It was a brisk January morning. Joe entered the arena with Katrina toddling along by his side. He was grateful that she was now tall enough to reach his hand so she could walk, though he did still like carrying her.
Since he didn't have any matches that day, he decided to spend some time in the hall of fame. "Ceci c'est Sheriff Firebird," he said to Katrina, showing her the various portraits on the wall. "Il fonde cette organisation en l'année 1979." (This is Sheriff Firebird. He founded this organization in 1979.)
Katrina looked at the picture. "Funny hat," she giggled, seeing Sheriff Firebird's comically tall cowboy hat.
Joe nodded along, and continued down the line. "Et ceci c'est le premier champion mondial, Hoy Quarlow. Il avait une forme de boxe très peu orthodoxe, mais il était tellement fort." (And this is the first World Champion, Hoy Quarlow. He had a very unorthodox method of boxing, but he was incredibly strong.)
He stopped at one portrait in particular. "Et ceci…c'est Doc Louis, notre champion mondial du présent. J'ai toujours regardé ses bagarres quand j'étais un p'tit gars. Je ne pense jamais pouvoir grandir pour être un boxeur comme lui, mais ici nous sommes." (And him…that's Doc Louis, our current World Champion. I always watched his matches when I was a little boy. I never thought I could grow up to be a boxer like him, but here we are.)
"He daddy's hewo?" Katrina cocked her head.
"Je suppose que oui," said Joe, looking back up at the portrait before him. (I suppose so.)
That afternoon, Joe had the opportunity to show Katrina Doc Louis in action as they sat down to watch his latest match against Masked Muscle.
"Fight!"
The fight began. Masked Muscle, being the sneak he was, tried his dokugiri trick, but Doc Louis was too fast for him. He drove his fist right into Masked Muscle's jaw; star #1.
Masked Muscle hopped back and forth to try and confuse Doc Louis. He went in for an uppercut, which Doc Louis countered with three strong hooks; star #2.
Masked Muscle was getting frustrated. He attempted to throw a headbutt, but Doc Louis stepped away and then hit back with a flurry of jabs; star #3. Once Masked Muscle was sufficiently dazed, Doc Louis pulled back and threw him right down with a powerful Star Punch. Knockout.
A bit later, Joe, with Katrina on his hip, shyly approached Doc Louis in the lounge. "Tu étais fantastique aujourd'hui." (You were fantastic today.)
Doc Louis chuckled. "Feels good to be on top of the world." He looked at Katrina. "Yeah, that's what your daddy does for a living too."
"I gonna watch Daddy next time," said Katrina. Which was true; Joe had a match within the next few days.
Doc Louis gave Joe a pat on the shoulder. "Make her proud."
Joe watched as he left. That was extremely validating coming from him. He held Katrina close and beamed; he could hear the cheers and hollers of the crowd already.
