Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 60 Mario

When Taylor Swift suddenly arrived in Havana, Coach West and his team also arrived in Havana. Since it was relatively close from Miami to Havana, they took the ferry directly across the Florida Strait. There were more than 20 people in the group, including Reggie and Mario. All the other boxers and apprentices from the boxing gym came.

Two old acquaintances, Raphael Varane, the sports editor of the Miami Herald, and reporter Simons were also traveling with him.

Mr. Raphael Varane is a thin old white man, wearing designer sunglasses, holding a black pipe, and with a beautiful little girlfriend on his side. He has the style of a French literati at the beginning of the last century.

ˆ He also spoke with a strong French accent, and occasionally a few obscure French words would pop up. For example, when he praised Link for his breathtaking performance in the last game, he used ‘impressionnant’ instead of ‘impressif’.

“Link, you gave us a big surprise in the last game. We had guessed many outcomes, but we never expected you to win the game in that way. It was really exciting.”

Mr. Varane spread his hands and said in an exaggerated tone.

Link shrugged, "Mr. Varane, if you believe me, there will only be one outcome for my matches in the future, KO!"

 “Haha, you’re a confident boy, I like you!”

Mr. Varane threw his head back, laughed, and patted his arm.

“Raphael, allow me to interrupt you for a moment. Link, I have a few questions for you about the last game. Is that convenient?”

Reporter Simmons interjected and asked.

　　After a few days of seeing each other, Simmons changed into a new hair cover. The bangs were parted in front and replaced with two or three inches of brown curly hair. He looked much younger and more fashionable.

Link nodded and said yes.

Simmons immediately took out the recorder and opened it, and said: "Link, in the last game, you injured Peters' jaw, causing him to admit defeat. Is this a tactic you planned in advance?"

Link denied this, "Before I came on stage, I had only one tactic, which was to KO him. I had no plan on how to defeat him. After all, the boxing ring is also a battlefield, and the battle situation changes rapidly. It is better to make a plan in advance than to act on the spot."

Mr. Varane nodded beside him, took a sip from his pipe and said, "So injuring Pieterse's jaw and forcing him to surrender was also an improvisation on your part?"

"Absolutely. Peters' defensive ability is very strong. Among all the opponents I have encountered, he has the strongest defensive ability. I feel that he is no worse than professional boxers such as Chris Bird. His ability to fight is also Very tall, his whole body looks like an iron bucket.

During the match, I threw hundreds of punches but failed to break through his defense. Later, Coach Ed reminded me that attacking his whole body would be better than attacking his weak points, such as his nose, eyes, and chin. Then I succeeded. . "

Link spread his hands and smiled.

Mr. Varane clapped his hands and said, "Well done Link, your punch not only shocked the amateur boxing world, but also scared the professional boxers. I think after you go to the professional boxing world, there will be many cowards." "I refuse to compete with you because I am afraid of your iron fist."

Link smiled and said: "This is also the result I hope to see. I hope those guys in name only can give up their gold belts in advance and leave them to me before I enter the professional boxing world. If they are reluctant to part with them, please Be prepared to be KO'd by me."

Mr. Varane wowed, clapped his hands, and praised Link for what he said.

 “In name or in name only? Which boxing champion are you referring to?”

Simmons asked enthusiastically.

“Not anyone, but everyone who dares to question my strength.”

Before the qualifying round, many people in the online media questioned his fraud in the Golden Gloves Championship. They suspected that his all-KO results were fabricated by the promotion company and the boxing association. They were building boxing stars, and Link was the chosen one. .

But as the qualifying round entered the fourth semi-finals, Link KOed powerful opponents one after another with his iron fist, raising his amateur competition score to 21 fights, 21 wins, and 21 KOs. Those doubts in the online media disappeared instantly without a trace. .

On the contrary, Link's boxing fans pursue those people closely, often using his game data and short videos on various forums to slap those who have questioned him in the face, and the boxing fans are also very angry. .

Proving his own strength and eliminating doubts from the outside world is one of the reasons why Link insists on using KO tactics to play in the qualifying rounds.

Simmons heard the tone of his voice and secretly praised it. It was indeed Link's style. As for Link's words just now, after word spreads, many people will definitely call him a talker.

"Link, since yesterday, there have been a lot of news in the media questioning your way of playing. They think that you are capable of winning by points in the game, but you insist on winning with a full KO. They think that this way of playing will hurt your opponent. To the opponent, it is too cruel and goes against the spirit of Olympic sports. What do you think of this issue? "They are talking nonsense."

Mr. Varane held a pipe and scolded, "All human sports are aimed at pursuing higher, faster and stronger. Boxing represents the strongest. Boxing matches cannot hurt the opponent, so what's the point of boxing? Just like In a race between a tortoise and a hare, the hare cannot run too fast to avoid hurting the tortoise’s pride. This is ridiculous.”

Link smiled softly, "Mr. Varane is right. Boxing is the art of knocking down. If you can't knock down your opponent, it's boxing for weaklings. I don't think I'm wrong. Anyone who thinks I'm wrong." We are laymen, why should we listen to the nonsense of laymen?”

 Simmons nodded and recorded his words.

After the interview, Varane and Simmons had other interview tasks, so they left in advance. Before leaving, they asked him to continue to work hard and strive to KO Aragon. They also said that it didn’t matter if they couldn’t KO, and they tried to win the American championship first.

 Obviously, these two gentlemen, like everyone else, feel that he has a chance to defeat Aragon based on scoring, but it should be difficult to win by KO.

"Link, how did you do it? Those people in the qualifying round are the most powerful guys in each country, how can you still win by KO?"

Reggie finally found a chance to talk to him, came up to him and exclaimed with admiration on his face.

 “Probably because I’m better than them.”

Link shook his fist and smiled.

“Yes, yes, you are so amazing, so amazing. No one in the world is as powerful as you.”

Mario grinned widely and said with a smile.

Link glanced at him and felt that his expression was a little awkward. He said thank you and went to talk to West.

 After Link left, Reggie bumped into Mario, "Why did you talk like that just now?"

Mario immediately dropped his face and curled up his lips, "You said that after I meet Link, I should praise him and please him. When he is happy, he might let me continue to be his sparring partner. I just praised him. Yes, what’s wrong?”

“I want you to sincerely praise Link. I want you to praise Link from your heart, not to ridicule him.” Reggie said helplessly.

 Mario scratched his fat face, frowned and said, "But I really don't know how to flatter you. There are some things I can't say out loud. I feel very ashamed."

Reggie covered his forehead and said, "That's not flattery, that's telling the truth. Link has fought from home to abroad. As long as he is his opponent, he will KO them all. Don't you think he is very powerful?"

“I don’t think so, he is just talented and strong. If I had his talent and strength, I could KO one with one punch.” Mario said confidently, holding a fist as big as a sandbag.

"But Link is not only talented, he is also very diligent and hard-working, and his brain is very smart. Isn't this worthy of your admiration?" Reggie said dryly.

 “Isn’t it a gift to be diligent and smart?” Mario asked, blinking.

Reggie slapped his forehead, waved his hand, and ran to drink water.

Mario shrugged his shoulders and looked at Link who was chatting with West. At this time, West was smiling, patting Link on the shoulder from time to time and laughing. He was happier than seeing his own son or grandson.

Mario couldn't help but tighten his fists. Isn't it just his talent? What's so great about it?

But when he thought about West's recent selection of new boxing sparring partners for Link, and heard that he would find two, Mario felt disappointed and unhappy. Isn't it enough to have a powerful sparring partner like himself? Why should he go outside to find another sparring partner? ?

 When he thought that other sparring partners would occupy his boxing target and boxing ring after joining the boxing gym, and would also practice boxing with Link on his behalf, Mario felt even more unhappy.

no!

  The job of sparring partner must not be taken away by others.

Mario took a deep breath, grinned, and walked between Link and West with a smile.

 (End of this chapter)