After a particularly fierce blow, he crawled to his feet, too dazed to rush. . . . All the pain he had endured was as nothing compared with the exquisite agony of this. With a roar that was almost lionlike in its ferocity, he again hurled himself at the man. But the man, shifting the club from right to left, coolly caught him by the under jaw, at the same time wrenching downward and backward. Buck described a complete circle in the air, and half of another, then crashed to the ground on his head and chest. What is the man’s role in this excerpt?

The man is the protagonist because he is the main character.
The man is the protagonist because he proves his superior strength.
The man is the antagonist because he reveals his cruel nature.
The man is the antagonist because he is opposing Buck.