Chapter 226: Surrounded by Stars

"Hehe, my dear father, did you see that? Link's weakness and retreat were all tactics, not a decline in skill. What do you have to say now?"

In New York, Dino Duva looked at the TV interview and turned to his old man with a grin.

Lou Duva glared at him fiercely, cursed "unfilial son," and walked away angrily with his cane.

"Dad is old, why are you provoking him?"

Nora blamed him.

Dino grinned and said nonchalantly, "I bet he's not really angry. He's probably hiding somewhere and laughing right now."

Nora smiled slightly. Link had won another match and become the WBA-WBC double champion. Dynasty Promotion's fame had spread from the United States to Europe, and Franco's career had reached a new level.

At this time, Lou Duva's mood wouldn't be bad.

"It seems that Link's matches are getting longer and longer. Is he planning to fight a full round next time?"

Nora said, looking at the highlights on TV.

"I don't know, but I often see him discussing with Tommy how to make the matches more exciting. Tommy said it mainly depends on the atmosphere of the live audience. The more enthusiastic the atmosphere, the better the match. I think Link is probably being led astray by Tommy."

Dino shrugged and laughed.

Tommy was coach Tommy Brooks.

Nora nodded, probably understanding Link's thoughts. He wanted to control the pace of the match and enhance its watchability to attract more viewers.

This idea was good, but it was extremely difficult to execute, being both the protagonist and the director. If he wasn't careful, he could be countered by his opponent.

In the past, only top boxers like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman dared to do this, and they contributed many classic matches in the 1970s.

Boxers like Tyson and Holyfield had good skills but were lacking in tactics.

Every time they won a match, it was a close call. As for trying to improve the watchability of the match, they wouldn't risk it.

Link, a newcomer, dared to do this. It had to be said that he was very bold.

And in the boxing club in Las Vegas.

Tyson, James Toney, and Chris Byrd looked at each other after seeing the interview on TV.

Three black men, staring with six white eyes.

"Motherfucker! All of this was Link's tactic?"

"Damn, this guy's acting is too good. Even we were fooled."

"I heard he was working part-time as an actor. I thought he was going to develop in Hollywood. Now I know this guy is using his acting skills in the boxing ring. What a cunning guy."

The three of them looked at Link on TV with displeasure.

During the match, they saw Link constantly retreating and thought that Link didn't have time to train, his legs were weakened by women, and his strength had declined.

It turned out to be all tactics.

But Link's tactics were too cunning, even fooling them, three veteran boxers.

"This guy Link is very difficult to deal with. Are you still going to fight him?"

Tyson looked at the two and asked.

"Yes! Link is too arrogant. If he fought steadily, I would only have a 60% chance of defeating him. But now that he's playing this trick, I have at least a 70% chance."

Chris Byrd clenched his fist and said with determination.

James Toney rubbed his belly and said, "Chris, you fight him first, and I'll follow. I hope he doesn't lose too quickly."

"Okay, I'll definitely bet on you guys to win."

Tyson grinned.

And in Top Rank Boxing in the same city.

Greg Cohen saw Link wearing two championship belts on TV, and the muscles at the corner of his eyes twitched. This guy actually won?!

He looked at President Bob Arum across from him and sighed. "I was wrong. Link is really a cunning and powerful guy."

President Arum smoked his cigar and looked at the TV screen through the smoke. "Link is indeed good. He's already thinking about how to improve the quality of the match right from the start of his career. This surpasses 99.99% of boxers."

Greg Cohen clenched his fist on his knee and didn't speak.

President Arum looked at him again, waved his hand, and smiled. "Greg, you don't have to blame yourself too much for not signing Link. I've never blamed you because even I wouldn't have signed that kind of contract."

Cohen shrugged. "I really didn't expect Link to grow so fast."

"Yes, Link is an incredible boxer. His existence will definitely impact Top Rank."

President Arum paused and chuckled. "But this guy is also a great boxing promoter and spokesperson. After he became famous, he did a lot of boxing promotion work, like that YouTube boxing segment. It's very interesting. From this perspective, his success is also very beneficial to our entire boxing industry."

Cohen nodded, agreeing with this point.

They were all in the same industry. If they only competed internally for a small piece of the cake instead of making the cake bigger, everyone would eventually starve.

After Link became famous, he continuously promoted boxing, leading more people to learn about this sport because of him and become boxing fans.

After becoming boxing fans, they would buy boxing training equipment and watch boxing matches. This consumption would increase the GDP of the boxing industry, which was also making the cake bigger.

From this perspective, Link's success was beneficial to everyone.

"Greg, I'm giving you a task. Go contact Franco and Link, build a good relationship with them, and we will become their long-term partners in the future."

Arum smiled, holding his cigar.

"Bob, will Link and Franco agree?"

"They definitely will! Link's ambition is huge, his potential is huge, even greater than Mayweather's. But times have changed, and the scale of the boxing industry is shrinking. If Link wants to become the next Tyson, the next Ali, relying solely on Dynasty Promotion, or even major event companies, is not enough. He needs all the promotion companies in the boxing industry to work together."

President Arum clenched his fist and shook it. "Link and Franco are both smart people. They should understand this."

Cohen nodded and hesitated for a moment before saying, "But cooperating with Dynasty Promotion and jointly promoting Link will affect Mayweather's development to some extent and take up his resources."

"It doesn't matter. In a few years, Mayweather will also move up to the middleweight division. Arrange a match between him and Link. Whoever is stronger will be the next boxing superstar. After all, in the boxing world, strength speaks for itself."

President Arum said.

Greg Cohen nodded. This method wasn't bad either. Let Link, Mayweather, and Pacquiao all develop and then have a few decisive battles.

Like the gladiators of ancient Rome, the final victor would become the king of the boxing world.

From the current comprehensive strength displayed by these few, Link had a good chance of winning.

Cohen decided to call Franco and Link later to congratulate them and express his intention to cooperate.

As for whether he would lose face, he didn't care at all. Making money in the boxing world was the most important thing.

(End of Chapter)