Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Bang bang bang!

In the brightly lit boxing training gym, Link, dressed in a thin T-shirt and red sports shorts, wearing palm-protective gloves, was relentlessly pounding on the heavy bag that hung from the beam above.

One punch after another, with each of his strikes, the bag made a puffing sound, swinging only slightly.

The bag was filled with iron sand, sawdust, sea sand, wheat, and sponge, weighing 100 kilograms. He was able to send the heavy bag flying with his forceful punches but the purpose of training with the heavy bag was to practice footwork and coordination between hands and feet, to develop a sense of rhythm rather than power.

Therefore, during training, the less the heavy bag swung, the better.

After more than two hours of practice, Link was covered in a sheen of sweat, his T-shirt sticking to his spine, revealing the inverted triangle of his back.

After returning from Nashville, he was supposed to go to the Lincoln Cultural Center to attend MJ's concert rehearsal, but they called again to say that MJ had something urgent to take care of and couldn't make it to New York for the time being, so the rehearsal would be postponed for a few days, and they would notify him of the new schedule.

MJ also called to apologize to him in person.

Link guessed that MJ was probably having some health issues, so he had no complaints, just a bit of regret at probably not being able to meet MJ in person.

With the sudden free time, he spent time practicing singing in the recording studio, and all his other time was soaked in the training gym. After watching Mario's match, he had realized he had some problems with his own mental approach and style in competitions.

In his matches, he was too impatient, too eager to create buzz. This resulted in him having impressive statistics but without much substance, and certainly no classic battles to his name.

Having reflected on this, Link decided to get serious and refine his boxing skills, aiming to show more boxing qualities rather than just pure power in his next match.

Bang bang bang!

While he was training, Mario, Morales, Dino, and the newcomer to the main events, Joe Smith, a 20-year-old Caucasian boxer, 183 cm tall with a 193 cm reach, arrived.

After winning the Cruiserweight Gold at the championship, Mario, spurred on by Dino, joined the main events company and was planning to move to the professional boxing scene this year.

"Link, you missed out on a lot of hot chicks at the Screaming Girls bar last night," Dino said, wrapping his large tattooed arms around the heavy bag.

"If I had gone, there would have been nothing left for you guys," Link replied with a light smile, pulling his punches and asking Morales and Mario, "Who's going to start training, which one of you first?"

"I'll go first!"

Morales raised his hand and said.

"Wait!"

Mario furrowed his brow, looked at Link seriously, and said, "Link, there's something I think you should pay attention to."

"Speak!"

Link grabbed his gloves and started putting them on.

Mario lifted his chin and, with a face full of tough flesh, said, "Link, I am now the North American Amateur Boxing Championship Cruiserweight Champion. If it hadn't been for bad timing, I might have been the Olympic Champion as well.

I think you should be a bit more polite when you talk to me. Like just now, you should have said, 'Mario, do you have the time? If so, how about we have a match?' instead of roughly asking who's first. That's just impolite."

Link gave a light smile and nodded, "You're right, so Mr. Mario Joao, do you have the time? How about stepping into the ring for a match?"

"Alright then, I'll spar with you to see if you've made any progress recently," Mario conceded, shrugging his shoulders and putting on his boxing gloves, following Link up to the boxing ring.

"How long do you guys think Mario can last?" Dino asked with his arms crossed.

"Under 10 seconds!"

Morales said with a grin.

"Come on, Mario is the Cruiserweight Champion. He can only last ten seconds against Link?"

Joe Smith was somewhat incredulous, knowing that Link was very strong, but since Mario was the North American Amateur Champion and a Cruiserweight Boxer, it seemed impossible that he couldn't even last ten seconds against Link.

——

"Come on, Link, you used to be stronger than me and could fight me any way you wanted, but now I'm a champion too, and you won't knock me down easily."

On the boxing ring, Mario raised his fists high, his head swaying left and right on his shoulders in a display of agility.

An indifferent glance from Link, "I suggest you put on some protective gear to safeguard your head."

"I don't need it! Bring it on!"

Mario roared and, swinging his fists, took the initiative to slam them towards Link.

Link swung his fist at even greater speed towards Mario's forehead, but suddenly Mario stopped, swiftly tilting his head to the left to nimbly dodge Link's punch.

Seeing his punch miss, Mario's mouth curled into a smirk of pride. From today on, the days of being oppressed by Link would come to an end.

"Watch out!"

Bang! Mario only felt a blow to the right side of his forehead, his head struck as though by a hammer, the powerful inertia jerking his body stumbling to the left, and then, thud! He crashed heavily to the ground, his left cheek intimately contacting with the rubber of the boxing ring, saliva flinging from his mouth.

"Why would you space out at such a time?"

Link looked down at Mario on the ground and asked with puzzlement.

Blinking, Mario was just as puzzled — how could he have let his mind wander just now?

After thinking, he decided it wasn't his fault — it was that bastard Link who was too cunning. His first punch was a feint, deliberately letting him dodge, and the second punch was real, catching him off guard with a blow.

He was too despicable.

"Drag him off, Morales. Let's continue!"

Link gestured dismissively.

At his words, Mario nearly passed out from anger. He was a boxing champion, rated by "Boxing" magazine as one of the ten boxers to watch, and Link talked of dragging him off as if it were nothing, entirely disrespectful.

Then he felt someone grabbing his legs, dragging him from the middle of the ring to a corner.

Mario cursed inwardly; couldn't they change sides while dragging? Didn't it hurt to scrape his face against the floor?

Link looked at Mario, who was rolling his eyes, and shook his head helplessly.

The guy had gotten too cocky after winning the championship — street racing, partying with women, smoking weed, and throwing three-day long parties. Without giving him a lesson, with his skills, he would only serve as a stepping stone in the professional boxing world.

If he lost badly, exposed by the media, it would be a shame on himself as well.

So, it was necessary to put him in his place from time to time.

"Link! Let's start."

Morales, armed with a head guard and boxing gloves, stepped into the ring.

Link continued to sparring with Morales, who planned to participate in the Golden Gloves tournament in June. After training with Link for over half a year, Morales's technique, defense, and punch resistance had greatly improved.

Competing again in the Golden Gloves, even against old rivals like Andrea Berto and Andzeje, he had a good chance to go for gold.

During the training, Simon came over.

He informed him that the WBA championship challenge had been set for May 25, still at Madison Square Garden Arena, hosted by the WBA North American Boxing Association.

Their promise was that Link's appearance fee would be no less than five million US dollars.

After pocketing over ten million US dollars in profits from Link Music and nearly twenty million from advertisements and endorsements that year, Link's desire for money had greatly diminished.

What concerned him more was the strength of his opponents. The stronger the opponent, the more interesting it was to win, and the more exciting the match would be.

He looked over the profile of Andre Ray. At 185 cm tall, with a 190 cm reach, black, and well-built.

With a current record of 28 fights, 27 wins, and 1 loss, a former WBF super middleweight champion. He lost to Andre Ward last year, losing the title, and at the beginning of the year, he defeated Jermain Taylor to become the WBA Intercontinental Champion — a decent adversary.