Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

"Aragorn! Win!"

"Aragorn! Champion!"

Half an hour before the game, nearly 20,000 seats at the Social, Cultural and Sports Center were packed to capacity. The three floors, including the upper and lower floors, and even the small empty space around the ring were occupied by media reporters, tourists and wealthy Cubans who were willing to pay big bucks to watch the game. People occupy.

There were only ten minutes before the start of the game, but the HBO TV cameras were not turned on. Steve Mandanda, the host of the sports channel, was also walking around the audience with empty hands. His shirt collar was stained with brown sweat, and his face and forehead were stained with sweat. Covered with hot sweat.

The reason is very simple. HBO TV station was going to broadcast this game. Before coming, they had communicated with Cuban officials and would pay a broadcast fee. However, before the game started, Cuban officials suddenly changed their tune and did not allow this game to be broadcast.

The sudden change of tone caught the HBO staff by surprise, and all their previous preparations were in vain. Host Steve and cameraman Sean could only stay there blankly, waiting for the TV executives to negotiate with the Cuban government.

After more than a minute, an HBO staff member ran over and told Steve that he could continue to record on the spot, but if Aragorn lost the game, the recorded videotape would not be allowed to be played publicly.

"How can you do this?"

Cameraman Sean complained and looked at Steve, "Are we still recording?"

"Record it! Record it first and then talk about it."

Steve thought for a moment and said.

Originally, amateur boxing matches were not popular on television because amateur matches required protective gear, the scenes were not exciting enough, and there were few KOs. The audience did not like to watch them, and HBO was not interested in broadcasting them.

But since the emergence of Link in the amateur boxing world, the situation has become different. This guy will definitely KO his opponent in every match. The live matches are very intense, no worse than professional boxing matches.

The super middleweight final of the Golden Gloves Championship broadcast in mid-June received more than 15 million viewers in North America, making it the highest-rated program among amateur boxing broadcasts. HBO also earned a large amount of TV revenue from this program. Subscription fee.

In the last match between Link and the Haitian Peters, the man's jaw was bloody and the visual effects were full. The Cuban TV Sports Channel sold the videotape of the game to TV stations in the Americas and earned more than one million US dollars.

In this match, Link's opponent is Lorenzo Aragon, who is more powerful than Peters. Since both of them are quite famous in the American boxing circles, many people who love boxing want to watch the match between the two. , see who wins and who loses.

If someone wants to watch, it will be profitable. Commercial TV stations such as HBO have sent people to broadcast the game.

It’s just that the other party in this game is Cuban athlete Aragon, and the game is held in Havana, Cuba.

If Aragon loses the game, it will not be a winning or losing game. It involves more and more complicated things. It is also out of this consideration that the Cuban government will go back and forth on broadcasting the game.

Steve wiped the oily sweat from his face with a wet wipe, took out the meal guy, and called Sean and several other staff members to prepare for recording.

According to Cuban officials, if Aragorn loses the game, the video cannot be played publicly, but if Link loses the game, the video of the game can also be played.

Link has been very popular in the United States in the past two months. With his outstanding appearance, strong strength, and high-profile remarks, he has a large number of fans in the boxing world.

There will definitely be a lot of people wanting to watch the live matches in which he loses.

Judging from the situation at the scene, Steve felt that Link had little chance of winning.

"Aragorn will win!"

"Champion of Aragon!"

Steve was shaken by the shouts in the audience and his eardrums were buzzing. He took the microphone to the corner and said to the camera with the red light flashing: "Dear audience, good afternoon, I am everyone. Old friend Steve Mandanda.

Where I am now is in Havana, Cuba, a beautiful city on the Caribbean coast.

The last amateur boxing match I broadcast for you was at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, where the Super Middleweight Finals of the Golden Gloves Championship were held.

Today at the Social, Cultural and Sports Center Gymnasium in Havana, I will once again broadcast an amateur boxing match for you. This match is the Olympic Games Americas Qualifying Finals.

After six rounds of competition, 62 super middleweight boxers from 18 countries competed with each other. The top two in the Americas were determined yesterday. They are Lorenzo Aragon from Cuba. He was the 2004 Silver medalist in the 69kg boxing competition at the Athens Olympics.

Another boxer who entered the finals was Link Baker, a boxer from Miami, USA!

Yes, it was the super middleweight champion who won 17 times in 17 fights at the Golden Gloves Championship with 17 KOs. In this Olympic qualifying tournament, he continued to reach the finals with all KOs of his opponents. His current amateur record is.”

Steve lowered his head and looked at the card in his hand, "21 fights, 21 wins, 21 KOs, oh, very impressive data. He should have had one victory, but in the semi-finals, his opponent was the Venezuelan boxer Alva. He gave up the game due to injury, so he once again reached the Americas finals by KOing all his opponents in 4 games.

Today Link will be here to face local Cuban boxer Lorenzo Aragon, a boxer rated as an elite among amateur elites by "Boxing Ring" magazine. Can Link win again in this match? Please let me know. We'll see. "

Steve exhaled and took a sip of mineral water. The weather in Havana was too hot and muggy, and it was even hotter in the gym. Working in formal clothes felt like torture.

"Steve, Link is out. Do you want to interview him?"

The cameraman Sean pointed to the east aisle. Amid the tens of thousands of spectators shouting "Aragon must win", Link and his coaching team walked through the aisle.

There were also crowded seating areas on both sides of the aisle, which were densely packed with people. There were forty or fifty reporters following Link and interviewing him.

Steve Mandanda took a deep breath, brought a microphone and a camera, squeezed into the middle of the group of reporters, handed over the microphone and shouted loudly: "Link, I'm Steve, the host of HBO TV. I interviewed you at the American Airlines Arena last time. I have two questions for you."

Link looked up at him and recognized this guy who loves to stir up trouble.

Since HBO is a TV broadcasting giant and the main broadcasting channel for boxing events, boxers need to cooperate with HBO if they want to earn PPV revenue, so boxers usually give special care to reporters and hosts of HBO TV.

Link was the same. He slowed down and asked, "Hello Steve, what's your question?"

"How confident are you that you can defeat your opponent Lorenzo Aragon? Can you express it in percentage?"

Steve shouted with sweat on his face.

"200%!"

Link said as he walked.

"Wow!"

The reporters around him exclaimed.

"Aragon will win!"

The Cuban citizens in the audience area next to him shouted loudly, swallowing up the noise made by the reporters.

"Link, I heard that you will continue to kill the game by KO. Do you have a tactic? Can you reveal it in advance?"

Steve shouted.

"Of course, my tactic is to knock him down with all my strength."

Link waved his fist at the camera.

"Link, I have another question. Facing more than 10,000 Cuban spectators, listening to them shouting in unison that Aragon will win, do you feel pressured?"

Steve added a question at the last minute and shouted.

Link smiled lightly, "You should ask Aragon this question. Will he feel pressured to compete with a guy who has KOed his opponents 21 times in 21 fights?"

Steve thought about Link's words, and it seemed that this was indeed a question worth interviewing.

Link waved his fist, answered several reporters' questions, and under the escort of Morales, Andre and others, came to the rest area under the boxing ring, waiting for the bell to ring.