[PyroFalkon]

Hey all, I don't get to post often about something that doesn't have to do with the RFG, but I have to tell you about this. It's a long post, and I'm in-character for most of it, but you'll enjoy this story.

Okay, first, realize that when I run my universe, I do as a commissioner. I have complete authority about everything, instituting any rules I darn well feel like (within the game's boundries, of course). My word is law.

Usually, I try to stay out of things. I watch the matches, update my fighters' records in my MS Access database after bouts, and record who moves up the brackets during a tourney. But as far as in-bout organization goes, I leave it up to my referees and the game engine. I never play as a cornerman, and just let the CPU worry about strategies and so on.

That has changed. The day has yet to have a name, but it shall have one. A crime was committed in the ring, and as commissioner, I have done my best to remedy the problem. (Remember, everyone involved in my universe was randomly generated; nothing but fictional names.)

All right, the PTIBO (PyroTech Industries Boxing Organization) is holding a double-elimination tournament to determine its first HW and MW champions. It's been a pretty cool tourney so far, with a few upsets here and a few complete dominations there, but it's still anyone's title. Everything was going fine.

Come May 2, 2005. In the MW winner's bracket, Round 1, 16-seed Frank Rawlins beat 1-seed Rod Morrish. 9-seed Dimi Vusani beat 8-seed Alvaro "Aneurysm" Aanerud. That set the stage for a 16 vs. 9, Rawlins vs. Vusani bout in the second round.

Rawlins was a rookie. The only reason he was 16-seed was because he had zero matches before entering the tournament, and many Vegas people knew he had skill. Beating the number 1 seed was just proof. The smart money was on him to beat Vusani, with 3-1 odds in favor of Rawlins. It looked like it would be a one-sided bout, but the tournament had shown its share of surprises already.

I sat in my usual box at the top, away from the noise but with a great view of the action. I settled down in my chair, with one eye through the glass at the ring, and one eye on my TV monitor giving me the camera-eye view.

Referee Danny Felix gave the fighters their instructions and sent them to their corners. The bell rang, and for the first minute, it was pretty even. Then, Rawlins started proving Vegas right. Hooks, crosses, uppercuts, and Vusani had an answer for nothing. The bell rang in another two minutes, and the judges unanimously gave the round 10-9 to Rawlins.

Round 2 began, and the crowd was into it. Within 10 seconds, Rawlins managed to throw a punch to split Vusani's lips open. The crowd's noise intensified as blood flowed down the chin of Vusani, yet he kept fighting on as if nothing happened. At the 1:31 mark, Rawlins landed a sharp combo that busted Vusani's nose open. Vusani backed into a corner and barely managed to stay on his feet for the rest of the round. It ended with all three judges again giving Rawlins the 10-9 victory.

Round 3 started, with all the momentum on Rawlins's side. It was fairly slow and tactical until 1:50, when Rawlins landed a combination that nearly put Vusani's knee on the mat. No knockdown occured, however, although Vusani was again clearly outmatched. The round ended with 10-9 for Rawlins again from all three judges.

Then Round 4 started. The commentators noted that Vusani's trainer talked really fast to him between rounds. The fighters met in the center of the ring. Rawlins unleashed a hard straight punch that was blocked. Vusani responded with a hard uppercut that forced Rawlins to take a step back. Vusani took that momentary delay to tell Danny Felix that Rawlins was no match for him, and that Felix should stop the fight.

Felix did. TKO win for Vusani.

The scene went from momentary shocked silence of the crowd to complete pandamonium. Security hit the ring to make sure everyone was safe, and the night and tournament continued. However, as they filed out later, I noticed the crowd was calling for blood. They kept looking up to my box, as if they wanted me to go back in time and fix it from happening in the first place.

As soon as the arena cleared, I called my chief advisor Chris Storer. I already had a plan to remedy the situation, and asked his opinion. He concurred, so I hung up and went to the press room for my press conference as I always do after fight nights.

The press lit up as soon as they saw me, and they all asked the same question. What was I going to do about the Rawlins/Vusani bout? My statement was as follows:

"The PTIBO was created to ensure fairness in the sport of boxing. Any irregularity of any bout is an insult to what this organization stands for. As commissioner, I hold full power to do whatever is needed to continue the honor of our sport, and with the aid of my advisor, I have reached a decision.

"Because Danny Felix technically did nothing illegal, I have no choice but to uphold his decision. Dimi [Vusani] advances in the winners' bracket, and Frank [Rawlins] will be moved to the losers' bracket. The record will forever be that Dimi defeated Frank via TKO in round 4.

"However, this bout has definitely shown signs of conspiracy. Taking into account Danny Felix's history with our organization and the implications of this tournament, he has been terminated. He has been banned from the PTIBO, and for all intents and purposes is 'retired.'

"We hold no discplinary actions against Dimi as yet. However, an investigation will be held to see if Dimi had any part in the conspiracy. If he has, he shall be supsended or banned as deemed appropriate.

"Further more, if Rawlins is eliminated from the tournament and Dimi wins the title, a rematch will immediately occur at the next available fight date.

"In addtion, we shall be hiring new referees at the conclusion of the tournaments, and we shall have a stricter screening process. No one known for ending bouts early shall officiate for us."

That seemed to placate the press, but I wonder how the fans feel? As of now, there has been no findings of wrongdoings on the part of Vusani. Rawlins is bitter, but has publicly promised to win the losers' bracket and win the title. Vusani has had no comment.

I'll post a link to the HTML for the bout record eventually. Thanks for reading this story!