King of Sports 201 Tang Yan vs Estchenko 1

As the day progressed to the afternoon, the competition for the top 16 of the 63kg class officially kicked off.

The first fight was Tang Yan vs Estchenko. He went from being the finale last time to being the first fight.

Even though he was the first fight, he still received attention afterall a boxer who could TKO Luke Jackson in the second round could theoretically be able to compete for gold.

Of course, such a theory wasn't concrete but it was enough to attract attention.

Not to mention that his opponent was Estchenko, who had defeated his opponent in the first round.

The host's introduction immediately ignited the venue before the fight.

When the two boxers appeared under their flags, the cheers on the scene reached a peak.

Tang Yan and Estchenko put on their gear and boarded the ring at about the same time.

Having gone through a brawl and had dinner together, compared with other opponents, the two had a closer relationship.

But as professional athletes, they had to clear their minds. Before the fight, the two nodded to each other.

After the two touched gloves, both of them jumped back to their corners and put all other factors aside, their goals were the same. To win this fight.

Ding! Ding!

With the ringing of the bell on the sideline, the fight officially kicked off.

The moment the bell rang, Tang Yan took the initiative in attacking, while Estchenko defended.

"KO! KO!"

Tang Yan's oppressive play soon drew excitement from the audience.

However, the difference between Luke Jackson and Estchenko was that Estchenko's defense wasn't as passive. When Tang Yan was attacking and gaining momentum, he would seize the opportunity to throw a quick punch back, disrupting his flow.

Tang Yan threw out two right jabs, Estchenko raised his left arm and deflected the jabs, Tang Yan instantly followed up and threw a firm left hook, Estchenko dropped his right arm to guard his stomach, blocking the blow.

Right hook, Estchenko blocked, right jab, Estchenko side stepped, right jab, Estchenko blocked, dummy left jab followed with a sharp right hook, Estchenko parried the swinging right and stabbed a light left towards Tang Yan's earnest face.

Tang Yan ducked under it and backed off. He avoided Estchenko's punch, but there was a fierce pain in the tip of his nose where he was grazed.

After Estchenko forced Tang Yan to retreat, he did not expand on the results, but just spread his arms and stared at Tang Yan with all his attention.

Seeing this scene, Qin Hailong, who was watching the battle on the sidelines, felt cold for a moment.

This Estchenko had obviously done targeted research on Tang Yan, knowing that Tang Yan was good at intercepting and counterpunching, he didn't take the initiative to attack, instead relying on sudden defensive counterattacks.

Tang Yan's boxing style needed continuity. This kind of abrupt defensive counter-attack punch, made it difficult for him to effectively dig in.

Sure enough, during Tang Yan's second offense, Estchenko used the same defensive tactic, the difference was that this time he used a left hook that darted towards Tang Yan for a body shot.

Tang Yan arched his body and shifted back anxiously as he dodged.

Even as Tang Yan opened the distance between them, Estchenko still didn't attack.

It seemed that Qin Hailong's judgment was correct.

Tang Yan also paid attention to this. He suffered two counterattacks in succession plus he wasn't causing substantial damage, he couldn't afford to attack like this forever.

He had to switch up his strategy.

His brain turned, and he soon had an idea in his head.

He rushed to close the distance with Estchenko, and threw another set of punches.

The only difference from the previous combo of punches was that this time he was rushing punches with great strength and obvious directionality.

His offensive focus was all on his right hand. He threw out right hooks and jabs only throwing out left swings to prevent Estchenko stepping around him. 

Estchenko, continuously pressured, had to retreat and block, but was slowly backed into the left corner of the boxing ring.

After this set of punches finished, Estchenko threw another counter-attack swing, but Tang Yan, who adapted to this raid tactic, flashed back to escape this before following up with another set of punches.

The situation in the ring turned in Tang Yan's favour once again, and he increased the pressure to the max. Estchenko counterattacked but it was more like a powerless struggle.

"Tang Yan has forced Estchenko into the corner, Estchenko's completely lost room to counterattack." The on-site commentator shouted excitedly.

"Estchenko's really pressed in that corner, Tang Yan's not giving him the chance to break out. What sharp thinking to overturn the stalemate! This is the makings of a top boxer!" The guest commentator immediately echoed.

"KO! KO!"

The audience rang out, excitedly cheering again.

This situation continued until the end of the first round. Estchenko simply carried Tang Yan's stormy offense with his strong defensive ability but stuck in the corner he was forced into passivity. He knew he would definitely be trailing on points coming out this round.

"Wake up! Wake up! This is the round of 16! You'll have to go home if you lose!" During the break, Estchenko's coach shouted loudly to remind him.

When the bell for the second round sounded, Estchenko slapped his chest and gave out a beast-like roar. 

When the referee signaled to start, Tang Yan launched an attack. He knew that Estchenko wasn't Luke Jackson and wouldn't so easily take the initiative to attack.

And he was proved correct, as Estchenko still adopted a defensive posture at the beginning.

However, when he was about to push Estchenko to the corner again, the latter slammed out two left jabs followed by a right hook.

The counterattack finally started!

Tang Yan reached out and blocked, but he had to say that Estchenko's punching power was strong. Taking his punches to the arm left them feeling a little numb and he had to shift backwards into defense.

It was this change that allowed Estchenko to take the initiative. His continuous combo of punches, punch after punch drove Tang Yan back another few steps.

He followed Tang Yan, found him with lefts and rocked him backward with long rights. He stalked him constantly. As the round wore away, a growing exhilaration filled his throat. 

He threw a vicious testing jab towards Tang Yan's head but Tang Yan seeing a chance, stepped in.

He stung Estchenko with a left, crossed with a right, moved off and threw another left.

Estchenko drew a deep breath. The physical contact was strangely reassuring. He went in, his shoulders bent, his head tucked in.

Tang Yan fed a left and Estchenko took it, trading blows, he clipped Tang Yan's face with a looping right.

Tang Yan backed away.

Estchenko breathed hungrily. His muscles seemed to sing.

"Get him! Take him down!"

Estchenko jabbed with a snaky left but Tang Yan sidestepped it, so Estchenko followed up with a right hook feint and tried for the midsection but Tang Yan countered with a right to his jaw and circled.

Then he suddenly bobbed and weaved coming in hard, hooking like a wounded bull. He caught Estchenko off guard and got him in the midsection with a right hook and a left hook.

But then Estchenko stepped back and nailed him with a driving left to the cheek.

Tang Yan retreated back and raised his guard but Estchenko instantly closed the gap and rocked him with a left, right.

Punching through his guard.

As the situation in the ring changed, the audience gave a burst of cheers again, but this time, the object of their cheers was Estchenko.

"The intensity of this fight is really beyond imagination. The offense and defense between the two boxers is quite impressive and Estchenko is finally no longer being passively forced back!" The on-site commentator exclaimed, excitedly.

"Both sides have the strength to take the other down. At this rate, the fight between the two sides will be for who can stick around to the next round. Victory or defeat could suddenly appear at any point!" The commentator shouted.

And just as his voice fell.

Estchenko launched into another combo, he swung a right towards Tang Yan's jaw, then a left towards his mouth, a right to the side of his head and threw in three lightning left jabs.

But Tang Yan danced around the ends of Estchenko's gloves and hooked two hard rights to his ear. 

"Bam! Bam!"

There were two muffled noises, and the situation in the ring changed abruptly. Estchenko, caught by the punches, retreated several steps before staggering into a knee.

The audience was in an uproar.

It happened so quickly that many didn't even see the situation play out but Estchenko had faltered to his knee!

Chapter end