CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: QUARTERFINAL WAR - JERKINS VS JAVIER II

The bell exploded through the venue like a cannon shot. The crowd pressed closer, their collective breath creating fog in the cold gym.

Javier sprang off his stool, legs bouncing with predatory purpose. The taste of copper and adrenaline flooded his mouth. Heat radiated from the lights above, making everything sharp and brutal.

This time he cut off the ring like a master hunter. Step by calculated step, forcing Jerkins toward the ropes. No wild rushing. Smart pressure that made the canvas tremble under their feet.

Jerkins tried backing away, pumping his jab desperately to keep distance. But Javier wove around each punch now, slipping leather by millimeters. The wind from missed shots ruffled his hair beneath the headgear.

When he reached phone booth range, he stayed there like Vicente had taught him. Left hook to the body - THUD - ribs compressed under leather. Short uppercut to the floating ribs - CRACK - Jerkins’ mouth opened in silent scream. Quick right hand to the head - POP - sweat exploded from impact point. Everything close and dirty, the way street fights ended.

[FOOTWORK +0.1, CURRENT: 29.8/100]

[RING IQ +0.1, CURRENT: 22.2/100]

[HOOK SKILL +0.1, CURRENT: 31.5/100]

Jerkins tried to escape with a double jab - first one caught Javier’s forehead, second hit his chest guard. But Javier wove under the follow-up cross, feeling leather brush his hair. He immediately countered with a digging left hook to Jerkins’ liver that made him grunt and stumble sideways.

Jerkins recognized the new approach, panic flickering in his eyes behind the headgear. He threw a desperate three-punch combination - jab to create space, cross to Javier’s temple that rattled his headgear, hook that Javier ducked completely.

Javier popped up with a short right uppercut that snapped Jerkins’ head back, then immediately followed with a left hook to the same ribs he had been targeting. This one landed with a wet smack that echoed through the gym.

Sweat streamed down Jerkins’ face in a rush. His breathing came in sharp gasps between exchanges - sucked in air, threw punches, gasped again.

"Move, move!" his corner screamed, voices cracking with desperation. But every time Jerkins tried to circle left, Javier cut him off with two quick steps. When he went right, Javier was already there.

The crowd roared approval with each cut-off. "Work, boy! Work!" Camera flashes strobed through the violence like lightning.

[SPEED +0.1, CURRENT: 27.3/100]

[AGILITY +0.1, CURRENT: 27.3/100]

Jerkins planted his feet and loaded up for the biggest right hand of his life. His left shoulder dipped first - telegraphing the punch. His left hand dropped to his hip exactly like Vicente had predicted. His weight shifted to his back foot as he wound up like a baseball pitcher.

Javier saw it developing like watching lightning before thunder. The massive right hand screamed through the air toward his head, coming fast.

He slipped left at the last possible second, bending his knees and twisting his torso. Leather whistled past his ear so close he felt the friction burn against his skin. Hair ruffled under his headgear from the displaced air.

His counter left hook drove deep into Jerkins’ exposed ribs with sickening violence. All of Javier’s body weight behind it, his hip turning over, his shoulder driving through the target. The sound echoed through suddenly silent air - wet, brutal, final.

Jerkins’ face contorted in absolute agony behind his mouthguard. His eyes bulged wide. Spit exploded from his lips in a pink spray. His knees buckled like cut strings, legs betraying him completely. An animal grunt of pure pain escaped his throat.

[HOOK SKILL +0.2, CURRENT: 31.7/100]

[POWER +0.1, CURRENT: 19.5/100]

[TECHNIQUE +0.1, CURRENT: 25.5/100]

The crowd exploded like a bomb had gone off. "OHHHHHHH!" The sound bounced off concrete walls, deafening in its violence.

Jerkins tried to clinch desperately, reaching for Javier with unsteady arms. But Javier pushed him off with his shoulder and immediately went back to work on those damaged ribs.

Left hook to the liver - THUMP - Jerkins’ face went pale. Right uppercut to the floating ribs - CRACK - his legs wobbled. Another left hook to the same spot - SMACK - this time Jerkins actually whimpered behind his mouthguard.

Each body shot landed with increasingly wet, meaty thuds. Jerkins’ movement became labored, his feet shuffling instead of dancing. His left hand dropped unconsciously to protect his damaged ribs after every exchange.

[STRENGTH +0.1, CURRENT: 23.9/100]

[CROSS SKILL +0.1, CURRENT: 33.3/100]

[ENDURANCE: 19/100 → 17/100]

But Jerkins showed the heart of a true warrior. Despite the body punches, he refused to fold. When Javier got careless and dropped his guard slightly, Jerkins fired back desperately.

Sharp uppercut snapped Javier’s head back violently - his mouthpiece nearly flew out. Perfectly timed cross rattled his headgear like a bell - CLANG - sending droplets of sweat flying in slow motion arcs. Quick left hook to the temple that made Javier’s ears ring.

Javier answered immediately. Jab to Jerkins’ nose - POP - blood started flowing. Right cross to his jaw - CRACK - his head whipped sideways. Left hook to those tender ribs again - THUD - Jerkins doubled over slightly.

They traded in brutal exchanges now. Jerkins threw jab-cross-hook - first two hit Javier’s guard, the hook found his temple. Javier responded with hook-uppercut-cross - hook to the body made Jerkins gasp, uppercut grazed his chin, cross caught him flush on the jaw.

Blood trickled from small cuts above both their eyes, mixing with sweat to create streams down their faces.

[DEFENSE +0.1, CURRENT: 17.2/100]

[UPPERCUT SKILL +0.1, CURRENT: 24.4/100]

"Thirty seconds!" the timekeeper’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

Both fighters sensed the round slipping away. Jerkins threw a desperate five-punch combination with perfect technical form - jab-jab-cross-hook-cross. First jab hit Javier’s forehead, second caught his chest guard, cross rattled his headgear, hook he slipped completely, final cross he blocked on his gloves.

Javier responded with sustained pressure, backing Jerkins against the ropes with relentless body work. Left hook to the ribs - THUMP. Right uppercut to the liver - CRACK. Left hook to the same ribs - SMACK. Right cross to the head - POP.

The canvas shook and bounced under their combined assault. Sweat flew with every impact, creating a fine mist in the air. The sound of violence filled the gym - breath exploding from lungs, gloves cracking against flesh and bone, feet shuffling desperately on blood-stained canvas.

[JAB SKILL +0.1, CURRENT: 37.9/100]

[AGILITY +0.1, CURRENT: 27.4/100]

[ENDURANCE: 17/100 → 15/100]

The bell rang like salvation cutting through hell. Both fighters separated, chests heaving like they had run marathons.

Javier returned to his corner with quiet, deadly confidence. His body language had transformed completely. He walked taller, moved with the purpose of someone who knew victory was within reach.

Jerkins moved more carefully now, each step deliberate and pained. His left hand unconsciously protected his tender ribs. The momentum had swung like a pendulum.

The canvas between them told the story - dark patches of sweat, small drops of blood, the ghost of their violence written on worn fabric.

Miguel worked with ice and towels, his weathered hands steady despite the intensity. Cold water ran down Javier’s neck, making him shiver.

"Perfect! You broke him down with those body shots." Miguel’s voice carried new excitement, barely controlled elation. "He’s protecting his ribs now - that opens up head shots clean."

He pressed the ice pack against Javier’s swelling eye. The cold burned like fire. "One more round of smart pressure and you’ve got this thing."

Javier nodded, gulping water. His hands shook slightly from adrenaline coursing through his veins, but his breathing steadied with each second.

Vicente appeared beside them, no longer calm or controlled. "Final round! He’s hurt bad to the body! Stay on him but don’t get stupid!"

The ghost’s form blazed with supernatural intensity. Every word carried the weight of decades spent in rings exactly like this one.

Across the blood-stained canvas, Jerkins’ corner worked with frantic desperation. Ice packs, urgent instructions, desperate encouragement that sounded hollow in the thin air.

His trainer’s voice carried new worry, barely controlled panic. They all recognized their fighter was in serious trouble now.

Jerkins nodded but his breathing remained labored and painful. He touched his ribs when he thought no one was looking, wincing at the deep tenderness spreading through his torso.

The ten-second warning buzzer cut through the gym noise like a chainsaw. Miguel pulled the stool away and gripped Javier’s shoulders with calloused hands.

"One more round," Miguel said, his voice steady as granite. "Make it count."

[ENDURANCE: 15/100 → 18/100]

Javier stood, rolling his shoulders carefully. His body ached like he had been hit by a freight train, but his eyes burned with the fire of someone who could taste victory on his tongue.

Across the ring, Jerkins pushed off his stool on unsteady legs. Ready for the final three minutes that would determine everything they had worked for.

The referee called them forward for round three. The crowd held its collective breath.

This was where legends were made or dreams died.