Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 63 Mentality

 “Aragorn will win!”

The Cuban spectators continued to shout loudly during the match.

 Someone unfurled the blue, white and red Cuban flag in the audience and waved it vigorously.

Someone set up several crocodile skin drums on the second floor and beat them vigorously. There was also a group of Cuban dancers in the open space in the middle, giving the audience a unique song and dance performance.

Especially when a group of Cuban girls in cool clothes stepped onto the ring, twisted their waists vigorously, and performed a Cuban tropical dance, the cheers almost lifted the roof.

“Aragorn, don’t be nervous and relax in the game. We have already qualified for the Olympics. It doesn’t matter even if we lose. Do you understand?”

 In the rest area of ​​the boxing ring, Felix Savon is doing pre-match psychological counseling with Aragon.

 For an elite boxer, strong physical fitness and superb boxing skills are far from enough.

 There is also a more important boxing quality - mentality, which can also be called psychological quality. It can often become the key to winning a game.

Boxers with good psychological quality can display 100% or 120% of their strength during competitions. Boxers with poor psychological quality will be very anxious before the game and develop "competition anxiety", and often perform abnormally after taking the stage.

Take Tyson for example. Although Tyson has a strong body and violent fists, people in the industry generally believe that his mental quality limits his development in boxing.

 In Tyson’s career, he was defeated by five people: James Douglas, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Danny Williams, and Kevin McBride. He never succeeded in revenge after the incident.

In addition, in boxing matches, if each match lasts for more than five rounds, Tyson will start to become impatient and his condition will decline. These have a lot to do with his psychological quality.

Compared with Tyson, Muhammad Ali's psychological quality is admirable. Ali was defeated by Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and others, but soon after, Ali defeated these opponents in the second round.

Ali’s spirit of never admitting defeat is also one of the reasons why he is praised.

According to research by "Boxing Ring" magazine, boxers like Ali who have strong psychological quality are not only related to their personal growth environment, but also related to the competition experience they have participated in. People who have participated in many large-scale competitions often have a good psychological quality. , which is called competition experience in the boxing world.

For example, boxing champions such as Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Holyfield, and Knox Lewis have all participated in the Olympics. Tyson has participated in the Olympic trials, is a two-time U.S. Youth Olympic boxing champion, and won the 1984 Golden Gloves Championship. Heavyweight champion.

 These are all experiences for the competition.

 If a person with no competition experience is allowed to suddenly compete in a boxing ring with tens of thousands of people watching, his performance will not be very good.

 Lorenzo Aragon has participated in many large-scale boxing competitions such as the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Pan American Games, so his mental quality is naturally not bad.

But the problem is that this is the first time for Aragon to participate in a large-scale boxing match in Cuba.

Out of this consideration, Felix Savon decided to provide more psychological counseling to his disciples before the competition to prevent him from suffering from ‘competition anxiety’.

“Felix, don’t worry, I will definitely beat that guy and win the Americas Championship.”

Lorenzo Aragon said as he wiped the sweat from his head with a towel.

 “Stop! Please stop thinking like that, Lorenzo!”

Savon put his hands on Aragorn's shoulders, stared into his bright eyes and said, "Remember my request, I'm not asking you to win the Americas Championship, my request is not to get hurt, protect yourself, understand. ?"

 “I understand, but I will definitely win.”

Aragorn said with a firm voice.

Savon patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him silently.

 “Come on Aragorn!”

 “Aragorn will win!”

The surrounding Cuban boxers shouted, pumping their fists.

"Link, don't be too nervous. You really don't have to be too nervous. We have already obtained the Olympic quota. This game is dispensable. What you need to do is to complete this game, no matter you win or lose."

In the red rest area, coach Ed was doing ideological work for Link again. There was nothing new in what he said, it was all the same old stuff.

Link glanced at Ed, who was sweating profusely, and said with a smile: "Ed, I understand, you are the one who doesn't need to be nervous. This game only lasts 8 minutes. Maybe you can go to the toilet and wait until you come back." Of course, you can know the result without going there, because there is only one result, I am the champion.”

 Coach Ed laughed.

Having been a boxing coach for decades and having more than ten years of experience as a national team boxing coach, Link is the strangest boxer he has ever seen. This guy debuted for less than two months. Before the qualifying round, he only Experienced more than ten amateur competitions.

 But during the game, the psychological quality he displayed was astonishingly strong. No matter how large-scale the game was, no matter how strong the opponent was, he was always so confident, always so relaxed and comfortable, and always so arrogant.

Ed has been studying for several days, but he still can't figure out how a rookie boxer can have such a good, even abnormal, psychological quality.

After analysis by colleagues, everyone feels that he should have a performing personality. The bigger the scene, the more open-minded he is. He is a star material.

“Okay, since you’re not nervous, I won’t say anything more, come on!”

 Coach Ed patted him on the shoulder.

 “Come on Link!”

 “Link will win!”

Morales and Andrzej clenched their fists and shouted at him.

 Dang Dang Dang!

　　The opening bell rang. Link put on his braces, took off the thermal blanket, moved his arms a few times in a stroller position, and ran and jumped onto the boxing ring.

 “Aragorn will win!”

 “Champion of Aragon!”

When he stepped into the boxing ring, the shouts of the audience were clearer, brighter, and deafening. However, Link was not timid in his heart. A truly strong person comes from the inside out. Even if a person faces thousands of enemies, when the inner strength When it is strong enough, thousands of troops are as useless as grass.

 “Link!!”

 Suddenly, a sharp, high-pitched, even broken voice came from the stands.

"champion!"

 A group of people followed and shouted.

Link turned around and saw Fat James holding a red flag in the middle of the second floor of the auditorium and waving it vigorously in the air. Sitting next to him were hundreds of people wearing red T-shirts, including Daniel, Michael, and Rezas. And there's Franco Duva, as well as a lot of familiar faces.

They stood among the Cubans, waving their arms like waves in a very grandiose manner.

 “Link!”

Fat James shouted, waving the flag.

"champion!!"

The group of people raised their arms again and shook them exaggeratedly.

Link laughed, raised his fist, and waved at them.

 “Aragorn! Champion!”

The Cuban audience was dissatisfied that their voices were being silenced by a small group of Americans, and they also shouted in unison.

Link smiled lightly and looked back at his opponent, Lorenzo Aragon, who was walking towards him.

 (End of this chapter)