Chapter 4: Beside the Thames River, England

A crowd was gathering around the area as they waited in anticipation of the fight that would ensue. One fighter was already warming up and getting ready for the fight as he waited for his opponent to appear. He had already won three matches in the elimination rounds of the Streetfighter tournament and a win in this match would land him a spot in the semi-finals.

Finally, the loud honk of a car horn was heard and a green Rolls Royce rolled into view. The fighter was dumbfounded to learn that he was to fight the English Boxing Champion. Dudley stepped out of the car and took off his coat and threw it back in. His butler waited patiently inside the vehicle and watched what would happen.

Dudley called out to his opponent, "Please pardon my tardiness…"

Raising his gloved fists he added, "Now, let’s fight like gentlemen."

After ten minutes, it was clear that Dudley had the upper hand during the whole match. He wasn’t even scratched while his opponent was already worse for wear with his torn clothes and an eye nearly closed from the viciousness of the punches he received.

Finally, the fight ended with Dudley knocking out his opponent for good with a fierce right hook to the jaw. The crowd cheered and he acknowledged them with a slight nod before heading back to his car where his butler awaited him with a hot cup of coffee.

"Very good match, sir", the butler commented.

"Thank you", Dudley replied. "A bloody shame that he wasn’t able to last very long. Anyway, I’ll be looking forward to tougher opponents in the matches to come… especially with the Japanese fighter I’ve been hearing so much about. What was his name again?"

The butler answered, "I recall his name was Ryu, sir."

"Ah, Ryu, of course!", Dudley said. "From what I’ve been hearing about this fellow, he’s a very hard man to find but he seems to be well-known among fighters around the world. It would be good to fight with such an opponent."

"Of course, sir. But please let us not forget about the banquet that will be held in honor of the Duchess of Nottingham this afternoon. You will after all be taking on the responsibility of being the host of the affair", the butler added.

"Right you are, my fine friend", Dudley said. "Now let’s get back to the estate. I’ve still to get ready for the occasion. Shall we get going?"

With that, both got into the car and sped off into the distance.