Ryoma hears the taunts in his head, but he ignores them. He already has a detailed strategy mapped out for this fight. There is no reason to rush. He simply keeps moving with economical footwork, letting Malik come to him.
Still, the weight behind each of Malik's punches is something Ryoma didn't expect, and he needs to do something about it.
First, he starts building his own lazy, swaying pendulum step to disrupt Malik's sharp and quick pendulum steps. And that alone is enough to hinder Malik's pressure.
Not every punch from Malik can reach Ryoma now. Even the ones that make it to his guard are lightly parried, taking the sting out of them before they can make any real impact.
"Adebayo is certainly coming out hunting here," the first commentator says. "He's putting the champion on the back foot and making Takeda work just to stay out of range."
"Almost thirty seconds gone, and Takeda hasn't thrown a single punch yet," the second commentator adds.
