## Chapter 40: Press Interview

Sunlight shone on the awning in front of Baker's small shop, creating a shaded area.

On the beach table were two cups of flower tea, a voice recorder, a notebook with a pen, and a Canon camera.

"Link, so you really are a professional diver."

Reporter Simmons looked at Link's diving license with surprise on his face.

As far as he knew, to get a diver's license, one needed to pass multiple assessments and accumulate more than 1,000 hours of diving time to obtain the diver's license issued by the Miami Diving Association. It was difficult for ordinary people to get one.

Link smiled slightly. He had obtained the diver's license after transmigrating here, relying on his strong physical fitness.

Originally, he wanted to make a living with this, but due to his living habits, unwillingness, and regrets from his past life, he returned to his old path from his previous life.

"Mr. Simmons, I didn't expect you to be a reporter either."

He had gone for a morning run and was having breakfast when Simmons came to visit, saying he wanted to go diving in the sea and asked Link to be his diving instructor.

Since the other party offered to pay, Link wouldn't refuse. He took Simmons for a swim in the sea.

It wasn't until they returned to the shop that Simmons revealed his identity, claiming to be a reporter from the Miami Herald and wanting to interview him.

The Miami Herald was a newspaper that clearly favored him, often praising him in its pages.

The sports editor, Raphael Varane, had written many reviews praising him.

In the past two days, after the "fake boxing scandal" broke out, the Herald had also published several articles defending him.

He couldn't refuse the interview, both emotionally and rationally.

After all, his future plan was to become a professional boxer, constantly appearing in the news to deepen the audience's impression of him, which would be extremely beneficial for his future development.

"Link, how about we start the interview?"

Simmons picked up his notebook and said.

"Sure, I hope your questions won't be too difficult."

Link gestured with his hand, inviting him to ask.

Simmons laughed and looked at his notebook. "Link, first of all, congratulations on defeating Andre Berto in the Golden Gloves Championship and winning the super middleweight championship. Are you satisfied with yesterday's match?"

"Of course, I'm the winner."

Link said, clenching his fist.

"Regarding your opponent, Andre Berto, you've fought him once. What kind of boxer do you think he is?"

Simmons asked.

Link thought for a moment and said, "There's no doubt he's excellent! In terms of technique, strength, speed, and boxing awareness, he's at a top level. He's a very strong and well-rounded opponent with almost no weaknesses. He's very difficult to deal with."

"But you knocked him out in just five rounds," Simmons said with a smile.

Link smiled slightly, spreading his hands. "His well-roundedness and lack of weaknesses are relative. For ordinary boxers, he's a perfect and formidable opponent, but for me, his speed, strength, technique, boxing awareness, and even tactics are not as good as mine. That's why I was able to defeat him, and others couldn't."

"Can this statement be interpreted as you think you have the strength to crush him in all aspects?"

"Crush? No, I think suppression is more appropriate."

"Haha!"

Simmons looked at him and laughed. "Yesterday at the American Airlines Arena, in front of hundreds of reporters, you said you were too strong to be low-key. Why are you so humble today?"

"Because now it's just you. Bragging in front of one person would be embarrassing for both you and me." Link shrugged.

Simmons laughed, adjusted his wig on his head, and continued to ask, "Yesterday, before the match, during an interview with the HBO host, you suddenly announced that you would knock out Andre Berto in five rounds. Was this a pre-determined tactic or a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

"Spur of the moment!"

"Oh, why did you suddenly make such a decision? Was it because Andre said in an interview that you were fighting fake matches, which angered you?"

"Not entirely!"

Link took a sip of tea and said, "Before the match, I repeatedly watched Andre's match videos. He was a difficult opponent to find flaws in, and he was ranked first in the super middleweight division at the time. Before the match, I wasn't even sure if I could defeat him, let alone knock him out."

"Link, you're saying you weren't sure you could defeat him before the match?"

Simmons was very interested in this question, so he straightened his back, held his pen, and listened intently to his answer.

"Yes, he was very strong and ranked first in the same weight class. Before fighting him, I really didn't have 100% confidence in defeating him, but I have full confidence in my own strength. This may sound contradictory, but in a match, the role of personal confidence is sometimes greater than imagined."

"Because I believe in my own strength, in order to push myself, I set a goal for myself to not only defeat him but also knock him out within five rounds.

I demanded more of myself, so I gave up defense and took the initiative to attack, so I could unleash my full potential at critical moments. If you watched the match, you should know that in the first four rounds, I averaged 100 punches per round, and in five rounds, I threw 467 punches."

"You know, in professional boxing matches, most boxers throw around 500 punches in 12 rounds. Boxers with good stamina, like James Toney and John Ruiz, only throw around 600 punches. Throwing nearly 500 punches in five rounds almost exhausted all my energy."

"That match was too difficult."

"I almost gave it my all, but fortunately, I won the match and fulfilled my promise."

Link shrugged.

Simmons couldn't help but clap his hands. "Yes, you're excellent, we can all see that."

"You were very aggressive in the last match. Andre Berto's all-around defense couldn't stop your strong attack, and in the end, he was forced to exchange punches with you and was knocked down multiple times. All of this was the result of you pushing yourself."

"Link, if you hadn't pushed yourself and set such a demanding goal, could you have defeated him?"

Link crossed his fingers and smiled. "Of course. I said my goal was the championship. Even if I couldn't knock him out in five rounds, I could knock him out in ten rounds."

"I moved the plan forward and set a more demanding goal for myself to motivate myself and secure the victory early."

"This is also a habit of mine, to set a demanding goal for myself and then work hard to achieve it. The fruits of victory will be sweeter."

Simmons smiled and nodded, writing a few words in his notebook, and continued to ask, "You didn't change your goal, you just made it more demanding. So at the pre-match press conference, you told reporters that you would defeat anyone who questioned your strength within three rounds, including Bernard Hopkins, Chris Byrd, and Roy Jones Jr. Is this one of the 'demanding goals' you set for yourself?"

Link shook his head slightly. "Not really."

"Oh? Isn't this goal demanding?" Simmons asked doubtfully.

"Not really. Among these boxing seniors, except for Valuev, who is a bit difficult to deal with because of his height of 213 cm and long arms, the rest of the boxing champions are all over 35 years old. Their physical strength, technique, and speed are far from their prime. Defeating them in three rounds is completely enough. This is not a demanding goal."

Link shrugged calmly.

Simmons scratched his head under his wig, the corner of his mouth twitching. This guy had just said that bragging in front of him alone would be embarrassing, but wasn't this bragging?

You know, the boxing champions and former champions just listed are all top-tier boxers in the current boxing world, and their rankings in the four major professional boxing organizations WBA-WBC-IBF-WBO are all in the top ten.

Although they are older and not as strong as they used to be, they still have the strength to compete for the world championship.

But in Link's mouth, defeating them in three rounds is not a demanding goal at all?

Simmons' eyes lit up, and he decided to publish these interview segments in the newspaper to see how those boxing champions would react.

"Link, if they are not demanding goals, then who do you consider to be a demanding goal?"

Simmons asked.

"The Klitschko brothers."

The Klitschko brothers are the current holders of the heavyweight gold belts in the four major organizations.

The elder brother, Vitali Klitschko, is 202 cm tall with a reach of 203 cm and is the WBC heavyweight champion.

The younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is 199 cm tall with a reach of 206 cm and holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight gold belts.

Not only