Meanwhile, the lobby is already boiling since the time the first Thai promoters stepped through the doors. The air fills with overlapping calls, English and Thai cutting across each other in sharp bursts.
"Sir, one moment please!"
"Was the bidding more aggressive than expected?"
"Did something unexpected happen inside?"
"Can you comment on how intense the room was?"
A representative from Mekong Warrior Promotions tries to push through at first, jaw tight, eyes forward. But the press closes in faster than his team can form a barrier.
And his patience snaps. "This is absurd," he says, turning sharply, the word carrying farther than he intends. "Half a million dollars. For a regional title fight. They are so desperate."
The microphones surge closer.
"Are you saying the winning bid was five hundred thousand dollars?"
"Who submitted it?"
"Was it the champion's camp?"
