Capítulo 20: Chapter 20: A Hundred Million Dollar Negotiation
"A brilliant match, the Anesthetist Link once again ended the match with a KO, bringing his amateur record to 14 wins and 14 KOs. This is a remarkable achievement, a record-breaking achievement. Tyson didn't have it, Holyfield didn't have it, and neither did Mayweather. On June 13th, please turn your attention to the boxing ring in Miami, a new star in the boxing world is rising in the southeast of the United States, his name is Link Baker."
- Boxing Magazine report
"It is understood that the 2008 Golden Gloves Southeast Regional Tournament ended yesterday. Florida's representative super middleweight boxer Link Baker performed exceptionally well in the finals, successfully knocking out last year's amateur championship runner-up Jones Fallis in the ninth round, winning the Southeast Regional super middleweight gold medal for Florida. He will continue to represent Florida in the Golden Gloves National Tournament."
- Florida New Herald report
"Yesterday I went to West Palm Beach to visit Roy Jones Jr. I asked him if he had been following the Golden Gloves amateur tournament. Roy Jones Jr. was smoking marijuana, with two bikini babes lying beside him, and he told me no.
I said, go check it out, buddy. There's a young man named Link Baker, a very, very good Miami guy. He won the state championship for Miami in Orlando and then won the Southeast Regional Championship for Miami in South Carolina.
No, not just the championship, he won the tournament with a record of 14 wins and 14 KOs, which is dozens or even hundreds of times more valuable than the regional championship.
Haha, all KOs in amateur matches?
I understand what he means, I understand very well. He wants to tell all of us, 'This kind of competition is too easy. Let me show you a difficult move, I'm going to enter the finals by knocking out all my opponents.'
If I had known him before the competition, I would have rolled my eyes at him. Young man, don't be too arrogant, it's useless. There are too many masters in the boxing world, be careful of someone breaking your handsome nose with their fists.
Fortunately, I didn't know him before the competition and didn't roll my eyes at him, because he really did it. He completed an almost impossible challenge, my God, 14 times knocking out those guys wearing high-elastic sponge.
Does Link have a dragon living inside him?
I asked Roy Jones Jr., who was smoking marijuana, 'Can you do it?'
Roy Jones Jr.'s eyes were a bit dazed, as if recalling his unbearable past. Obviously, his poor amateur record couldn't compare to Link's.
My interview wasn't over yet, but Roy Jones Jr. yawned, and his assistant told me that Mr. Roy Jones Jr. was going to rest.
I looked at Roy Jones Jr.'s back and saw a boxing champion growing old, also representing that Miami's boxing stage was about to gather dust.
I felt a bit down.
Wait!
The boxing stage gathering dust?
No, no, no, we still have Link Baker, a brand new champion. How could the Miami boxing scene be lonely? Let's cheer for Miami's future boxing champion - Link Baker!"
- Commentary by Rafael Varane, sports editor of the Miami Herald
On the moving Silver Star train, Link put down the newspapers in his hand and touched his forehead, which was covered in sweat.
The air conditioner in the carriage was working normally, and the air was quite cool, but his forehead was sweating. It wasn't because the weather was too hot, but because the news in the newspapers was too embarrassing, so embarrassing that his toes could curl up into a train.
He was only the first place in the Southeast region's super middleweight category, not the overall champion of the Golden Gloves tournament.
But the media in Florida and Miami were praising him as if he had just taken a trip to the moon on the Apollo spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, blowing him up to the sky.
This couldn't help but make him feel embarrassed.
But after the embarrassment came a secret thrill.
Yes, it felt good, the relaxation and joy after achieving a goal.
If he had simply won the match and the Southeast regional championship, would the Florida and Miami media have worked so hard to praise an amateur boxer like him?
Link thought it was impossible.
A simple record couldn't withstand such praise. The media would be afraid to overly praise him for fear of him losing in the next match.
But for a boxer who could KO his opponents in every match, his strength could withstand the praise.
Therefore, Link set a very high goal for himself, not only winning himself honor but also creating a newsworthy topic for the local media.
He gained high visibility through the media, and the media also sold newspapers by promoting him. It was a win-win situation.
This also showed that his previous deliberate pursuit of winning all matches by KO was meaningful and not a waste of effort.
At the same time, Link also understood West's previous advice.
When he first joined the boxing gym, he told West that he would only fight in amateur matches for half a year before turning to professional boxing.
West disagreed at the time, advising him to fight for a longer time. Link felt it was unnecessary, thinking his skills were already mature and he didn't need to hone them through amateur boxing matches.
After seeing these news reports, he suddenly understood what West meant.
Participating in amateur matches not only honed skills and accumulated competition experience, but more importantly, it could bring fame and honor to the boxer, as well as to the people around him, the local area, and even the country. It was a stage to accumulate popularity and reputation.
When representing a region or country in competitions, the regional and American media would promote him for free, giving him high visibility among the public.
After gaining high popularity in the region, if he held boxing matches in Florida or Miami in the future, wouldn't the people of Miami come to the scene to support him?
After gaining high popularity in the United States, if he held boxing matches in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and other places in the future, the American people would also buy tickets or pay to support him because he was a celebrity.
This was also the reason why foreign boxing champions didn't get much attention when they came to the United States to compete. Even if they were very good and had several gold belts, they weren't "our people," so who cares?
In his previous life, because of his imprisonment, Link didn't enjoy this kind of treatment during his amateur stage, so he didn't understand the role of amateur competitions.
Now, with a little enlightenment, he planned to participate in more amateur competitions in the next six months or so, to accumulate more popularity and honor. After all, it was free media promotion, why not use it?
After turning professional, this accumulated fame and prestige would be converted into US dollars in each match, so participating in amateur competitions wasn't a waste of time.
"Link, have you finished reading? Shall we chat?"
A brown-haired middle-aged man sat opposite him by the train window.
He wore glasses and a neat brown striped shirt even in the summer. His Clark Gable-style parted hair was meticulously styled, and he showed his neat white teeth when he smiled, displaying his good personal habits and affluent social status.
He always had a smile on his face when speaking, maintaining eye contact with the other person, and his every move exuded a gentle and refined temperament.
This man was Franco Duva. The surname Duva came from Latin America and wasn't common in the United States, but few people in the boxing world wouldn't know Lou Duva.
Lou Duva was one of the founders of the Boxing Hall of Fame, the coach or manager of 19 world champions including Holyfield and Whitaker, and the founder of Main Events, a major boxing promotion company.
Old Duva was 86 years old this year and not in good health. It was said that he had retired from Main Events and handed over the boxing business to his eldest son, Franco Duva.
That was the man in front of him.
This wasn't their first meeting. In Orlando, shortly after Link left the Gyro Greek Grill and added Emma Watson on MSN, Franco Duva, along with West, knocked on his door, wanting to talk about signing a contract.
When West heard that the other party was Lou Duva's eldest son and the president of Main Events, he agreed without hesitation to bring him to see Link.
As soon as they met, Franco expressed his intention, saying that he wanted to sign Link with a signing bonus of 1 million dollars.
Link appreciated Franco's straightforward approach, but he wouldn't sell his contract for such a low price, not even for ten million.
He declined Franco's offer with the excuse of "not discussing signing for now," just like he had rejected the olive branches extended by other promotion companies after the Southeast regional competition.
After the train left South Carolina, Franco Duva followed him again and sat opposite him - originally, Mario, a guy who desperately wanted to be signed by a promotion company, was sitting there. How could he refuse to give up his seat to the president of a promotion company?
After Franco Duva sat down, he kept trying to chat with Link, seemingly wanting to use this way to get closer to him and make him agree to sign the contract. His attitude was very
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