Chapter 20 : Negotiation for 100 Million US Dollars

  "It was a wonderful match.

Anesthesiologist Link once again ended the match by knockout, raising his amateur record to 14 wins and 14 knockouts in 14 fights. This is an amazing record, a record that Tyson, Holyfield, and Mayweather have never had.

On June 13, please turn your attention to the boxing ring in Miami. A new boxing star is rising in the southeast of America. His name is Link Baker."  

——Reported by "Boxing Ring" magazine.

  "It is understood that the 2008 Golden Gloves Championship Southeast Division competition has ended yesterday. Florida's representative super middleweight boxer Link Baker performed well in the finals and successfully knocked out his opponent, former amateur championship runner-up Jones Fullers, in the ninth round.

He won the Southeast Division Super Middleweight Gold Medal on behalf of Florida. He will continue to represent Florida in the Golden Gloves Championship national competition."

——The Florida New Herald

  "Yesterday I was visiting Roy Jones Jr. in West Palm Beach and I asked him if he was watching the Golden Gloves Amateur and he was smoking a joint with two hot chicks in bikinis and he told me no.

  I said go check it out man, there's a young man named Link Baker, he's a really, really good Miami guy, he won the state championship in Orlando with Miami, and he won the Southeastern Conference championship in South Carolina with Miami.

  No, no, not only was he the champion, he won 14 games with 14 wins and 14 KOs, which is dozens or hundreds of times more valuable than a division championship.

  Haha, you win in amateur competitions by knocking out all your opponents?

  I know what he means, I know very well, he wants to tell all of us, 'This competition is too easy, I will show you a difficult move, I will knock out my opponent to enter the finals of the tournament.'

  If I had met him before the match, I would have rolled my eyes at him and said, "Young man, don't be too arrogant. It's useless. There are too many masters in the boxing world. Be careful that someone doesn't break your handsome nose with a fist."

  Luckily I didn't know him before the game and didn't give him a cold shoulder because he really did it, he accomplished an almost impossible feat, God, knocking out those guys in those high-elasticity foam 14 times.

  Is there a dragon living inside Link?

  I asked Roy Jones Jr., who was smoking a joint, "Can you?"

  Roy Jones Jr. had a dazed look in his eyes, as if he was recalling his past that he did not want to look back on. It was obvious that his poor amateur performance was not good enough to compare with Link's.

  Before my interview was over, Roy Jones Jr. yawned, and his assistant told me that Mr. Roy Jones Jr. was ready to take a break.

  I looked at the back of Roy Jones Jr. and saw a boxing champion getting old, which also meant that the boxing ring in Miami was about to be covered in dust.

  I'm feeling a little down.

  etc!

  Dust on the boxing ring?

  No, no, no, we still have Link Baker, a brand new boxing champion. How can the boxing ring in Miami be lonely? Let us cheer for the future boxing champion of Miami - Link Baker! "

——Raphael Varane, sports editor of Miami Herald, commented.

  On the moving Silver Star train. Link put down the newspapers in his hand, touched his head, and there was a lot of sweat on his forehead.

  The air conditioning in the carriage was functioning normally and the air was relatively cool, but his forehead was sweating. It was not because the weather was too hot, but because the news in the newspaper was so embarrassing that he dug a train with his toes.

  He is currently only the No. 1 super middleweight in the Southeast Division, not the overall champion of the Golden Gloves Championship.

  But the media in Florida and Miami touted him as a champion, as if he had just taken a trip to the moon on an Apollo spacecraft at the U.S. Space Center.

  This couldn't help but make him embarrassed.

  But after the embarrassment, I felt secretly happy.

  Yes, it feels great. It's the relaxation and pleasure after completing the goal.

  If he had simply won the match and won the Southeast Division Championship, would the Florida and Miami media have touted him as an amateur boxer so hard?

  Link thought it was impossible.

  Simple achievements cannot stand up to hype, and the media will not dare to praise him too much for fear that he will lose in the next game.

  But for a boxer who can knock out his opponents in every fight, his strength is worthy of the hype.

  So Link set himself a very high goal, which not only won honor for himself, but also created a very newsworthy topic for the local media.

  He gained a high profile through the media, and the media also sold newspapers by promoting him. It was a win-win situation.

  This also shows that his previous goal of winning by KOing his opponents 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 competitions for half a year before turning professional.

  West disagreed at the time and advised him to fight more, but he felt it was unnecessary as he believed his skills were mature and did not need to be honed through amateur boxing matches.

  After seeing the news, he suddenly understood what West meant.

  Playing amateur competitions can not only hone your skills but also accumulate competition experience.

  More importantly, it can bring fame and honor to the boxers, as well as to the people around them, the region, and even the country. This is a stage of accumulating popularity and character.  

  When he competes for the region or country, regional and American media will promote him for free, making him more well-known among the public.

  After he has a high reputation in the region, will the people of Miami not come to support him when boxing matches are held in Miami, Florida in the future?

After he has a high reputation in the United States, will the people of Miami not come to support him when boxing matches are held in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other places in the future because he is a celebrity.

  This is also the reason why audiences are not very enthusiastic when foreign boxing champions come to America to compete.

Even if he is very good and has several gold belts, but he is not one of us, who cares?

  Because Link was in prison in his previous life, he never enjoyed this kind of treatment in the amateur competition stage, so he didn't understand the role of amateur competitions.

  Now that he has some understanding, he plans to participate in more amateur competitions in the next six months or more to gain more popularity and honors. After all, it is free media publicity, so he might as well use it.

  After switching to the professional boxing arena, all the accumulated fame and reputation will be converted into US dollars in each game, so fighting in amateur competitions is not a waste of time.

  "Link, have you finished reading this? How about we chat about it?"

  Opposite him on the train, by the window, sat a middle-aged man with brown hair.

  He wore glasses and a neatly-made brown striped shirt even in the hottest summer. His Clark Gable-style side-parting was meticulously done, and when he smiled, his neat, white teeth were exposed, demonstrating his good personal habits and wealthy social class.

  He always smiles when speaking, looks at the other person, and his every move gives people a gentle and elegant temperament.

  This man's name is Franco Duva. The surname Duva comes from Latin America and is not common in the United States, but among people in the boxing circle, there should be few who don't know Old Duva.

  Old Duva is one of the founders of the Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the coach or agent of 19 world boxing champions including Holyfield and Whittaker, and the founder of a major event promotion company.

The elder Duva is 86 years old and in poor spirits. He is said to have retired from the main event company and handed over the boxing career to his eldest son Franco Duva.

  That is the man in front.

  This was not the first time the two met. In Orlando, shortly after Link left Gyro Grill and added Emma Watson on MSN, Franco Duva followed West and knocked on his door, wanting to talk to him about signing a contract.

  When West heard that the other party was Old Duva's eldest son and the president of a major event promotion company, he agreed without hesitation to bring him to meet Link.

  As soon as they met, Franco stated his purpose and said he wanted to sign him with a signing fee of 1 million US dollars.

  Link appreciated Franco's straightforward style, but he would not sell his contract at such a low price of one million US dollars, not even ten million.

  He declined Franco's proposal with the excuse of "not discussing signing for the time being", just as he turned down the olive branches extended by other promotion companies after the Southeast Division game.

  After the train left South Carolina, Franco Duva followed and sat opposite him - it turned out that the person sitting opposite him was Mario, a guy who really wanted to be signed by a promotion company. How could he refuse to give up his seat to the president of a promotion company?

  After Frank Duva sat down, he kept chatting with him, as if he wanted to use this method to get closer to him and make him agree to sign the contract. His attitude was very sincere, but so what?

  Once it came to his own interests and future development, even if the three big names in the boxing world, Old Duva, Bob Arum, and Don King, were sitting in front of him, he could still choose not to pay attention.

  He didn't want to chat and chose to read the newspaper, then was so embarrassed by the news in the newspaper that he almost stepped on the train.

  "What are you talking about, Mr. Duva?"

  Link took the South Carolina tangerine on the table, cut it open with a knife, peeled a slice and put it in his mouth.

  "Link, congratulations on making it to the Golden Gloves Championship finals. Even though there are many powerful opponents in the finals, with your strength, it won't be difficult to get into the top three."

  When Link heard the top three, the corners of his mouth twitched.

  "It's not hard to be a champion."

  Franco Duva added in time, took out a tissue with Chanel letters printed on it and handed it to him, and continued: "Link, if you win the championship, those promotion companies want to sign you, what conditions will you put forward?

  You can tell me, I not only have sincerity, but also a checkbook, maybe I can satisfy you now."

  "What kind of conditions?"

  Link narrowed his eyes slightly in thought.

  "Yes, you can ask for any conditions."

  Franco Duva smiled slightly, with an attitude that as long as you dare to make an offer, I will take it over, which was very generous.

  "One hundred million dollars!"

  Before Link put the other half of the tangerine into his mouth, he used his sexy lip lines to tell a number that was full of gold.

  "One hundred million US dollars?!"

  (End of this chapter)