Allie

Wearing fresh green gloves and towering over his peers, The Mighty Kreshner is SABLE's leading Callistan fighter and the league's current title-holder. Kreshner carries himself like a sort of big brother to the other SABLE boxers, believing they can push themselves beyond their limits to realize their potential while also being the enormous roadblock in their path towards that potential. He'll offer encouraging words outside a match, complimenting and talking up his opponents in pre-fight promo cuts, but then he'll also try to go for the ten-count knockout in the first round. "You can do it, but I ain't gonna make it easy". The Mighty Kreshner is Murb's pick for a special show match they have planned, if they can ever get a hold of their special guest fighter. Murb has not been so lucky, so Kreshner is happy to continue defending his title from his band of little sibling boxers.

It seems almost unfair to allow a Callistan to box in SABLE, but it's thanks to everyone else's cheating little advantages that they have a fair shot of taking down the Jovian titan. Kreshner has a height and weight advantage over most other boxers, he is fast and agile for his size, his reach is surpassed only by Mrgyl the Kraken but in the context of his other advantages that's a fairly small comfort. Kreshner keeps his head quills bound and keeps bands around his forearms to keep his natural defenses from unintentionally hurting his opponents; he's got a lot of natural advantages working in his favor, and so he tends to play a very aggressive style, knowing he has the stamina and constitution to shrug off more damage than his opponents tend to be able to. Overestimating his endurance is one of Kreshner's shortcomings, and he's lost the SABLE championship title a few times because of this, and when he comes back for it he's a force to be reckoned with.

The Mighty Kreshner is unique in that he doesn't really need to cheat to win in the way the other boxers do, so what he likes to do is find ways to mimic other boxers' trademark little tricks. He would originally try to use a boxer's own moves against them, but since the skill level of SABLE's headline fighters has risen he's started to mix things up and use other fighters' moves against different boxers. He'll kiss his glove like Dazzlin' Dean and just put all his weight into a dizzying blow to the head. He'll put his mitts up and mimic Enrico the Comet's own Comet Crash, barging his way through an opponent's offense to put them on the backfoot. He can't see statuses like Viktor Quick but he'll still perform a super-sized version of his Ice Cap Upper to close out a match. He'll tap his gloves together in emulation of Mr. Nice Guy before putting a little Callistan elbow grease behind a breathtaking body shot. He'll flex his quills when he's taking a shot to the flanks or the upper arms to put a quick little point on his defenses in a parody of Mrgyl's Kraken Sting. He'll fan his body quills left or right to throw off reactions to which side he's boxing from like Ragin' River's tail and he'll rest his head quill bundle against the ropes or the turnbuckle to take some weight off his feet like Stormin' Gale's sneaky little rest spots. Long-time SABLE fans can spot his cheeky little move copies, and they're often a staple of his matches against the other boxers.

Two big-time fans of The Mighty Kreshner are Red Raven's Amy and Timberwolf's Emily. When they were dating the pair used to love going to SABLE shows together and rooting for their boy before their own catastrophic break-up. It was a bitter split and they're definitely not friends now, and neither one is willing to give up The Mighty Kreshner as "their" fighter of choice. Amy always loved to see Kreshner's style copy techniques, thinking it's just so cool that a fighter could be adaptive enough to add those kinds of moves to their repertoire. Emily loved to see Kreshner leverage his physiological advantages and bully the other fighters out of their comfort zones. The pair have tried to be better about it, but when a fight's on the TV at the Ox & Carriage they'll still snip at one another for having the wrong reasons for liking "their" guy- this will usually lead to one of them dredging up some old drama and airing some old grievance, escalating their ex-lovers' argument and sometimes coming to blows. Everyone likes when SABLE is on the set but the patrons of the Ox & Carriage love it when they're front-row to a good old-fashioned pub brawl. Amy and Emily's quarrels will usually steal the show for a round or so until either Bi Feng intervenes or one of them puts the other through the Ox & Carriage's front window, or Bi Feng puts the both of them through the front window. That's SABLE, baby!

If you want to bet on a Mighty Kreshner fight, put some money on his opponents in the late round. Kreshner in the third is not a huge payout, but his opponent by decision can make you a lot of credits if you happen to pick the right fight. Just put up your money, pick a god and pray.

Wearing white gloves and a pokerface, Galeferimedileer aka Stormin' Gale is a Neptunian boxer and a staple of the SABLE lineup. Gale tends to come across as an unimpressed and distant personality, almost snooty at times, never regarding another fighter as much of a challenge and always confident in his own martial pedigree. It's hard to tell how much of Gale's regal airs are kayfabe and how much is legit- he is the son of a high-ranking Skyguard officer, enjoying the prestige of such a lineage growing up, and he rarely drops his act inside or outside of his promos and matches. Whatever the case, he makes for a fairly good heel and has his fair share of fans, although fans of other boxers tend to take extra glee in seeing him lose, and grumble extra hard when he secures a win over their favorites. That's how it goes.

Stormin' Gale approaches the ring as the son of a military officer, preferring a very tactical approach to something that might be more showy or glamorous. He tends towards very defensive and compact boxing, extending outward very far to test opponents with jabs before retreating back into his space, aided by the counterbalancing weight of his long tail. Gale plays the long game, beginning a match by observing his opponent's habits and testing their reactions in the early rounds before formulating the proper approach to dismantling their defenses and securing a win. If a boxer wants to beat Stormin' Gale they'll want to close a fight out early, because the longer the match goes the more tightly Gale will secure his strategy, and by the 8th or 9th round there might not be an action you can take that he doesn't have a counterstrategy prepared for. On the flipside, if a fighter manages to break into his zone and disrupt his exploratory habits in the early rounds they can put him on the backfoot and keep him from developing his strategies, and dissipate the storm before it has a chance to grow to an inescapable scale.

To supplement this long-form strategy Stormin' Gale plays a dirty little trick throughout the course of a match. In addition to starting out slow and reserved Gale will frequently use his tail to rest his body weight and regain his energy, minimizing fatigue where other boxers might grow exhausted staying on their feet. Because of his tail-assisted rest points Gale will tend to have an abundance of energy in the later rounds sufficient to execute his strategies and secure his wins. As an extra layer of cheating Gale likes to occasionally fan his arm feathers when he is throwing punches, making it seem like his actual cheating method is a showier disorienting flourish. "Ohh so that's his trick, huh?" A lot of fans don't realize that his feather flashes aren't meant to serve any other purpose but to hide the fact that he has another more diabolical way of cheating the rules, proving his own chair to lean on in the middle of a match. Leave it to someone like Gale to have a fake way of cheating to obfuscate his actual cheating practices. Such is the mind of a tactician.

While it can be hard for some folks to love a heel, Stormin' Gale can count Red Raven's Clover and Timberwolf's Jack among his fanbase. For Clover, watching a Gale match is a fun opportunity to see if she can spot the cues and develop a strategy alongside Gale, seeing if the late-round reads match Clover's own media analysis. She's not a tactician herself but she's scanned a lot of old Terran media, so she tends to compare Gale's approach to fictional battles from films and stories of old, so its fun to "play along", so to speak, and see if she can read the fighter's intentions correctly. Jack's a bit simpler in his fandom, he thinks Gale looks the coolest of all the fighters. He'll often wear his favorite Stormin' Gale screenprinted t-shirt, but due to the coldness of space his fuzzy jacket is often zipped up to hide it. It's a really cool design, though. If you're a Stormin' Gale fan as well, smart money is on a 9th round TKO- Gale won't put someone's lights out, but once he has a read locked in it's no trouble scoring three knockdowns before the match can go to the judges. You can be a betting tactician as well and capitalize on this tendency, and maybe earn yourself a regal fortune of your own if you play the board correctly.

Catch her wearing the black gloves, it's SABLE's own Ragin' River, the Headache Giver! Full name Riberaldinezephyleer, River is a Neptunian fighter and the smallest of SABLE's boxers, taking that as a challenge to rise to, ready to show Titan that with the right strategy a size advantage can be turned into a liability. During interviews and pre-match promo cuts River is always wearing a curled little smile, like she's looking forward to taking on another towering challenger. She's confided at times that when she took up Terran-style boxing she was nervous or fearful of her training partners or her opponents looming over her, but over time she learned to invert her fears into a sense of defiant challenge, taking the energy welling up in the pit of her stomach and inverting its polarity to work in her favor. Ragin' River has grown to become one of the most fearless and undaunted boxers in SABLE- her fellow boxers in the league know well not to underestimate her.

Among SABLE's fighters River ranks as the queen of speed, able to fire off a rapid flurry of punches in a flash. Thumbless gloves and special reinforced boots ensure that her sharp Neptunian claws are not a hazard to other boxers, but they also do not encumber her innate Neptunian maneuverability- Ragin' River is able to dart about the ring on all fours, pushing off on her back feet and pivoting on her hands, keeping a low profile as she picks her positions carefully. While she's staying low it is very hard for an upright boxer to hit her, but she can't swing below the belt so she has to stand upright in order to land shots on her opponents, often coming in what Terran trainers describe as rabbit-like successions of strikes. The drawback to her stature is that her head tends to sit at body height when she's upright, so she is susceptible to taking counterattacks on the noggin where another boxer could soak it up in their abdomen, but you have to know when and where to swing for those counterattacks to land and Ragin' River has no fears to dissuade her from committing to her attacks if her gut tells her it's a good time to strike. She's not all rabbit punches, however; River's powerful legs afford her a devastating uppercut, vaulting up from below and putting her whole body's weight behind an ascending strike, coming up from below another boxer's guard and finding its mark more often than one might expect. Ragin' River's Whitewater Upper can knock an opponent clean off their feet, and creates a strong incentive to maintain distance and watch for her approaches, if they can read the shot and dodge backwards successfully then River will be right in their sights.

To supplement her unorthodox low-to-the-ground style River has learned to use her long bushy tail as an additional factor to keep track of, overloading her opponents' tracking and risk assessment not just with her erratic movement but with a flurry of false positives as well. There's technically no rules in traditional boxing about how one can use a tail so River feels free to use hers to feint an ascent while she's keeping low and scooting about to try to catch her opponent swinging at nothing, or flicking it left when she darts right to direct their defensive guard away from her intended angles. It's annoying to deal with, and unlike using her tail this way kicking her is strictly against the rules, leading an opponent to make poor defensive choices on reflex in hopes of stopping the Ragin' River's flow. Patience and distance are the best tools against this boxer, and if you react correctly to her tells you don't have to swing very high to land a critical headshot on her. Regardless of how big you might be, she's unafraid of you. This is important to remember.

Ragin' River is a favorite boxer of Red Raven's Haley and Timberwolf's Alan, the Delta astronav droids of the rival salvage companies. Haley loves the scrappy Neptunian's daredevil fearlessness as she scrambles about the ring, believing it's a good model to follow, having confidence in yourself and not being afraid of nobody. She also loves to see a bunny bun bun on the TV screen, but really, who can blame her? Alan, on the other hand, roots for River on the grounds that her low-profile maneuvering makes her statistically the least likely to catch a stray hit or lose a match on points. It is a frustratingly analytical and banal reason to root for a boxer and it drives Haley up the wall that she and Alan both root for the same one! For such stupid, boring reasons too! If you've got credits on River, look for her to seal it in the fourth. Either she lands her trademark Whitewater Upper or she's going down off a shot to the noggin. The longer a match drags on the less energy she has to keep up her speed, so she's looking to close it out quick one way or another. If you're as fearless with your money as River is with her footwork you can find yourself with a very fruitful potted plant delivered to your doorstep, you just gotta be brave enough to bet on a volatile boxer.

With four orange gloves ready and steady it's hard to miss Mrgyl the Kraken, SABLE's favorite boneless boxer from the planet Caelus. An unusual presence in the old Terran sport, Mrgyl has long been a proponent of boxing in the Outer Belt and has sought to make it their own, putting a unique spin on professional pugilism by way of their species distinctly nonhuman traits. In contrast to Mr. Nice Guy, who is big on boxing's history and traditions, Mrgyl the Kraken is all about dismantling ideas of what is "true" boxing and discovering new methods to thrive within the scope and spirit of the sport's rules. Mrgyl will frequently hype up a match in pre-fight interviews by alluding to a new technique they'd invented, encouraging people to tune in and see something they've never seen before. It works, too! What's this four-armed fighter with no bones cooking up this time? Get your tickets to the Imperial Arena and see it live for yourself!

True to their boasts, Mrgyl the Kraken never takes to the ring with the same style twice. Always inventing new techniques, Mrgyl will adapt their whole gameplan around some novel new idea and approach their next fight with a fresh set of moves; this makes watching tapes of Mrgyl's previous matches a somewhat ineffective way to prepare for a match against them, as they're likely not going to be boxing the way they did on the footage you're studying. One thing that unifies Mrgyl's fluid boxing styles is the use of their four arms- this arrangement allows them to play a very defensive game, keeping gloves in front of their face and flanks, bending and weaving around punches while sneaking shots in from awkward angles; to play a very offensive game, raining a flurry of blows to keep an opponent locked in on the defensive; or to play a hybrid style, using their longer arms to parry and jab while keeping their shorter utility arms up in front of their center of mass. Mrgyl isn't very muscley, and they can't take weather quite as many blows as their burlier companions, so they depend on their limberness and their unpredictability to keep them on even footing with SABLE's other boxers. The use of a special belt-mounted rebreather connected to their breathing tubes allows the Caelian to fight without the encumbrance of a standard harness around their neck, an innovation that Caelians in many active sporting fields have likewise adopted.

The Inner Belt fighters all leverage their species' inherent abilities to give them an edge in a match, and you can bet your biscuits their Outer Belt counterparts do the same as well. It might seem easy or tempting to throw a big haymaker at Mrgyl the Kraken, to just knock the Caelian fighter out with an enormous right hand, but above all things you have to be careful not to fall victim to the Kraken's Sting. Utilizing the conductive jellies in their arms, Mrgyl the Kraken is able to release a stored charge of electricity and give their defense an extra crackle and pop, sending a shock through the gloves of a fighter whose aggressive tendencies become too predictable. It's a little too obvious for them to throw electrical punches in the way Dazzlin' Dean is known to throw one venomous blow, and Mrgyl the Kraken doesn't have quite the same oomph behind their shots, so a defensive application of Caelian electricity is the right fit for their boxing needs. Fighters often recoil from the shots, opening themselves up for Mrgyl to move in and shift into a very aggressive stance, showering their opponent in blows while they try to regain their bearings in a match. They can't take too many hits themself so they use their static little cheat to make their defensive moments more worthwhile, quickly turning a match in their own favor. No one likes being zapped by the Kraken's Sting, but trying to catch a wriggly opponent or keep them off of your own defenses can get frustrating round after round, putting even the most seasoned boxer on tilt and leading them towards the temptation of a big sudden offensive with a big juicy payout if they guess correctly. Mrgyl tries to make sure they don't guess correctly and their fans love them for it.

SABLE's leading four-armed fighter is a favorite among many Garden residents, including Red Raven's warp engineer Lydia and Timberwolf's ace pilot, Mahnoor. Lydia loves to cheer for the spicy Caelian, watching them bend and contort around the ring, watching their opponents scramble on the fly to keep up with the fluid fighter. It's almost circus-like, and Lydia's always giggling while the viewers around her groan about their own fighter's withering patience. For Mahnoor the big draw is the Kraken's Sting. She's a fan of old Terran boxing, and it's a real treat to see more traditional fighters be made to work outside their comfort zones against Mrgyl the Kraken. The snap and jolt of the Kraken's Sting going off marks the end of an opponent's patience, and often the beginning of a climactic flurry from Mrgyl's orange mitts. Mahnoor enjoys the other boxers, but she really likes what Mrgyl brings out of them. It's difficult to really put odds on Mrgyl in a matchup, but Calbrix the Florist tends to give them unfavorable odds. Pick a number one to ten, put your credits down and pray that your fighter's got a compatible style in mind for tonight's match. If you guess right you've got a big payout coming, but you gotta be ready to accept you guessed wrong as well. No one knows for sure what to expect from Mrgyl the Kraken, and that is, honestly, a big part of their charm.