"Boxing!"
The match began. When the referee waved his arm, Tyson roared and threw a punch at Link. The muscles in his arms bulged, and the blood vessels on his neck and forehead protruded. His whole body became somewhat ferocious.
Link could have dodged this punch, but he wanted to test Tyson's strength. When Tyson's fist came, he crossed his arms in front of his chest to defend.
Bang! Tyson's fist hit his arms, and Link felt a powerful impact that spread throughout his body from his arms. His feet couldn't help but retreat four steps, directly hitting the ropes behind him.
Link secretly praised that the punch of a heavyweight boxer was indeed different. The impact of this punch was definitely no less than 1600 pounds.
"Wow!"
Seeing him being knocked back by Tyson's punch, the audience couldn't help but let out a gasp.
"Link, do you know the gap between us now? Next, I will make you feel despair," Tyson grinned and rushed up again, waving his fists and attacking his body frantically, each punch heavier than the last.
After understanding Tyson's punch weight, Link had a plan in mind. Facing Tyson's crazy attack, he used his super-fast reaction speed and flexibly moved his feet, dodging left and right around Tyson, his movements very skillful and smooth.
In the eyes of the audience, Link and Tyson were in close combat. Tyson kept punching, his punches very fierce, while Link kept dodging, each time just barely avoiding Tyson's fists. It looked very thrilling and exciting.
"Go! Go Tyson!"
"Go Link!"
The audience shouted loudly, cheering for both sides equally.
"Tyson, good job! Link, you're doing great too!" Director Woody Allen shouted, waving his fists.
Director Martin Scorsese looked at him strangely, "Which side are you on?"
Director Woody Allen laughed and said, "I used to be a fan of Tyson, but now I'm more familiar with Link, and I also like his boxing matches, so I'm cheering for both of them."
Director Martin Scorsese shook his head, looked at Link on the stage, handsome and strong, with a determined look, and also felt that his image was very suitable for shooting literary films. Maybe he could cooperate with him once.
On the stage, Tyson attacked more than fifty times in the first 30 seconds, all of which were dodged or resolved by Link. Not a single punch hit Link's vital parts. He was panting, and his speed inevitably slowed down.
"Mike, is this the 'despair' you were talking about?" Link smiled.
Tyson bit his mouthguard and stared at him angrily. How could this kid's reaction speed be so fast? He originally wanted to use the name of defeating Link to make a comeback and earn more money to pay off his debts, but Link's strength was much stronger than he expected, and it seemed that he was not much worse than a heavyweight boxer.
"It's my turn next."
Link didn't give Tyson a chance to breathe. He quickly counterattacked with a fierce right swing at Tyson's head, which was firmly blocked by Tyson's arm.
Tyson flexed his strong muscles and grinned at him.
Link ignored him, and his second and third punches followed closely on Tyson's body. His arms were 12 centimeters longer than Tyson's, so he could stand in a safer position and keep punching without worrying about being hit by Tyson.
Bang! The fifth punch was a tricky jab that pierced through Tyson's arms and hit Tyson's left chin. Tyson took a step back, then steadied himself with his legs and stood firmly on the stage.
"Humph!"
Tyson touched his chin with his fist, looked at Link with disdain, and said, "Is that all? With that little strength, you dare to challenge Chris Byrd and Valuev?"
Link was a little surprised. The punch just now definitely exceeded 1000 pounds. In a super middleweight match, this punch had a 30% chance of knocking down the opponent once and more than 80% chance of making the opponent stagger or retreat three or four steps.
But Tyson just stepped hard on the floor and stabilized his body.
Link guessed that this was due to his weight. Tyson weighed over 230 pounds, and his muscles were stronger than those of super middleweight boxers, which also made his center of gravity more stable and his ability to withstand blows stronger. Punches under 1000 pounds basically had no effect on him.
In addition, Tyson was a veteran who had been fighting in the boxing world for more than 20 years and had fought against opponents with stronger punches than Link. He was more experienced in dealing with his attacks.
If Link wanted to quickly knock down Tyson in a short time, he had to use his maximum strength and be more flexible in his fighting style.
Before the match, Link thought that Tyson was old and had been indulging in food, drink, and gambling in the past few years, relaxing his training, and his strength had greatly decreased. Defeating such an opponent should not be too difficult.
However, it was only after the match started that Link realized that he had underestimated the enemy. Competing with a heavyweight boxer was very different from competing with a super middleweight boxer.
Super middleweight boxers were not big guys. Their bodies were similar to ordinary people, but their muscles were stronger, and their body fat percentage was lower. This also led to their low ability to withstand blows and it was difficult for them to withstand attacks over 1400 pounds.
But their speed was relatively fast, their movements were flexible, and their reaction ability was also relatively fast, so it was difficult to hit them.
However, in the heavyweight division, punch power, ability to withstand blows, physical strength, and endurance were all ranked before technique and speed. Boxers with these advantages were also more likely to achieve results.
For example, Tyson, Lennox Lewis, the Klitschko brothers, Shannon Briggs, and others.
The most typical example was WBA champion Valuev. In the same weight class, his speed and technical level were below average. He only relied on his punch power and physical advantage to become the world champion. "The Ring" magazine described him as a "clumsy polar bear".
To defeat them, you couldn't continue to use the tactics used to deal with super middleweight opponents. You had to use new tactics.
Bang bang bang!
Link immediately increased the speed and power of his punches, his fists constantly hitting Tyson's body, one punch after another.
Compared to Tyson's powerful punches,
His fists were like spears, his attacks continuous and extremely fast, with high penetration power, and difficult to defend against.
Under his continuous attacks, Tyson had no chance to fight back. As soon as he tried to fight back, his head would be hit. He could only protect his head with both hands and keep dodging, feeling very aggrieved.
The audience was very excited. They used to watch Tyson bombard others with heavy punches, and now they finally saw Tyson being suppressed by his opponent.
"Go Link!"
"Link, good job!"
The audience shouted loudly.
Bang!
Link's left hook hit Tyson's left rib. Although Tyson's ribs were very thick, after being hit seven or eight times in a row, his left rib was aching, and he couldn't help but lower his arms to protect himself.
Good opportunity!
Link's tactic was to hit high and low, feint east and strike west. When Tyson slightly lowered his arms, his jab quickly attacked and hit Tyson's right eye socket.
Tyson was knocked back, his footsteps became scattered, and his defense became loose.
Link certainly wouldn't miss this good opportunity. He rushed towards Tyson and threw a series of extremely fast punches: left jab + right jab + left uppercut + right uppercut, continuously hitting Tyson's head, chin, and abdomen.
Tyson was beaten back repeatedly, his back against the ropes, and he reached out to hug Link.
Link was worried about being bitten on the ear or headbutted, so he quickly retreated and punched Tyson on the chin. Tyson staggered and hit the ropes behind him, almost falling.
"Wow!"
"Tyson was careless!"
"Link's punch definitely exceeded 1500 pounds," Holyfield and former WBA champion Riddick Bowe said in surprise.
"Damn it!"
Tyson quickly stood up on the stage, gritting his teeth and staring at Link fiercely. He underestimated Link's punch. This guy was more difficult to deal with than he imagined.
Link didn't care how he felt and continued to attack Tyson with his fists.
Tyson was also angered by him and no longer defended, meeting his fists and fighting him head-on.
Link's punches were fast and accurate, and his attack efficiency was high. After Tyson lowered his defense, he could often hit three or four out of ten punches.
Tyson's punches were heavy, and his body's ability to withstand blows was high, but his reaction was not as flexible as Link's. He could only hit Link once out of twenty punches.
The two of them exchanged punches, each punch hitting flesh, fighting fiercely.
The audience was dazzled, as if they had returned to the 1987 match between Tyson and former IBF champion Tony Tucker. The two fought fiercely for 12 rounds, and Tyson won by points. That battle was considered a heavyweight peak showdown because both sides fought very actively, and every punch landed on the flesh.
Now, seeing Tyson fighting with someone again, the audience's cheers and applause were endless.
Ding ding ding!
The first round ended. Each round in a professional match was three minutes long, with a one-minute break in between. Each match had 6 to 12 rounds depending on the rules. This match between Link and Tyson also had 12 rounds.
"Link, if it were ten years ago, you wouldn't have lasted one round in my hands," Tyson said, panting.
"If it were ten years later, I'm also confident that I could defeat you in 100 seconds," Link smiled.
Tyson snorted and returned to his corner with his fists raised.
(End of Chapter)