Chapter Text
FINAL BOSS CAN’T BEAT THE FIRST
By Matt Inge
April 1st, 1990
Inside the brightly-illuminated arena of the World Circuit, thousands watch the harrowing battles between starry-eyed challengers and the champions that guard the door to victory. Among the Philadelphian heavyweights and the powerful Californians, though, stands one foe tougher than the rest: Mr. Dream.
Taking the place of the famous Iron Mike after a devastating injury, Mr. Dream shares the legendary boxer’s moveset, including his classic uppercuts and wink punches. Many have tried making it through even one round with this intense foe, but very few have made it.
That is, until April 1st 1990, when Mr. Dream was brought down by the champion of France himself, Glass Joe.
The battle started as any other. Each foe walked into the ring, ready to continue to shape their history as a boxer. Then, the bell sounded.
“The first few seconds of the battle went exactly like they usually do.” Stated famed pugilist Mr. Sandman, who was a witness to the events that night. “Mr. Dream threw a surprise uppercut and the opponent fell like a rock to the mat. I don’t think anyone really expected him to get up at that point. I mean, have you seen Joe’s record?”
Nonetheless, he managed to make it up before the referee could finish counting, with the following minutes of the fight going much smoother. Either due to raw instinct or shaky paranoia, Glass Joe managed to avoid Mr. Dream's attacks for a full minute. Luckily for him, as an honorary custom to challengers, Mr. Dream will stop throwing his all-powerful uppercuts as a reward for making it past the first minute or so of the fight. The battle was now on more equal footing, even if the champion still had an arsenal of different techniques.
“Dude,” former champion Super Macho Man proclaimed, “the fight became totally crazy after that point! I don’t know what Mr. Dream was on that day, but he went super slow after his minute was up! The challenger dude dodged like it was nothing and got a radical amount of hits in!”
Sure enough, the champion had been worn down so much by Glass Joe’s sudden barrage of attacks that he fell to the floor. With this rare instance of the champ on his knees, the crowd was livelier than ever. However, the dream didn’t last, nor did Mr. Dream’s knockout; he got up before the referee had a chance to get past “2”.
From there, the fight took a turn for the worse for Joe. Amateur fighter Aran Ryan describes the event as such: “The wee moment that ol’ Joe messed up was when Mr. Dream came in for the kill. One blow after another and the poor bugger could hardly stand up! It was so brutal, me and mah buddy’s cheeseburgers nearly fell out of our hands!”
Luckily, Glass Joe’s suffering was soon ended by the sound of the bell. During the few minutes of peace both fighters had, their coaches had a chance to help them recover from their injuries, which was a blessing to our challenger. From there, the two exchanged friendly jabs at each other in their respective languages. Mr. Dream even gave him a quick wink, something that not even the most prestigious challengers get from him.
Once their break was over, the two returned back to their usual positions. Nodding to one another, they began the second round with a triumphant return to form.
“This time,” mentioned the owner of a local disco club, “both fighters were on equal footing from the get-go. Three small punches for Joe, one powerful punch for Mr. Dream. It was like… Like an elaborate dance number!”
This rapid exchange of blows kept going until one of them gave out. Sure enough, it was Glass Joe who couldn’t handle the pressure, hitting the ground and receiving his second knockdown of the fight. Fans waited with bated breath, seeing if he would get up. When he did, they went wild.
A few more punches were dodged on Glass Joe’s end, with Mr. Dream’s movements being like clockwork to him. After dodging what most men would normally be destroyed by, it looked like Mr. Dream had given up. Lowering his guard, he stood perfectly still and blinked rapidly, a sure-fire sign that a barrage of attacks were coming Joe’s way.
But neither had time to find out, because at that moment Glass Joe landed a jab. And, as it turned out, the match-winning blow.
Blinded by this sudden turn of events, Mr. Dream stumbled to the floor. The countdown began. However, he didn’t get back up.
The crowd cheered with a passion only rivaled by Joe's. Not only was this a milestone for the defeated champion, but it also was one for the contender as well: this had been his first win in his whole career, and one that was celebrated in its magnitude.
In light of the Frenchman’s success, Japanese heavyweight Piston Hondo wrote the following message to the head of the WVBA:
それで、我々はただ戦いを通して起こっていたすべての奇妙なことを無視するつもりですか？ Glass Joeが彼を襲うことができるように氏Mr. Dreamは突然減速しましたか？彼らがお互いに与えたウインク？ Joeがパンチするのを待って、ドリーム氏はどうやってそこに立ったのでしょうか。何かが足りないという…
According to his translator Shizukani Iwanaide, this means “It’s with great honor that I was able to watch history in the making. Maybe this sudden victory will usher in a new era of boxers.”
This sudden victory has helped restart Glass Joe’s career, which was waning for the last couple of years. And, even though the blow to his perfect career was devastating, Mr. Dream has remained on good terms with the French boxer.
“He’s a pretty nice boxer, all things considered.” He stated just hours after the fight. “And he’s pretty dedicated to the craft, something I can appreciate. I’m just glad I finally gave him the break he needed.”
Despite this statement, though, there have been rumors of Mr. Dream intending to contact the WMVA and remove the loss from his record. Whether this is truth or speculation has yet to be determined.
In one final piece of news, the duo plan to tour together for charity. This is planned for April 13th, so be on the lookout for more information in the future.