Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 575: Battle against Klitschko

There are many blockbusters released at the end of the year, including "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" and "Interstellar" from Warner Pictures, "Penguins of Madagascar: Operation" from Fox Pictures, and "Dumb and Dumber" from Universal Pictures. 2", Disney Pictures' "Power Rangers" and so on.

They are all relatively competitive large-scale productions.

If Lionsgate Pictures wants to outdo the six major film studios and become the number one in the industry, it not only depends on its strength, but also a certain amount of luck.

At the end of November, Link led the team to fly to Las Vegas to participate in the WBA-WBC heavyweight title merger held here. The opponent was the famous "Dr. Iron Fist" Vitali Klitschko.

Klitschko is 43 years old, 202 centimeters tall, 203 wingspan, and weighs 248 pounds.

He was the earliest free fighting athlete and won six free fighting world championships. His amateur boxing record is 195 wins and 15 losses, including 80 wins by knocking out opponents.

He entered professional boxing in 1996 and set a Guinness World Record in 1999 - he was the world heavyweight champion who won 26 boxing matches by KO in the fewest rounds. The previous record holder was Mike Tyson of the United States. .

Now Link is also the holder of this record. He is the boxer who has won 39 games by KO in the fewest rounds.

Klitschko's current professional record is 49 fights, 47 wins, and 41 KO wins.

Only two games ended in failure, namely to "Fast Fire" Chris Bird in 2000 and to British boxing champion Lennox Lewis in 2003.

The first loss to Chris Bird was due to the recurrence of his shoulder injury. If he continued to play, his career would be ruined. On the advice of his coach, he voluntarily gave up the game.

He lost to Lewis in the second game. He was hit in the left eye by Lewis during the game. The blood continued to flow, and the ring referee asked to terminate the game.

Despite losing two games, Klitschko has never been knocked out by anyone in his career, which also shows that he is very strong.

Klitschko has won the WBO heavyweight gold belt and the WBC heavyweight gold belt twice since 1999, winning more than ten title defenses.

He is also considered one of the most effective boxers in the heavyweight boxing world.

Klitschko's specialty in boxing is comprehensive skills, speed, punch weight, defense, combination punches, tactics, and on-the-spot reaction ability. He will focus on punching efficiency and former Soviet-style boxing tactics to the extreme, and his comprehensive strength Very strong.

The disadvantage is that he is not strong in fighting ability, easily injured, and has old shoulder injuries. In addition, his playing style is too strict and cautious, lacks passion, and the game is not very enjoyable to watch.

He also has a big advantage in height and wingspan compared to Link.

Since Link and Klitschko are both boxing superstars and have great influence, this game has also attracted the attention of media and boxing fans around the world.

According to media reports, five hours after the game tickets went on sale, 25,000 tickets were sold out. Currently on Amazon Mall, VIP tickets are priced at US$32,000 each, more than 20 times higher than the launch price. General tickets It was also sold for more than 1,500 US dollars each.

After the game time was announced, almost all the five-star hotel rooms near the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas were booked, and almost all major casinos launched game betting projects before the game.

Since Link has not lost so far, he shows great strength.

The casino believes that he has a high probability of winning, so it offers large odds to attract gamblers: Link loses the game, the odds are as high as 35 times, and Link is KOed by Klitschko, the odds are as high as 55 times.

Link was knocked out by Klitschko in the first round, losing 65 to 1.

There are also some projects where you bet on which round Link will win and how he will win?

The odds are pretty good.

If Link lost the game on purpose, this game would cause many casinos to suffer serious losses.

But it's impossible for Link to lose the game on purpose.

His appearance fee for this game is 100 million US dollars, and he also has 25% PPV revenue share, 15% online live broadcast revenue share, 15% box office share, 30% advertising sponsorship share, and other income shares.

These earn more than you can earn from betting.

"Link, can you tell me in advance which round you plan to win this match?"

In the locker room, Dino Dua smiled shyly.

"I can't say for sure, it all depends on how long Klitschko can last."

Link was shaking his arms and doing warm-up exercises.

"Then are you confident in KOing Klitschko?"

"I will try my best to win by knocking him out."

Link said.

Dino curled his lips. He originally wanted to get some inside information from Link to make a bet, but he didn't get anything.

The game was about to begin. Link finished his warm-up exercises and began to put on boxing shorts and a hand bandage.

While Klitschko was putting on his boxing gloves, Banks, Klitschko's coach, walked into the dugout and asked to check Link's hand bandage.

Coach Link and Coach Brooks did not object and just asked Simon to record the video.

There is an unwritten rule in the boxing world. Before the game, the coaches of the two participating boxers can go to the opponent's locker room to check the condition of the boxers. Before 2009, no one paid attention to this kind of thing, and it was usually a routine matter.

However, a scandal occurred in the boxing world in 2009, which made more boxers pay attention to this procedure.

In January 2009, the former WBO/IBF/WBA welterweight gold belt holder and Mexican boxing champion Antonio Margarito was discovered by the opponent's coach when he was fighting against welterweight veteran Sean Morris. Add 'gypsum powder' to bandages and gauze.

When being inspected before a game, there is generally no problem, but during the game, boxers' fists tend to sweat in the gloves. The plaster powder will harden when exposed to sweat, which can increase the hardness of the punch and increase the lethality.

After the game, Morris' coach revealed that Margarito had added plaster powder to his hand bandage, which immediately caused a huge sensation in the boxing world. Margarito's coach was permanently banned by the boxing organization.

The media and peers have denounced Margarito, and boxers who have been defeated by him in the past suspect that he cheated in past matches.

Margarito, who was once so famous that even Mayweather and Pacquiao were very afraid of him, was ruined and his nickname changed from "Alien" to "Plaster Hand".

Because of this incident, boxer coaches will be more careful when checking their opponents' equipment.

Link, who holds the title of Superman, has also been noticed by the opponent's coach many times before the game.

Only this time, Klitschko's coach came over and asked for an inspection when he put on his boxing gloves. He also inspected him very carefully, obviously doubting his character. This was also a provocation.

After the inspection was completed and no abnormalities were found, Klitschko's coach took the people away.

Link also led the boxing team out of the lounge and into the competition site.

Today's competition scene is very lively. In addition to the official competition, there are also singing and dancing performances. The invited stars include Rihanna, the Black Eyed Peas, Ariana Grande and others. It is like a large-scale concert.

Before the game, Holyfield came over as a guest host to interview Link and Klitschko, trying to use words to provoke the two of them to anger, but both of them behaved calmly and restrained, neither arrogant nor impetuous.

After weighing themselves and being interviewed, the two strode onto the boxing ring amid the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators.

—

"The game is finally about to begin. Do you think Link will lose?" De La Hoya looked at Hopkins and James Toney in the front row and asked.

“Probably not, if it’s before Deontay Wilder, Alexander Povetkin, Valuev, I think he might lose.

And his ability to defeat Deontay proves that his punching weight and speed are among the top in the heavyweight class, defeating Povetkin proves that his skills and tactics are top-notch, and defeating Valuev shows that he is not afraid of opponents taller than him. I think this Link will definitely win every game. "

James Toney said.

"Not necessarily. Klitschko combines the strengths of the three of them in terms of punching weight, technique, and height. In the past, Link could defeat the three of them one by one, but he may not be able to defeat Klitschko, who has almost no flaws."

De La Hoya retorted.

"Why doesn't Klitschko have any flaws? His flaws are very obvious. Facing people with heavier punches than him, he fights more slowly and is more easily injured. In addition, he fights too rationally, has more worries, and is not decisive enough. , as long as Link can injure him in the first three rounds, the victory can basically be secured.”

Mike Tyson said.

"So Link still won't lose this game?"

Shark O'Neal curled his thick lips and said.

"You really want to see Link lose? Is it because you lost to Link in basketball?"

Morales chuckled.

"Nonsense! I didn't let him use his full strength. If I were more serious, Link would definitely not be my opponent."

"Okay, I will convey this to Link truthfully. Next time Link asks you to play ball, don't pretend to be dead."

Morales said with a wicked smile.

O'Neal glared at him and secretly decided that if Link asked to play basketball, he must not go, or invite Wade to play two against one.

Dang, Dang, Dang!

The bell rang for the game, and calm returned to the audience. Everyone concentrated on watching the two sides in the boxing ring.

Link was wearing a pair of golden shorts with 'LINK' tattooed on the waistband and a pair of golden gloves. His delicate short hair looked very energetic. His bronze skin glowed with a metallic color under the light. He had an inverted triangle back profile and a high bulge. The muscles are well-proportioned and look very strong and strong.

His waist muscles are well defined. Although not as thick as many heavyweight boxers, they are as flexible and explosive as mechanical steel shafts.

Link stood quietly in the middle of the ring with his fists raised, looking very calm.

His opponent, Klitschko, was in a similar situation at this time, with an expressionless face, and his eyes more than ten centimeters higher than Link were looking at the position above Link's head, as if he was thinking about tactics to defeat Link.

As the ring referee waved his arm vigorously to announce the start of the game, Link and Klitschko touched their gloves and began to punch each other.

"Come on Link!"

"Link, I bet on you to win, don't lose."

"Klitschko, come on, I'll bet 10,000 on you to win."

In the auditorium, the audience began to shout loudly.

Link and Klitschko ignored the noise from the audience and stared at each other intently. Link took a few steps forward and saw that Klitschko was waiting in full formation and had no intention of attacking. He took the initiative to speed up and try to punch. Test each other's strength and speed.

Klitschko chose to play defensive counterattack when he attacked.

The two sides met six times, and Link initially figured out the opponent's methods, including punch weight, reaction ability, dodge speed, footwork, etc. Klitschko was very good in these aspects, especially in defense, with almost no flaws. Steady as an old dog.

After Link thought about it, he immediately increased the frequency of his punches, left straight punch + right jab + left uppercut + right uppercut. Both fists hit Klitschko's defense arms like a violent storm.

His goal is simple, to compete for speed and physical strength.

Use fast punches to disrupt the opponent's rhythm and tactics, then wait for opportunities to find holes in the opponent's defense, attack the opponent's weak points, and preferably injure the opponent.

This was also one of the tactics he came up with while studying Klitschko's game videos before the game.

In Klitschko's career, there was one game that was very dangerous and he was almost KO'd by his opponent.

This match took place in April 2004. The opponent was WBO heavyweight boxing champion Corey Saunders. Saunders is from South Africa. Before entering the boxing ring, he was a policeman. His title in the boxing ring was also 'South African Policeman'. '.

The opponent's most brilliant match took place in Hannover, Germany in 2003. Sanders faced off against Klitschko. In two rounds, he knocked down Klitschko four times and won the WBO heavyweight gold belt.

In 2004, Sanders challenged the WBC heavyweight belt, which was held by Klitschko.

In the first three rounds of the game, Sanders defeated Klitschko many times and once suppressed Klitschko, leaving Klitschko unable to fight back.

But Klitschko has a good mentality and is very calm during the game. He is not arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat. After the fourth round, he used steady tactics and continuous heavy punches to gradually regain the disadvantage, and finally KO in the 9th round. Sanders won.

Although Sanders lost, there are many things worth learning from his fighting style, such as punching quickly and decisively, opening and closing widely, and using fast punches and cold punches to break through Klitschko's defense.

Afterwards, the media commented that this game was the most embarrassing match in Klitschko's career. If Sanders was more powerful and attacked faster, he would have a great chance of defeating Klitschko.

Therefore, in this game, Link learned from Sanders' failure and planned to use fast punches to break through the opponent's defense, reduce the opponent's physical strength and combat effectiveness as much as possible, and prevent the opponent's tactics from being used.

Bang bang bang!

Link continuously pumped out his fists, mainly using jabs to hit the opponent's abdomen and ribs, supplemented by uppercuts to threaten the opponent's chin.

Hit up and down, hit down and hit, waiting for opportunities to find loopholes.

Bang!

In the 109th punch, Klitschko failed to defend and was hit by Link on the chin. He couldn't help but take two steps back and hit the rope.

Link took advantage of the opponent's front door being wide open and pressed forward. His fists hit the opponent's arms, chin, and side of the face like a drum beat. Klitschko was beaten so dizzy that he immediately used hugging tactics to restrain him. fist.

"Break!"

The referee ordered the two to separate.

Link took a step back, and after the referee announced a restart, he approached his opponent again and launched a new round of attack.

Ding ding ding!

The first round is over.

Link punched 168 times, hitting the opponent's chest and abdomen 21 times, and hitting the opponent's chin and head 5 times.

Klitschko punched 121 times, hitting Link once on the forehead and 12 times below the head.

In this round, although Link had the upper hand, he punched too many times and consumed a lot of energy. At the end of the round, he was dripping with sweat.

Although Klitschko took a lot of punches, he was still calm and rational, maintained the rhythm of the game, did not mess up his position, nor was he frustrated after being beaten, and his mentality was very good.

This opponent is also very difficult to deal with.

(End of chapter)