Falling Up

28. Fight

"Ladies and gentleman," boomed Liam into a microphone as he stepped into the ring behind Noah and Tyrus. "Today we have a very special match lined up for you all. Two of our best fighters are here to challenge each other in a one-on-one spectacle to find out who the best fighter is here at White Stag."

The crowd boomed with applause, taking Riley by surprise at the sheer enthusiasm of the overcrowded audience. She glanced between Noah and Tyrus as they stood in the centre of the ring with Liam walking around them as he riled up the audience. They were both sporting the same outfit, a simple pair of black shorts, leaving their upper bodies free from the restriction of clothing. There seemed to be no fighting gear on, like Riley would expect. No gloves or padding, just two guys, looking ready for an old-fashioned fight.

The girls in the audience were going wild as they ogled the two men on stage with their perfectly formed bodies on display. She took a quick glance out of the corner of her eye at Jason, who was clearly admiring Tyrus's form with his mouth slightly parted as he fidgeted in his seat.

"Now, you know the rules. No gloves, no shoes, no shirt. No hitting the groin, pulling hair, or gouging eyes. We want a nice clean fight. For the fight to end, the opponent must either tap out or be unconscious. But first," said Liam. "I think we need some opponents to get these fighters warmed up. Who out there is willing to go one-on-one with Noah or Tyrus. To sweeten the deal, if you beat either of them, you'll not only get the pride and privilege of beating our best fighters, you'll also get a year free membership to White Stag. So what do you say? Do I have any volunteers?"

A couple of hands shot up in the audience and Liam picked two men who looked like the strongest out of the volunteers. "You and you, come on down."

The crowd gave way for the two new contenders as they made their way down the stairs and towards the edge of the fighting ring. One man was buff beyond belief, almost an Arnold Schwarzenegger type of figure from back in his glory years. The other was much smaller but still had an extraordinarily trained body. Once in the ring, both of the men took off their shirts, throwing them casually over the edge of the boxing ring.

"Now fighters, who would like to go first?" asked Liam.

"This pansy boy is mine," said the larger, buff man, pointing directly at Noah.

Riley was mortified that Noah would have to go up against someone like that. This guy was bigger than Vincent. She shook her head of the thought as her heartbeat raced and she clutched the side of her armrest, only to come into contact with Kain's hand that was resting casually in the same spot. "Sorry," she mumbled, pulling her hand away from Kain's as her focus went back to Noah.

Noah cocked his head and smiled towards the large man. "You're on."

"Can the other fighters please clear the ring?" said Liam followed the others down the stairs, clearing the field for Noah and the other fighter.

"Three. Two. One." Ding!

A bell signalled the beginning of the fight and Riley subconsciously moved forward to the edge of her seat. Since she was in the front seat, she could overhear the chatter in front of her.

"This will be a piece of cake," said the buff fighter as they both moved around in a casual circle, keeping their distance. "I'm going to pummel you into the ground."

Noah was the first to react. He moved so fast that Riley was sure she missed half of his movements when she blinked and found him directly in front of the other fighter. Noah ducked under the fist that was aiming for his head and manoeuvred straight under the other fighter's arm. At the very last second, Noah's fist collided with his jaw.

The power in the punch made the audience gasp as the bulky fighters head flew back further than she thought was possible. He stumbled, leaving a suitable distance between himself and Noah. The fighter moved foot to foot before he collapsed. The loud slam of his body hitting the floor was all the crowd needed before they jumped from their seats, cheering at the scene in front of them. All it took was one hit from Noah and the guy was unconscious, laying flat on the ground.