start soon! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave reviews in the chapters of my stories if you liked them. See you in the next chapter!

(1): In the Wii game, Doc is afraid of Mr. Sandman, which is ironic, since they both have the same voice actor, Riley Inge.

(2): It's very similar to Superman Punch.

(3): In the Wii game, if you press the 1 and 2 buttons at the same time or press the - button as soon as Little Mac gets TKO'd, if done well, Mac will stick his foot forward to hold on. This trick can take effect more than once.