Bab 178: Chapter 177: Open Competition (Extra 410 for the Leader)
After the match, Link returned to the Yorkville apartment. The spicy chicken wings on the table were still hot.
"Uh! Why are you back so soon?"
Selena, Taylor, Catherine, Mrs. Mandy, and Mrs. Andrea were surprised to see Link sitting on the carpet, devouring food with his head down. They glanced at the TV, which was still showing Link's post-match interview.
Link was thanking all his boxing, singing, and movie fans, and had distributed a hundred signed records and 200 signed posters on the spot to thank his supporters.
While they were discussing whether Link had more boxing fans or singing fans, he suddenly opened the door and came in from outside, sat down, and started eating without saying much.
It felt like he had just jumped out of the TV.
Link was munching on spicy chicken wings and, seeing the stunned faces of everyone, said with a smile, "I just thought of the good food at home and didn't stay long. I left the work to Anna and Simon and came back."
"You came back so early just to eat?"
Selena pouted, looking at him with dissatisfaction.
She hadn't had a chance to eat during the tense match and had planned to eat after the match ended. But with Link, the big eater, around, her small appetite couldn't compete.
Today's delicious food on the table was going to be devoured by him.
Selena didn't dare to say much and grabbed a piece of chicken wings, stuffing her little mouth full. She suddenly found that the wings she snatched tasted even better.
Link smiled lightly, shaking his head. With her little appetite, trying to compete with him for food was just unrealistic. He picked up a large box of Boston baked shrimp and started eating.
"Look at you two, what are you doing?"
Taylor teased from between them.
"Slow down, if it's not enough, we'll make more."
Seeing the two of them fighting over food, Catherine and the others couldn't help but laugh.
The WBA Super Middleweight World Championship match had ended.
A big news came out of this match.
Some media captured a spectator who resembled MJ leaving the VIP seats after the match. Paparazzi took a photo of his profile.
However, this news has not been confirmed by MJ's side and is currently just speculation.
In addition, Link's earnings from the match also became a focal point of media reports.
According to reliable sources, Link's appearance fee was $2 million, 15% of the ticket revenue, and 10% of the PPV share.
The ticket revenue for this match reached over $6.7 million, meaning Link would earn nearly $1 million from this revenue.
Regarding the PPV share, according to the report from Nielsen Data Consulting Company, the live PPV for this match sold 1.03 million units, including 650,000 standard signals and 380,000 HD signals, averaging $75 per unit.
The total PPV revenue was over $77 million, with Link receiving $7.7 million.
Therefore, his total earnings from this match were about $10.7 million.
The match lasted for 119 seconds, so on average, he earned $100,000 per second.
Although there is still a gap compared to top boxers like Mayweather and De La Hoya, this match was merely a title challenge against Andre Rehl, who had fewer boxing fans.
The American Express commented that if the opponent in this match had been a champion, such as WBO champion Andre Ward or WBC champion Carl Froch, the prize money would have likely exceeded $30 million.
If it had been Mayweather, De La Hoya, or other top boxers, there was a good chance the prize money would have surpassed the $100 million record set by De La Hoya and Pacquiao on December 7 last year.
The American Express and other media also reported on Link's upcoming match with former light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., expressing excitement.
Additionally, Link's performance in this match, winning in 119 seconds, also sparked many controversies in the media.
Last year, he defeated 11 boxers in the same weight class in a maximum of 119 seconds, but took 119 seconds to beat Andre Rehl. The media generally believed that Andre Rehl's overall strength was inferior to Mikkel Kessler and Jean Pascal.
Yet he only managed to defeat Andre Rehl in 119 seconds.
The truth was that he had regressed.
The Chicago Tribune commented that after defeating Tyson last year, Link seemed to have gone astray. He started acting in movies, releasing records, taking commercials, and attending university, dabbling in many unfamiliar fields. He wasted too much time on unimportant side jobs and relaxed his training, which was the main reason for his regression.
The Chicago Tribune and many other media suggested he focus on boxing training and not take on so many side jobs. As long as he could stick with it, his future achievements would not be much worse than Tyson, Mayweather, De La Hoya, and others, and the money he earned would be comparable.
However, some media defended Link.
Doug Fisher, the editor of KO magazine, commented that Link showcased even more refined boxing skills and a more solid boxing style than last year.
In this match, Link did not rush to end the fight but enjoyed the process. He used fast jabs to attack his opponent's solid defense, engaging in pure hard-hitting action without tricks, making the match more enjoyable and spectacular than last year's.
Doug Fisher said that Link's strength had not regressed but had become even more profound, and he would be a formidable opponent for the super middleweight champions and light heavyweight boxers in the future.
Boxing magazines like KO, The Ring, and World Boxing also believed that the match was more thrilling than several matches from last year and said that if Link's opponent had been stronger, the match could have been even more exciting, possibly becoming a classic.
Some magazines also revealed that De La Hoya was negotiating with Link's management about a possible match at the end of the year or next year.
Since these boxing magazines are owned by De La Hoya, and the editors wouldn't joke about their boss, the news is highly credible.
When the news of De La Hoya wanting to fight Link emerged, it sparked a lot of discussion in the boxing world. Many people were eager to see who would be stronger between 'Lightning' De La Hoya and 'Superman' Link.
The nickname 'Superman' was given to Link by the media after he won eight swimming gold medals, calling him a world champion in both swimming and boxing, hence 'Superman.'
Franco and Simon thought this nickname sounded better than 'Anesthetist,' 'Miami Boxing Prince,' 'Big Devil,' or 'Butcher,' so they unified Link's nickname as 'Superman' when doing media PR.
Additionally, thanks to the promotion of the boxing match, there was a fusion of his boxing and singing fans. The download of "I'm The One" reached 72,000 copies on the match day, and in its sixth week, the weekly download volume was 142,000 copies. Although slightly lower than the previous week, it still held the top spot on the rap chart.
"I'm The One" topped the rap chart for two consecutive weeks, causing quite a stir in the music industry. It is not unusual for a rap newcomer to have their debut single top the chart, but achieving consecutive weeks at number one was a new record.
Link's fans were very excited and gathered on his personal fan site to celebrate. They even planned to raise funds to promote the song on Times Square and several major media outlets, hoping to stay at the top spot for a few more weeks.
Just as the fans were celebrating with champagne, Beyoncé's husband and top rapper Jay-Z announced the release of the single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)."
Before releasing the song, Jay-Z revealed to the media that his 11th studio album "The Blueprint 3" was planned for release in July, and "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" was one of the promotional singles for this album.
The release date of the single was set earlier in the year primarily for promoting the 11th album and had no other meaning, so there was no need to misunderstand.
Despite Jay-Z's explanation, media and fans still believed Jay-Z's sudden single release was to stop Link's "I'm The One" from staying at the top of the rap chart and to restore the East Coast rap crew's reputation.
As Jay-Z is an industry veteran and top-tier star with more fans than Kanye, his influence in the rap world is significant.
Moreover, Jay-Z has achieved great success commercially.
He has founded two record companies, owns a brand clothing company worth over $100 million, and is the owner of the 40/40 Club chain of restaurants.
He is also a major shareholder in the famous makeup brand 'Carol's Daughter,' an NBA Nets shareholder, and a shareholder in the Anason Football Club, with a net worth of hundreds of millions.
Last April, he and Beyoncé got married in New York, becoming the first couple in the music industry with personal assets exceeding $1 billion.
After Jay-Z's single release, many top artists and famous actors like Beyoncé, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Rihanna, Katy Perry, and others, as well as Oscar-winning actors like Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, and Forest Whitaker, all endorsed the song.
The single's first-day downloads exceeded 800,000 copies, and the first week totaled 1.824 million downloads.
It topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Rap charts with an overwhelming presence.
In contrast, "I'm The One" ranked second on the rap chart with a meager 129,000 copies, only a fraction compared to Jay-Z
's single.
This single also became the song with the highest download and streaming numbers on the Billboard Hot 100 since 2017.
Jay-Z also set the record for the highest single downloads for a male singer of all time.
After the single's performance, many media outlets expressed shock.
On one hand, they were amazed by the numbers; despite the song's quality not being top-notch, its downloads surpassed many classic songs.
On the other hand, they praised Jay-Z's influence.
Jay-Z, initially a Brooklyn gangster, started dealing drugs in the early 80s under the influence of his peers. He was shot three times during this period. In the 90s, he entered the rap scene and became a famous hip-hop artist.
Initially planning to continue dealing drugs while rapping, he later found that the money from drug dealing was less than from music and was more dangerous.
By the mid-90s, he gave up drug dealing and became a rap star and business tycoon. Last year, he married pop star Beyoncé.
His experience is considered legendary.
The media believes Jay-Z has become the number one figure in hip-hop music. The support from hundreds of celebrities after this song's release proves this.
At the same time, the media expressed concern about the situation.
Although Jay-Z announced before the single release that the timing was set in advance for the promotion of his 11th album, fans might think his intention was to suppress Link's single.
After "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" topped the charts, Jay-Z's fans went to Link's Twitter and fan sites to flaunt, even posting a comparison of the downloads of the two singles.
The total downloads of "I'm The One" in seven weeks were still less than "D.O.A." in just one week. They mocked Link's defeat and urged him to quit the rap industry early.
The media believed such actions were detrimental and could lead to divisions in the music industry or even greater dangers.
Some media suggested Link withdraw from the rap industry and stop releasing rap songs to avoid aggravating the sensitive nerves of East Coast rap artists and fans.
These suggestions from the media were also well-reasoned.
The argument was that rap music is a form of music for African Americans, akin to ethnic music, and the global popularity of rap songs is largely due to African American artists. It was inappropriate for an 'unwelcome' outsider to compete in the rap field.
Regarding this viewpoint, before Link's music side could respond, magazines like Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Billboard, and The New York Times took the lead in firmly rebutting this notion.
Rolling Stone magazine commented that music belongs to all humanity and should not be divided by demographics, which is extremely dangerous.
Rap music is not solely African American music. When rap music was created, it merged various styles like pop, rock, rhythm and blues, and funk, and did not appear out of nowhere.
Anyone can participate in creation and performance, and there should be no restrictions in this regard.
Many media also urged fans from both sides to remain restrained and avoid deepening the conflict.
Link expressed helplessness regarding this matter.
He had only released a rap song in April to earn some extra money and attract some African American fans.
Before releasing the song, he had even contacted Kanye and others, but it backfired, resulting in no additional fans and a surge of negative ones.
"One week download of 1.824 million copies, Jay-Z is indeed impressive."
Link looked at Billboard magazine enviously and said.
"Boss, those fans' comments online are very harsh. Should we fight back?"
Ms. Anna asked.
Link shook his head, finding the question somewhat familiar.
"What can we use to counterattack with a weekly download of 1.824 million copies? Words won't work, and as for actions, even if I were more stubborn, I couldn't compete with them. They have the support of hundreds of top-tier singers and actors."
Link looked enviously at the long list of names, with so many top stars. Even if he released a top-tier rap song and enlisted the support of all 43 former U.S. presidents, it would still be hard to compete.
He thought about posting a tweet expressing his grievance and seeking comfort from comrades, to see how many people were still willing to support him.
But he decided against it. On one hand, he didn't want to put everyone in an awkward position and face embarrassment when meeting in the future. On the other hand, he was also concerned about not having any comrades at all, which would be too awkward.
Maintaining silence at this time and positioning himself as the underdog might actually garner support from mainstream media.
(The End)
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