Justice Battle – an introduction

By TJ

A Fantasy world where justice is determined by brutal boxing bouts –
Read this introduction before the stories

Imagine a fantasy world where matters of justice or disputes are settled by
combat. A person suspected of a crime is brought before a court of law and the
evidence is heard, after which the accused has the chance to box for his or her
freedom against a state appointed opponent. This opponent will generally be
physically similar to the accused but the fighting skills will be determined by the
level of and quality of evidence the court has heard. Where guilt has been almost
certainly proved the state’s fighter will be of an extremely high standard, where
evidence of guilt or innocence is more inconclusive the quality of the state’s
fighter will be as near as possible to that of the accused and where the evidence
points to innocence the state’s fighter will be of a lower standard.

The following notes apply to female fights:

i. The accused will not know the quality of opponent they will face

ii. The duration of the fight, knockdowns etc will be determined by the
court and will depend on the severity of the case. As there is an
element of punishment and/or retribution it will not always be
possible for a fighter to ‘quit’. Refusal to fight on when fit to do so is
treated as ‘taking a count’, see note iv.

iii. Rounds are always to a knockdown, each knockdown will result in
a forfeit, usually the removal of an article of clothing. For each
round and forfeit lost, the count that determines a knockdown
increases and can become several minutes depending on the
number of completed rounds. Similarly the gap between rounds is
not fixed but extends as the fight progresses. It is sometimes
possible to estimate how long a fight is expected to last by the
number of articles of clothing worn by the fighters however, for
some fights where a severe punishment or humiliation is deemed
necessary extra clothes, usually designed to add humiliation, are
given to a stripped fighter who must then carry on.

iv. Taking a ‘count’ is not recommended as this will result in a free
punch to the breast for each infringement. These are meted out to
the loser of the round as soon as possible at the rounds
completion. Should the winner of the round have incurred any
penalties these will be given at the start of the next round.

v. Each fighter will have state appointed ‘seconds’ whose job it is
to keep a fighter in the fight for as long as possible. The
‘seconds’ pay for the losing fighter is determined by the duration
of the fight. That for the winner is a fixed fee. Some seconds
specialise in supporting fighters that are expected to lose.

vi. The seconds are allowed into the ring to assist their fighter the
moment they begin to receive a count. If conscious, they can
support their fighter (and thus stop the count) for a time
Equivalent to the original count. At this time the fighter must be
able to stand unaided for a further 10 seconds before the fight
resumes.

vi. There are 2 types of State fighter:

1. The retained professional who would normally fight an
accused who was almost certainly guilty.

2. Amateurs of varying degrees of skill who take part
in the more open fights. They are very well paid but only if
they win. Those that show promise can become retained
professionals. Many new, inexperienced fighters start in
fights against accused who are probably innocent.

vii. At the Judge’s discretion a victim of a crime can choose to fight
the accused or be allowed to appoint her own ‘champion of
Justice’.

viii. For special cases the judge can impose alternatives to the
normal Boxing Battle. These can be imposed by the judge or
suggested by the victim and can be of any nature deemed
appropriate. A common variation of the Boxing Battle is for the
combatants to punch each other in turn, the area of the body hit
decided by the throw of a dice for each round or punch. This
variation is most often used when the victim chooses to ‘fight’
the accused and/or where there is no clear cut evidence of guilt
or innocence. The random nature of the dice (or fate) and strength
of character will determine the outcome. Many other variations are
possible

ix. All areas of the body are available to be hit unless otherwise
indicated by the judge.

x. Gloves used would be 8oz unless the courts make special
exception.

There is always heated debate about the gloves used, many felt lighter gloves
would be a stricter test but the consensus was that with a lighter glove damage
was done too quickly and that a lucky punch could lead to the wrong outcome. To
win, or lose with 8oz gloves meant a true test of attrition where stamina and
character were fully tested.