John Taker

The following article contains HEAVY SPOILERS! Read on at your own caution!

John Taker
Hangul	존 테이커
Romaja	Jon Teikeo
Epithet	"Rookie Killer"
Statistics
Height	172cm (5'8")
Weight	61kg (134lbs)
Weight Class	Lightweight
Boxing Record
Total Fights	17
Wins	9
Losses	8
Webtoon Debut
Chapter 14

John Taker (존 테이커, Jon Teikeo), also known as the "Rookie Killer" (루키 킬러, Luki Killeo), is a professional boxer and the first opponent Yu fought in his professional boxing career.

Appearance

John is an intimidating looking man with a bald head, a small blonde goatee, beady blue eyes, a chunk taken out of his left ear, a single horizontal scar across his nose, with his most distinguishing feature being the symmetrical tribal-esque tattoos on his face, head and upper back. He almost always has a crazily excited expression on his face, complimented by his often wide grin.

Image Gallery

Personality

John puts on a decidedly confident and somewhat cocky air in public, with a great enjoyment in taking down talented young boxers with promising careers. To this end, he believes that bending the rules is more than okay if it leads to winning in the end. He looks up to the middleweight champion boxer, Santorino Fabrizo, calling the man a true warrior on another level and saying he deserves more respect from people.

However, it's revealed that all of that is an act. Every time he finishes a match, it's shown that he expresses remorse for and is actually taking the role of a heel. It's also shown that he's not as confident as his public persona makes him out to be.

Plot

John was first seen training in his gym when a journalist arrived to interview him. Sitting down, John commented that he must be fighting one hell of a rookie if someone was coming to interview him. Peter responded that although that was true, he was more interested in the story of the "Rookie Killer". Liking the direction Peter was going, John detailed how he viewed the boxing game and how he enjoyed taking down a promising boxer. Peter mused that John based his style on "rebellion" and John somewhat agreed, commenting that he was teaching them a lesson and that bending the rules (in moderation) was the best way to fight, adding that those who fought within the rules of boxing were weak. Peter commented that John's overall feel reminded him of a current boxing champion, with John replying that said boxing champion was the best. John then exclaimed that he would chew up the next crop of promising boxers.

Afterwards, his trainer asked him how his interview went and John replied that he provoked them in moderation. Asking for inspiration and whether he could beat his next opponent, John's trainer told him he had already proven his strength and that nothing was certain in boxing.

On the day of the boxing match, John noted how many people were outside his opponent's door. Finally entering the ring and settling down, John exclaimed that he couldn't wait to see the disappointed faces of the audience when he won.
When the ding for the first round began, John was momentarily overwhelmed by Yu's presence, feeling a sense of fear he had never felt before. Stirring himself into action, he is suddenly sliced on the cheek by Yu's strike. Suddenly being accosted by a flurry of grazing punches, John briefly blacked out and regains consciousness while realising he was bleeding. With the referee stopping the fight for a moment for the ring doctor to check John's injuries, John was left stunned by what had just occurred.

Abilities

John Taker is a notorious boxer who gained his nickname by defeating up-and-coming boxers who had made their professional boxing debuts. He is a known in-fighter, using foul play during in-fighting situations and using moves that corner inexperienced boxers. With his rebellious and provocative style of boxing, John can more easily exploit the inexperience of debuting boxers by drawing them into his ploys.^{[Note] Due to his style of boxing, it is heavily inferred that it isn't a coincidence that John has been taking on rookies.}

With his level of skill and his record, John can be considered a boxing gatekeeper.

Technique(s)

• Headlock Hook (헤드락 훅, Hedeulak Huk): John's main weapon (according to his trainer), this technique is a foul play move where John grabs the back of his opponent's head while hitting with quick and rough hooks. It is all done in a manner to make it seem as if it were done by mistake. Because it is like making a headlock, the audience mockingly calls it the "headlock hook".

Notes & Trivia

• Peter Kent noted that John Taker reminded him a lot of Santorino Fabrizo, due to John's boxing style and overall feel.