Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

 Chapter 616 World Championship Champion

The finals of the 69kg category were held on the morning of the next day. Link took a night's rest at a Bangkok resort hotel and followed the coaching team to the competition site the next day.

 The opponent in this match is British boxer Martin Murray, who is 28 years old, 183 cm tall, 187 cm long, and weighs 68.5 kg.

Martin Murray started playing amateur games at the age of 16. He has won the Commonwealth Youth Championship and the ABAE Boxing Classic. He has participated in the World Championships three times, reaching the four-man final for the first time and winning the World Championship gold medal for the second time. , this is the third time that he represented Great Britain at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and entered the quarter-finals.

 The current amateur record is 92 battles, 83 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws.

The opponent is a technical boxer with superb skills. He has done well on both the offensive and defensive ends. He has participated in more than 90 games. He has rich experience and a stable mentality. He also has good speed and strength. In terms of boxing quality, There are no obvious shortcomings.

 Somewhat like Andre Berto, whom Link met at the Golden Gloves tournament.

 It’s just that when Link met Andre Berto, he was still a fledgling boxer. His boxing quality in all aspects needed to be improved, and it was not easy to defeat Andre.

 Now he has participated in more than a hundred professional matches and defeated many boxing masters. In terms of competition experience and mentality, no one can compare with him.

Before the game started, coach Zhao Liwei and other coaches from other levels gathered around him to give him advice, asking him to fight steadily and not to be impatient. They also told him that even if he lost, it would be okay. Winning a silver medal would be a good thing for the Chinese boxing team. , is also a huge progress.

Link was noncommittal.

Dang, Dang, Dang!

   The 69kg finals officially begins.

Link and his opponent Martin Murray took the stage. One was wearing a red T-shirt, red gloves and head protection, with a red national flag printed on the T-shirt, and the other was wearing blue equipment with the Union Jack printed on his chest.

“Chinese people? Can Chinese people also reach the finals?”

 Martin Murray said with a grin.

Link glanced at the opponent and ignored him. The opponent wanted to use this move to provoke him, but he had been in the boxing ring for many years and was already wary of such provocations.

 “Boxing!”

 The referee announces the start of the game.

Link touched the gloves with his opponent, and when the opponent retreated to defend, he took the initiative to attack, left straight punch + right straight punch + left swing fist + right swing fist, and hit the opponent's arms with both fists one after another. .

 Martin Murray did a good job defensively at the beginning, retreating while fighting, and neutralizing most of his attacks.

Link ignores the opponent's defense and continues to deliver heavy punches.

 When his attack lasted for one minute, Martin Murray's arms trembled slightly, and loopholes began to appear in the defense.

Link found the opportunity, took a step to close the distance with the opponent, and then stabbed through the opponent's arms and hit the opponent's face hard.

 Martin Murray was staggered by the beating, took a step back and hit the rope with his back.

Link continued to approach, hitting his opponent's chest and head alternately with his fists like drums.

Martin Murray was caught off guard. He leaned against the rope with his back, covering his head with his arms, and kept shaking his upper body, trying to avoid his attack.

Link's attacks are faster and more accurate. No matter where the opponent is hiding, he can always slide quickly to get close to the opponent. He strikes accurately with both fists, directly treating the opponent as a sandbag and hitting the opponent with one punch after another. Upper body.

His attack was like a violent storm, airtight.

Martin Murray felt as if he had fallen into water, and it became difficult to breathe. His body was hit one after another, and there were waves of pain as if he had been hit by a blunt object.

Just as he was about to use a hug tactic to interrupt Link's offensive rhythm, Link took half a step back and hit his chin with an uppercut.

 At the 86th second of the first round, Martin Murray fell on his back in the ring.

"Wow!"

 There was a burst of exclamation from the audience.

"It's so awesome. Link is so awesome. This is the champion of the last World Championships, and he was used as a sandbag to hit him. It's too hard."

 “Come on Link!”

Zou Shiming and several teammates on the boxing team shouted excitedly.

 “This Link is indeed a boxing genius!”

Coach Zhao Liwei wiped the hot sweat from their foreheads and looked at each other with incredulous expressions on their faces. Before the game, they were worried that Link couldn't beat Martin Murray and suggested that Link use conservative game tactics.

Facts have proved that Link is stronger than everyone expected and is much better than his opponents. He can completely overwhelm his opponents.

Seeing Link performing so strongly, everyone's faces were filled with joy. As long as Link can maintain this state, Link will have a great chance of representing the national team at the Athens Olympics next year and winning a medal or even a gold medal.

A gold medal is a military medal. This military medal is not just for Link, they can also get some glory.

 “Martin Murray couldn’t last more than a round in Link’s hands?!”

 “This Lin from China is more powerful than we expected.”

“Not only is he handsome, he is also very violent in his playing style. This is the talent that our championship club needs.”

In the auditorium, many promoters and boxing scouts who came to watch the fight saw Link knocking out former world champion Martin Murray in the first round. They all shouted excitedly and looked at Link with even more intense eyes.

“Sean, you are right, this Link may have greater potential than Pacquiao.”

 Dmitry Salita, promoter of Arena Promotions Company, said excitedly.

Shaun Gibbons clenched his fists and stared at Link closely, as if he was seeing a shining mountain of gold.

After watching Link's two games before, they gave Link a very high evaluation in their hearts. But after watching this game, they realized that their previous evaluation of Link was still underestimated. Link's strength was stronger than expected. A lot, and a lot more potential.

Also, Link’s playing style on stage is also very good. He advocates offense and is used to fighting with his opponents. He can also knock down opponents in amateur competitions.

 Switching to a professional game, Link's performance will definitely be more exciting, and the games he participates in will also be supported by the audience.

 From this aspect, Link not only has strength, but also has very high commercial value.

 “Hey, Sean, Demi, how about you give Link to Queensberry for us, and I’ll treat you to a drink when it’s done.”

Queensbury Promotions' Frank Warren shouted.

Shaun Gibbons and Dmitry Salita glanced at him and didn't bother to answer.

A young, capable and outstanding boxer like Link can become a cash cow after a few years of experience in the professional boxing ring, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single match. If done properly, millions of dollars is possible.

Frank Warren actually wants to have a drink in exchange?

  It was simply a dream.

Frank Warren glanced at the two of them, gritted his teeth, and said softly: "I can give each of you a reward of 10,000 US dollars, as long as you don't contact Link before the end of the tournament, and let me talk to him first, how about it? "

 “Want to bribe me? Don’t think about it, I’m not the kind of agent who only sees money.”

"Me too."

Said Sean Gibbons and Salita.

“Hmph, let’s each rely on our abilities to see who can sign Link.”

 Frank Warren snorted.

On the stage, Martin Murray lay on the ring for seven or eight seconds before he stood up unsteadily. His nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he looked at Link with fear.

  “Boxing!”    The referee announced that the game should continue.

 The weather is too hot and the ventilation equipment in the stadium is poor, so competing on stage is also a torture.

Link didn't intend to drag out the game. After the referee announced the start, he bumped gloves with his opponent. When his opponent quickly retreated, he chased after him, ignoring his opponent's defense, and unleashed critical strikes with his fists like drum hammers. .

 Left swing punch + right swing punch + left straight punch + right straight punch, bang bang bang bang, punch after punch hitting the opponent's body.

With 16 seconds left in the first round, he knocked away the opponent's fist with a powerful right swing and hit the side of the opponent's face hard.

Even though there was a head protector to slow down the impact, the impact of this punch was more than 300 kilograms. The opponent's facial muscles deformed, his head was violently thrown to the left, and the braces and saliva in his mouth were thrown out.

　　Bang!

 Martin Murray looked like a piece of wood that had been sawed through. His body twisted half a circle and fell straight onto the ring.

 “Whoa!”

 The Thai audience and foreign tourists in the audience exclaimed in unison.

 Generally speaking, the boxers who can reach the championship finals are all about the same strength. In this case, the competition scene will become sticky and not much enjoyable to watch.

 But today’s finals opened everyone’s eyes. Link, a boxer from China, actually knocked down his opponent with two consecutive punches in the first round, treating his opponent like a sandbag.

This strength is too strong.

This kind of match is great, even more exciting than a professional boxing match.

 “Well done, Link!”

 “Lin, champion!”

Thousands of spectators in the auditorium shouted loudly towards the ring.

 “Link, awesome!”

 Several teammates of the Huaxia Boxing Team in the audience also shouted loudly.

The ring referee squatted next to Martin Murray and counted 10. Martin Murray struggled a few times and failed to stand up, so he lay on the ring resignedly and looked up at the ceiling.

 After the referee counted 10, Martin Murray did not stand up. After signaling to the referee in the ring, the ring referee walked over to Link and pulled his right fist and raised it high.

“The winner of this match is Link, the Chinese Boxing Team!”

 Pap, pah, pah!

 There were bursts of warm applause and cheers from the audience.

Jack Sandner, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of this World Championships, and Sano Solawong, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, came to the stage to present the awards. The prize was a gold medal and a check for US$50,000.

 The prize money for the World Boxing Championship is provided by the organizer International Boxing Association (AIBA). The share of prize money varies every year, which is mainly determined based on the advertising sponsorship obtained by AIBA and the funds that the local government department is willing to provide.

 The total prize money for this year’s World Boxing Championships is US$1.7 million, approximately RMB 12 million.

The 1.7 million US dollars in prize money will be distributed among the champions, runner-ups, and third runner-ups of the 20 levels in the men's and women's groups after the game. This year, the champion of each level will receive about 50,000 US dollars, the runner-up will receive 20,000 US dollars, and the third runner-up will receive about 10,000 US dollars.

Link is the champion and receives a prize of US$50,000, but this US$50,000 does not belong to him alone.

 According to the regulations of the Sports Center, 50% of boxers’ post-match bonuses need to be distributed to coaches and logistics teams.

But Link is not a boxer trained by the Kyoto City Sports Center. According to the temporary cooperation agreement between him and coach Zhao Liwei before the game, he only needs to hand over 20% as activity funds.

 In the end, he received $40,000.

 After the game, Link did not leave immediately. He sat in the audience and watched the 48kg final, where Zou Shiming faced the Russian star Kazakov.

 Kazakov once won the championship at the European Youth Boxing Championships. He is taller than Zou Shiming. He has good strength, speed and explosive power, and his punches are very lethal.

 After the game started, Zou Shiming continued to use pirate boxing techniques and defensive counterattacks, leading 4:3 in the first round.

However, his opponent’s tactics were also good and his defense was rigorous. Zou Shiming attacked his opponent many times but failed to break his opponent’s defense. Instead, he consumed a lot of energy. In the third round, Kazakov took advantage of his height and physical strength to launch a counterattack. , scored on Zou Shiming many times.

In the end, Zou Shiming lost at 19:23 and won the runner-up in the 48kg category of the World Championships.

While Link was watching the fight in the audience, agents from several boxing promotion companies came up to him and congratulated him.

 At the same time, he expressed his desire to sign him and spend a lot of money to promote him so that he can enter the international arena and become a boxing star like Ali, Tyson and Holyfield, earning millions of dollars per game.

These agents were talking nonsense. When Link mentioned the signing bonus, all of them hesitated. Some quoted 50,000 US dollars, and some quoted 100,000 US dollars. Sean Gibbons of Top Promotion Company and Sally, promoter of Arena Room Company The tower has the highest price, $500,000.

Link was unmoved upon hearing this and asked for a signing bonus of US$5 million on the spot.

In terms of competition income sharing, before becoming the world boxing champion of the four major organizations, it is divided into 50 and 50 points, after becoming the world boxing champion, it is divided into 7:3, and after the income of a single game exceeds 10 million US dollars, it is divided into 9:1.

 If you can accept this condition, we can talk about other things. If you are not willing to accept it, you can go back and consider it.

When Sean Gibbons and others heard his words, their expressions changed again and again. At first, they came with translators, which made communication very troublesome. Later, when Link spoke, they found that Link's English was even better than theirs. .

 Speaking very powerfully, like a shrewd politician.

Also when it comes to professional boxing, Link is also very knowledgeable and seems to be very familiar with the professional boxing world.

This has frustrated many boxers who wanted to trick Link into a trap.

In fact, Link can speak English, and it is a good thing to know the inside story of the professional boxing world, which will make cooperation easier.

 It’s just that Link asked for a signing bonus of 5 million US dollars as soon as he opened his mouth. This offer was too high, far higher than their expectations. They were just agents, not the bosses of the promotion company, and could not make such a decision.

After Sean Gibbons and others talked with Link, they called the company boss to discuss Link’s conditions.

After the bosses of several small promotion companies heard Link's request, they directly said that Link was crazy for money. A man who had just emerged in the amateur boxing world dared to quote 5 million US dollars, which was more than when Don King signed Tyson. The offer is not bad either. No one will accept this offer.

 Agents from small promotion companies can only give up signing Link.

 Sean Gibbons called Top Rank Promotions founder and owner Bob Arum about Link’s request.

Even though Bob Arum has been in the boxing world for more than thirty years, he was speechless when Link asked for a signing bonus of 5 million US dollars. He didn't understand how an amateur boxer from China could face the world's number one boxer. How can you have the confidence to make such excessive demands when you are offered an olive branch by a promotion company?

 Arum asked Sean Gibbons for his opinion.

Sean Gibbons talked about Link's performance in the final, praising him for his strong strength, beautiful fighting style, and potential that is not inferior to Pacquiao's. He is worthy of spending a lot of money to sign him.

 Bob Arum fell silent after hearing this and said he wanted to watch the video of Link's game first.

 The World Boxing Championship has little influence in the boxing world. During the competition, except for Thailand, other national TV stations did not participate in the broadcast. Therefore, if you want to watch the championship live, you still need to watch it through video tapes.

In addition to Top Promotions, the bosses of Arena Promotions and Queensberry Promotions also expressed that they were not in a hurry to sign the contract after hearing Link's conditions and would watch the video first before making a decision.

  —

 After the World Boxing Championship, Link and the Chinese boxing team took the opportunity to return to China.

The Chinese boxing team performed well this time. Among the 20 levels of men's and women's boxing, the men won one gold and one silver medal, and the women also had two bronze medals. Compared with previous World Boxing Championships, this is a huge breakthrough.

Link also became the first boxer of the domestic men's boxing team to win the World Championships, and at the same time, he also obtained a ticket for the Chinese boxing team to participate in the boxing event of the Athens Olympics.

After Link and the boxing team returned to Kyoto, they received a lot of media attention. Link and Zou Shiming successively participated in interviews with many media and TV programs. CCTV5 also specially bought the videos of Link's three matches from Thai TV stations. Played on Saturday weekend.

 There are also large media such as Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News Channel, China Youth Daily, People's Daily, and China Sports News, which have reported on this competition to varying degrees.

 (End of this chapter)