Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 55 Interview

“Mr. Link Baker, congratulations on winning the third round. What do you think of your opponent Ross Neil’s performance in this game?”

At the game site, a reporter from the Cuban TV Sports Channel asked in an interview after the game.

“Rosnier? He played very well and was very good in all aspects. If he was not injured, he would be even more powerful.”

Link said while wiping his sweat with a towel.

 “If he is not injured, are you confident that you can defeat him?”

“Yes, I never lack confidence when it comes to boxing.”

Link said confidently, clenching his fists.

"Mr. Linkbacker, it is said that Miss Emma Watson returned to London yesterday after filming "Harry Potter". Can you tell me a little bit about the progress of your relationship?"

 The reporter from "American Express" handed over the microphone and asked loudly.

Link smiled lightly, "We are friends. Mr. Reporter, this is a sports event. Please interview about boxing-related matters. I will refuse to answer such questions next time."

"Mr. Linkbacker, congratulations on entering the next round of qualifying. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion in the American domestic media about you continuing to use KO to participate in the Olympics. Some people think that if you insist on using KO to compete, it will bring trouble to your opponents. To cause unnecessary harm, do you agree with this view? "

 The "Miami Herald" reporter asked.

Link raised his eyebrows. He had also seen such comments while reading boxing forums in the past two days, and said nonchalantly: "I don't want to comment on such unprofessional remarks. In addition, there have been voices questioning me since I debuted. , when I successfully KO my opponent, they suspected me of fake punches, and when I won the Golden Gloves Championship, they suspected my results were fake.

 Now I have successfully reached the third round of the Americas Qualifying Tournament, which proves that my strength is not only real, but also far beyond their current imagination. They have nothing to attack me, and they think there is something wrong with my way of playing.

This is so ridiculous. No matter what I do, there will be people who will find ways to discredit me, so I will not express any opinions on this. I will only use my fists to prove how ridiculous their remarks are. "

 “That’s great, Link, come on, try to get an Olympic spot!”

 Some reporters shouted.

"thanks, I will."

Link waved his fist and left the venue surrounded by the American boxing team members.

  —

 The third round is over, and there are three rounds left in the super middleweight competition, 5 to 4, semifinals, and finals.

The boxers who entered the top five are Link, Lorenzo Aragon, Fernando Vargas of Mexico, Douglas Silva of Jamaica, and Haitian boxer Calvin Pieters.

After the draw, Link will face Haitian boxer Calvin Pieters in the fourth round.

Pister is a 23-year-old black man, nicknamed 'The Rock', with a height of 182 cm and an arm length of 183 cm. He has an amateur record of 44 fights and 43 wins and 1 loss. Since the opponent is preparing to play professional games, he is very superior in terms of strength, physique, and fighting ability. , the data shows that the opponent has never been knocked down in the game.

 This is a more difficult opponent.

 "Link, my luck is so bad, I've drawn you a powerful opponent again."

 Coach Ed said helplessly after returning from the draw.

 “It doesn’t matter, I like to compete with the masters.”

Link said nonchalantly.

 He came to participate in amateur competitions. On the one hand, he wanted to accumulate achievements and expand his reputation. On the other hand, he also wanted to accumulate more competition experience and hone his skills.

 You will gain more experience by playing against these tough opponents.

 So he will fight one by one no matter how strong his opponent is.

 After sending Ed off, he turned on the video recorder, watched the opponent's game video, and used a pen to list the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, trying to find the opponent's weak points.

 All boxers have weak points, such as Andrzej, whose weaknesses lie in physical strength and ability to withstand blows.

Andre Berto, compared with Link, he is not tall and his arms are slightly shorter. This is a disadvantage when competing with Link;

There is also Rosnir, who has just been beaten. The injuries to both ribs are his weak points.

 The next opponent, Calvin Pister, has A+ in willpower, A in physical fitness, A in resistance ability, A in punching weight, B+ in technique, and B+ in speed.

 This is an opponent with outstanding advantages and disadvantages. He is somewhat similar to Morales, but he is obviously stronger than Morales in terms of willpower and ability to fight, so it will be another tough battle next.

 Ding dong!

While watching the video, a call came in from Taylor asking him about the progress of the game.

Since she didn’t know much about amateur boxing, and didn’t even know how to score amateur matches, Link simply talked about the game, including the knockout round, 18-to-9, 9-to-5, three wins in a row, and still a consecutive victory. Three KOs.

 “Link, can you reach the finals?”

 “Of course, my goal is the world championship.”

“Come on, I really hope to see you become the world champion. When is the final?”

“July 5th, two days left.”

Link thought of what Taylor said last time, saying that he would definitely come to watch the next game, otherwise he would be five centimeters taller.

 I wonder if this busy man has time this time.

"Two days later? Let me see the schedule. Oops, Link. I happen to have a music awards ceremony that day. I probably won't be able to make it. Link, you don't blame me, do you?" Taylor said apologetically on the phone. .

Link shook his head and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. This is Cuba. Americans are not exempt from visas. It's not easy for you to fly over. We agreed to stay in China. Next time I compete in China, you can come and see me when you have time."

“Link, you are so nice, what should I do if I like you more and more?”

Link smiled, chatted for a few minutes, hung up the phone, and continued to watch the game video and compile information about the next opponent.

  —

  Los Angeles, the living room of the Swift family house is brightly lit.

 Taylor put down the guitar, hung up the phone with a smile on her face, hummed a song, drummed her fingers on the keyboard, and booked a flight to Havana online.

Suddenly she smelled a scent. When she looked up, she saw Mrs. Andrea standing in front of the low table, looking over the computer screen with a white mask on her face.

 “Mom, what are you doing?”

Taylor was startled, leaned back and patted his slightly full chest, looking dissatisfied at Mrs. Andrea.

“You just told Link that you were going to attend the music awards ceremony on July 5th and you didn’t have time to go to Havana to watch the competition. Why did you need to book a flight again?”

Mrs. Andrea straightened up and patted the mask gently with her fingers.

Taylor raised her red lips and said with a proud smile: "I won't tell you!"

Mrs. Andrea snorted disdainfully, "Isn't it just a surprise? Tell him first that you can't participate and let him down. Then on the day of the competition you suddenly show up at the competition site and give him a big surprise, right? It's boring. , are all leftovers from our generation.”

Taylor lowered the corners of his lips and looked at Mrs. Andrea with a faint look in his eyes.

Mrs. Andrea felt uncomfortable seeing her, waved her hand, told her to go to bed early, and then returned to the bedroom on the second floor.

　　唰!

As soon as she entered the bedroom, Mrs. Andrea immediately took off the mask on her face, and her expression became cold, and she was no longer as gentle and kind as before.

She took out her mobile phone and called her assistant Emily. In a commanding tone, she asked her to find a few important activities and fill up Taylor's schedule for July 5th. It was important to remember that Taylor couldn't bear to turn it down. Or something that cannot be pushed away, the more important the better.

"But."

Assistant Emily's voice was hesitant on the phone.

 “But what?”

"Annie, Taylor has told us before that she will go to Havana, Cuba to watch Link play in the next few days, and she asked us not to arrange too much work. She also told her once in the morning that we suddenly arranged a lot of work for her. She knows I will definitely be very angry.”

Assistant Emily said carefully.

"I'm in charge of Taylor, so you don't have to worry. You just need to find a way to keep Taylor busy so that she doesn't have time to go to Havana that day. This is the task I assigned you. You can think of a way."

Mrs. Andrea hung up the phone.

 Suddenly I saw the figure of my husband Tom Swift in the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling window glass.

Mr. Swift came out of the bathroom wearing pajamas and holding a newspaper. He looked at his wife, Mrs. Andrea, in surprise.

Mrs. Andrea turned back dissatisfied and scolded: "Tom, you scared me."

Mr. Swift shrugged his shoulders, sat on the bed, pulled up the quilt to cover his legs, frowned and looked at his wife, "So it was your arrangement that Taylor couldn't go to Miami to watch Link play last time?"

 “I’m also doing it for her own good.”

Mrs. Andrea said calmly, "If the two of them really love each other, what are the difficulties I have created for them? If they cannot pass this difficulty and test, there will be no good results even if they are together. Am I wrong?"

Mr. Swift thought for a moment, adjusted his temples, and sighed, "Taylor is still young. Young people need to experience several more relationships to become mature. There is no need for you to intervene."

"I know, but Link is a very dangerous person. His father was a smuggler and gangster. He was beaten to death on the street five years ago. The cause of death is unknown. Link himself was arrested twice and imprisoned for more than two months. He was almost killed on the street before. How can you safely allow such a person to date your daughter? "

Mr. Swift frowned as he listened, "It seems that he is not a good partner. Anne, have you told Taylor this? Our daughter is a smart girl, she knows what is good and what is bad, like you If you block her in this way, she will get closer to Link."

"I said that after leaving Miami, her relationship with Link had faded. She probably saw Link acting cool in the boxing ring some time ago, and she suddenly fell in love with her. She is a strong girl. It’s no use trying to persuade her.”

Mrs. Andrea covered her forehead and said helplessly.

Mr. Swift sighed softly, put his arm around his wife's shoulders and said, "Anne, thank you for your hard work. I shouldn't have said that to you just now."

Mrs. Andrea shook her head slightly and suddenly said: "Dear, I heard you say that your waist was uncomfortable a few days ago. If Emily can't adjust it, how about you start pretending to be sick from tomorrow?"

"ah?"

Mr. Swift was stunned for a moment, adjusted his temples, and said helplessly: "Annie, is this necessary?"

"Of course it is necessary! Taylor must not go to Havana. After going there, their relationship will definitely heat up and their relationship will be closer. It will be more difficult to break them up in the future. So dear Tom, for the sake of your daughter, it is time for you to do something sacrificed."

Mrs. Andrea looked at her husband and pointed at his waist.

Mr. Swift scratched his scarce hair and felt very conflicted. He positioned himself as a loving father and a good father. Now his wife wants him to "complicit" in destroying his daughter's love and becoming a bad father. ?

 He really didn’t want to see this happen to him.

 But my wife is watching with eager eyes. If I don’t agree, how can I explain it to my wife?

 The wife has given so much to the family, so she should also give a little.

 But what about Taylor?

 (End of this chapter)