Guest
. RINGS Astral Step: FINAL “This is Mr. Maeda,“ an off-camera interpreter says by way of introduction, “Akira Maeda, he’s also the, uh, new type of martial arts fighter.“ What a tremendous thing to have ever been said about anyone. “Nice to meet you, nice to meet you,“ Maeda says in entirely clear English as Tyson bows awkwardly in a way that hurts your heart a little. Through an interpreter, Maeda asks about Tyson’s loss to Buster Douglas at the Tokyo Dome the year before, and Tyson explains that it is not the loss itself that most disappointed him but instead the knowledge that he did not do his best; had he done his best, and lost, he could accept it, but having trained inadequately he feels as though he defeated himself (the enemy, the inner-me, . Kevin Ferguson/Kimbo Slice). There is nothing at all wrong with any of the cordiality we see here between fighting greats, but the feel here is just odd in a way adequately captured, I believe, by the following image. Next, Maeda meets Evander Ho
