章 13: Chapter 13: The State Championship
"Link, isn't this too high-profile? If your opponents notice, they'll study your fighting style, and your future matches will become more difficult."
In the third-floor office of the boxing gym, West flipped through the match records, a hint of worry in his voice.
Link had won all three of his matches by KO, his performance was outstanding. After the regional competition, many people in the Miami boxing circle noticed him. This attention could be well-intentioned, but there would definitely be malice. To protect Link, West decided to discuss the matter with him.
"It's okay. There's no fame without a price, and I'm not afraid of being targeted."
Link shook his head. His purpose was to attract attention.
In this era of the internet, information and communication technology is advanced, and the public can use the internet to collect information from various platforms for free. This also leads to the public's attention being easily dispersed.
In the era of Ali and Tyson, relying solely on newspapers and TV news, they gained high popularity among the public and became popular boxing champions. Their matches were also sought after by boxing fans, earning them high ticket and PPV (pay-per-view) revenue shares, with each match earning tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Ten million dollars in the 60s and 70s was comparable to 40 or 50 million in 2008.
Now, if Link wants to become a popular boxing champion like Ali, Tyson, or Holyfield and earn more money, he must become famous and find ways to gain more attention and discussion.
And quickly defeating opponents in the competition, showcasing his powerful strength, was one of the ways he came up with.
"West, if any media wants to interview me, keep it confidential for now. Leave some suspense for the media and the public, and wait until the finals to reveal it, so we can get more attention and buzz." Link thought for a moment and said.
West nodded. Having been in the boxing world for three or four decades, he knew a lot about the boxing circle and could understand Link's approach and purpose.
Undoubtedly, Link was right.
This also reminded him of his own debut, when his agent arranged for reporters to interview him and write press releases. He was reluctant, believing that a boxer should speak with his fists, not with useless fame.
He was so young and naive back then. In the boxing world, fame is not only useful, but it also plays a crucial role.
Suppose two boxers have the same strength but different levels of fame. The more famous one can earn 10 million dollars per match, while the less famous one can only earn 10,000 dollars per appearance.
For the sake of the prize money, the strength they unleash in the ring would definitely be different. The more famous one would definitely perform better than usual.
When he challenged WBO middleweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard, tens of thousands of people in the audience cheered Sugar's name and cheered for him, easily giving Sugar the home advantage. He, on the other hand, fought under pressure and ultimately underperformed, losing to Sugar.
As he grew older, West often thought about the past, about the match at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. If tens of thousands of people had cheered for him back then, could he have won?
He felt there was a good chance, at least he wouldn't have been KO'd by Sugar in the third round.
So now, seeing Link knowing how to use the media to create buzz and promote himself to attract public attention at the beginning of his career, he was very pleased.
"Link, you focus on the competition. I'll leave the media matters to Robinson. He used to be my assistant and executive agent and often dealt with the media. These things are not difficult for him."
"Okay!"
--
The Golden Gloves tournament schedule was very tight. After the regional competition, only one day later, Link, West, Mario, Reggie, and others took the Silver Star train to Orlando for the Golden Gloves state championship qualifiers.
Orlando, located in central Florida, is over 230 miles from Miami and is also a beautiful tourist city. Famous attractions in the city include Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure.
This is also one of the filming locations for "Harry Potter." In Islands of Adventure, there is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, with attractions like Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmeade Village, and the Hogwarts Express, making it suitable for family trips.
Orlando is most famous for the Orlando Magic, one of the NBA's professional basketball teams.
This year, the Magic's performance was average. Although they had Dwight Howard, Turkish power forward Hedo Türkoğlu, and one of the "Twin Towers," Rashard Lewis, they still lost to the Detroit Pistons in the divisional playoffs, packing up and going home early, leaving the arena for the boxers to compete.
The Golden Gloves Florida qualifiers were held at the Orlando Magic's home arena, the Amway Center.
This arena can accommodate 17,000 spectators, and this competition was open to the public. People could buy tickets to enter, and the ticket price for out-of-town visitors was only fifteen dollars, which was not expensive.
"Hey, did you know? I was a member of the school basketball team in junior high. My basketball skills were pretty good." In the Amway Center's lounge, Mario looked at the Magic's team logo on the wall and said.
"Why didn't you continue playing basketball? Your height is suitable for a guard."
"You think I didn't want to? I stopped growing at 6.15 feet when I was eighteen, and my body kept getting fatter. Then I met West, who said I was suitable for boxing, so I started practicing boxing." Mario patted the flesh on his belly.
Link looked at him with some surprise. This guy didn't lose weight even with daily training. He was 208 pounds before and now 210 pounds. The flesh on him wasn't pure fat, but a mix of fat and muscle, much firmer than James's, and quite resistant to punches.
"I originally wanted to play baseball." Reggie scratched his blond hair and said, "Then I watched Tyson's match and thought boxing was cooler, so I started practicing boxing."
"What about you, Link?" Mario asked.
Link thought for a moment. He used to be a miner, and becoming a boxer was the best option he had. Although being a boxer was hard and tiring, punching sandbags every day or being a sparring partner and getting beaten up, it was definitely more promising than working in a dark mine.
In the mine, he went down the shaft every day with fear, drilling into pits hundreds of meters deep, looking at the top of the mine, and couldn't help but worry about being crushed to death by falling rocks, or being buried deep in the mine in an accident, his body never to be found, and his family unable to receive compensation.
Those days were truly dark.
For him, boxing was like a ray of light shining into his dark life, a lifeline, so he never gave up until his death.
"Link?"
"I'm a diver. I have a diving license." Link smiled.
"Cool! I'll go diving with you after the competition."
When they entered the Amway Center's main arena, the state championship had already been going on for half a day. The venue was divided into two competition areas, with the left ring for matches above 70 kg and the right ring for matches below 70 kg.
Over two thousand spectators were present, and the atmosphere was quite lively.
Currently, the left ring was hosting a heavyweight (over 91 kg) boxing match. Two burly athletes wearing gloves were punching each other on the stage, also wearing protective gear. The visual effect was average, and the audience's reaction was also lukewarm.
Mario was also a heavyweight boxer. Originally, West wanted him to reduce his weight to compete in the cruiserweight category, where there weren't many strong opponents, but he couldn't lose the weight, so he had to participate in the heavyweight category.
After the match on stage ended, Mario, after a check-up, walked onto the ring wearing gloves. His opponent was also a Latino, from Panama City in the northwest, 196 cm tall, with solid muscles and long arms.
After the match started, both sides exchanged a few tentative blows. Mario's opponent took the initiative, using his reach advantage to hit Mario's face, chest, and abdomen.
In the first round, Mario was at a disadvantage but defended well, not letting his opponent disrupt his rhythm.
In the second round, Mario counterattacked, hitting his opponent's chin and forcing him into a corner.
"Mario, you attacked too early."
At the end of the second round, West pulled Mario aside in the rest area and said, "Your advantage is defense. You should focus on defense first, try to drag the match into the third round and beyond, consume your opponent's strength, and then take the initiative to attack."
"I understand. I know how to fight, West. Don't worry, I will win this one." Mario said excitedly.
Bam!
In the third round, Mario continued to attack. A right hook landed on his opponent's face, knocking him down, causing quite a stir in the audience.
The matches today were
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