Punching Power Test**

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the boxing training gym, Link stood in front of the punching power test machine, throwing ten powerful punches at the target. His expression gradually darkened.

Despite his new song topping the Billboard Rap Chart, his mood wasn't exactly high.

Just moments ago, he had tested his punching power and average punch weight with the machine.

The maximum punching power for his right hand was 1610 pounds, and for his left hand, it was 1440 pounds.

Last year, before his match with Tyson, he had trained intensively for over two months, boosting his right hand's punching power to 1600 pounds and his left hand's to 1420 pounds.

However, over the past six months, his punching power had only increased by just over 10 pounds.

The average punching power for both hands had increased by only around ten pounds.

The rate of increase had significantly slowed, indicating that he had become complacent.

In the past six months, he had been busy recording music, releasing albums, shooting commercials, and making movies, which had greatly reduced the time he could dedicate to training.

Based on the growth rate of his punching power from June to December last year, if he had devoted more time to training in the first half of the year, his right hand's punching power could have exceeded 1660 pounds.

Unfortunately!

"What's wrong?"

A beefy black face suddenly peered over from beside the testing machine and glanced at the screen.

"1580 pounds?!"

"How is this possible?!!"

Mario exclaimed, "Last year at the gym, your maximum punching power was only 1480 pounds. In just one year, your punching power increased by 100 pounds? How is that possible?"

"I didn't receive systematic boxing training last year and didn't know how to generate power. Now that I do, I'm stronger," Link said calmly.

"But a 100-pound increase in one year? If this continues, in ten years you'll have a 1000-pound increase, and in another ten years, you'd be like a superhuman?!" Mario said, staring with envy and disbelief.

Link shook his head. "This year, my punching power has only increased by ten pounds."

As he spoke, he suddenly realized a question: could the slowdown in his punching power increase be due to more than just reduced training time? Could it also be related to his physical condition?

As time went on, the speed of improvement might slow down, requiring more time for each increase?

Link decided to seriously train for a period after the match and reassess.

"Only a ten-pound increase in six months? And you're not satisfied?" Mario looked at him with frustration and envy.

Mario trained diligently every day, and his maximum punching power was only 1020 pounds. If he slacked off even a little, it would drop below 1000 pounds.

For someone like Link, who could increase his punching power by ten pounds while juggling other activities, this was a dream for many boxers. Yet, he still seemed dissatisfied, which was maddening.

"I'm naturally strong. You don't need to envy me," Link said, shaking his head as he put on his boxing gloves and walked over to the weightlifting area.

Mario shook his fists at Link's retreating back and moved to the punching power test, pulling out the punching target and taking a deep breath.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After hitting the target five times in quick succession, the maximum punching power was 990 pounds!

"Ah!!!"

Mario, clenching his fists, roared angrily.

---

"97, 98, 99, 100! Hoo!"

In the equipment training area, Link set down a 200-pound barbell, exhaling deeply.

In the past two hours, he had completed ten sets of strength training, including overhead presses, bench presses, and weighted squats. His muscles were bulging, sweat was rolling down his skin, and his body felt filled with immense power.

He loved the feeling of being physically charged.

During his training, Franco and Simon visited and informed him that the compensation agreement for the World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight title challenge had been signed. In addition to a base appearance fee of $2 million, he would also receive 15% of ticket sales and 10% of television broadcast revenue.

The income from professional boxing matches generally comes from three parts:

1. **Base Appearance Fee**: Paid by the event organizer and varies depending on the boxer's influence and popularity.

2. **PPV Revenue Share**: Pay-per-view (PPV) revenue from cable TV broadcasters such as HBO and SHOWTIME. Typically, they take 10%-60% of PPV revenue, while satellite broadcast institutions and signal distribution organizations receive 30%. The participating boxers and their companies get 10%-60% based on the boxer's fame.

3. **Ancillary Income**: Includes ticket sales, casino revenue, hotel, airport, car rental companies, and advertising sponsorships. This income also varies based on the boxer's influence, with the highest share being up to 50%.

Although Link was well-known in America, his drawing power in the boxing market was still less than top boxers like Mayweather and De La Hoya. Therefore, he received the minimum revenue share for the title challenge.

To secure a higher share, he needed to win more fights and obtain additional championship belts.

"Link, the merger fight for the four major organization super middleweight titles is also in discussion and is likely to occur within the year. You should be prepared," Franco advised.

"How will the four organizations arrange the fight?" Link asked.

Franco shook his head and smiled, "You didn't agree to the Super Six format, and the other champions didn't agree to Super 1+5. The four major organizations have stated they will no longer interfere with the fights between their champions. The upcoming matches will be negotiated by several management companies. We are negotiating with WBC champion Carl Froch for a WBC/WBA title merger fight, and Andre Ward's management is also negotiating with IBF champion Arthur Abraham. If negotiations go smoothly, the four major titles merger fight is expected to take place within the year."

Link nodded. This arrangement was what he had hoped for, as it could shorten the schedule and allow him to gather all four major titles sooner.

After sending off Franco and Simon, Link went to an open space to practice jumping rope.

Jumping rope not only relaxed the muscles and improved leg and foot agility but also enhanced hand-foot coordination. In boxing, coordinating hand and foot movements is crucial. When footwork matches the speed of punches, the punching speed increases, and the force and reach of attacks improve.

If footwork is not agile and the follow-up speed is slower than the punching speed, the punching power is greatly reduced, and there's a risk of losing balance and being easily knocked down by the opponent.

After a week of intensive training, the WBA super middleweight title challenge began.

The match took place at Madison Square Garden, where Link was set to fight Andre Dirrell.

Andre Dirrell, 28 years old, stood 185 cm tall with a 190 cm reach. He was a strong black fighter and won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

After the Olympics, he turned professional, previously held the WBF super middleweight title, and was currently the WBA Intercontinental Champion. His record was 28 wins, 1 loss, with 21 victories by knockout.

A powerful puncher.

Link had studied his opponent's fight footage. Dirrell's punching power was rated A+, his physical condition was A+, technique A-, and speed A-. He excelled in uppercuts and had knocked out opponents with uppercuts in 16 fights, injuring opponents' jaws and causing bleeding in three matches.

His style was similar to Morales.

(End of Chapter)