Chapter 29 : Friendship First, Competition Second
Bang!
In the boxing ring, in the ninth round, Anderzej punched Link on the forehead. At this moment, there was a cry of surprise from the surroundings.
Backfist! Anderzej only felt a flash of red light in the corner of his eyes. It was Link's fist. Before he could react, bang! His face was hit violently, as if it was run over by a car.
Anderzeje's neck twisted suddenly to the left, and saliva, snot, and sweat flew out. His head felt dizzy, the world was spinning, and his body staggered two steps. Under the influence of gravity and center of gravity, he fell heavily to the ground.
Boom!
The audience suddenly became agitated. Although the two had fought very well in the first nine rounds, they wanted to see Link knock out his opponent with a heavy punch.
They had waited for a long time and finally waited for this moment. The emotions that had been suppressed for a long time also burst out like a flood and volcanic magma at this moment.
"Link!"
"Champion!!"
"Link!"
"Champion!!!"
The audience shouted loudly, and the fans were so excited that they could hardly control themselves. Some yelled loudly, some jumped up and down, and some took off their clothes and urinated on the spot to vent the dopamine and adrenaline in their bodies that could not be discharged.
Andrzej got up from the ground and twisted his neck. The referee asked him if he could continue, and Andrzej said yes.
The two continued to fight, and within three rounds, Link used a skilled combination of punches, left straight punch-right straight punch-left uppercut, to knock Andrzej down again.
Andrzej got up again.
Link punches him again and knocks him down.
The roar at the scene became even louder, cheering for Link's wonderful KO and Andrzej's tenacity, and the sound waves were like the strong wind at the seaside.
"It's fake, it's all fake. With Link's punch power, can't he knock down Andrzej with three punches?"
Mario looked at the tens of thousands of spectators in the audience cheering for Link and applauding his "fake" performance. Mario felt that he was a little depressed and should find time to see a psychologist and get some psychological counseling.
Bang!
Anderzej got up again and was knocked down again.
The referee stepped out and asked to stop the match.
In a match, if one side has a clear advantage and knocks down the opponent twice in one round, the score is 10-5. If the opponent is knocked down more than three times in one round, even if there is no dizziness, it also shows that the gap between the two sides is too great. In order to prevent accidents, the referee has the right to stop the match.
"The winner of this game is.."
The referee stood in the middle of the ring, grabbing Link's arm and about to lift it up, when Anderzej came over, grabbed Link's hand and lifted it up together, shouting, "Link Baker!"
"Wow!!"
"Link wins!"
The audience shouted excitedly.
This game was not only exciting, but also very decent.
"Link, congratulations on defeating Anderzej Fonfala and advancing to the finals. What do you want to say?"
The host held the microphone in front of Link.
"There's only one thing I want to say."
Link panted and said, "Friendship first, competition second, Anderzej played very well too." As he spoke, Link also raised Anderzej's arm.
"Wow!!"
"Link is such a gentleman."
"Link, the champion! Link, the champion! Link, the champion!"
The audience and fans waved their arms and shouted excitedly.
"Link is so great. Not only is he good, he is also very sportsmanlike. All of us should learn from him."
Reggie said, wiping away tears.
Mario rolled his eyes, feeling hopeless. It was clearly a fake boxing match, so why were there so many idiots praising them?
Sportsmanship? Bullshit sportsmanship. Is fake boxing considered sportsmanship?
Fuck!
"Are you sure they're faking it?"
In the stands, Greg Cohen frowned and looked at his assistant, expressing doubt about the assistant's news.
If this is also a fake fight, then Link and Anderzej are really amazing. The two of them fought to the point where it was real. No, it should be said that it was more real than a real boxing match because it can rise to the level of sportsmanship.
The assistant was not sure either, and asked hesitantly, "Should we ask the media to withdraw the article?"
Greg Cohen pinched his chin and thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Not only will we not withdraw, but we will also spread the word that Link is suspected of slapping not only this match, but also the previous matches. Someone wants to create a boxing star, and Link is the chosen one. Then spread the news that Franco Duva and Link are too close."
"Boss, Link's record is 16 wins and 16 KOs in 16 fights. No one will believe that he cheated in the competition, right?" the assistant hesitated.
Greg Cohen smiled crookedly, "On the contrary, Tyson Ali couldn't knock out his opponents in every amateur match, so how could Link do it? The audience must have this doubt in their hearts.
We just need to make good use of this doubt and magnify their doubts, so that the audience can believe that there are problems with Link's sixteen matches, and even the next match."
Seeing that the assistant was about to say more, he raised his palm to stop him, "You just need to confuse people and label Link as a fake fighter. You don't need to completely destroy Link. If you want to destroy him, this alone is not enough."
"Understood!"
The assistant nodded.
The game is over.
When he was leaving the stage, a reporter asked Link if he was faking the fight.
Link went back to the lounge without explaining, then took a car back to the beach to rest, recuperate and prepare for tomorrow's game.
After he left, reporters interviewed Anderzej, asking him whether he had a fake fight with Link.
Anderzej expressed shock at the reporter's question. He said that he and Link were very involved in the fight and enjoyed the process of the game. He had no idea why the media mistakenly thought it was a fake fight.
The reporter said that with Link's punching power, the match should be over sooner.
Anderzej shook his head, saying that the reporters were not boxers and did not know the meaning of boxing.
The purpose of an amateur boxing match is not only to win, but also to understand the process of the match. The state of being evenly matched is better than a thousand words and ten million US dollars, so the innocent are innocent, and he does not want to explain more.
That night, many reports about Link's fake fights circulated on the Internet and in the media.
The video of Link KOing his opponents 16 times in 16 fights is also circulating on the Internet.
Some say that Link is amazing, has great skills and is very powerful, and he will definitely become a boxing champion in the future.
Some people think it is fake. If you wear sponge gloves and hit opponents wearing sponge protective gear, can you knock them out?
This is impossible, there must be a conspiracy.
Even many well-known boxers have spoken out, saying that Tyson couldn't knock out his opponents 16 times in 16 amateur matches, so how could Link, a light-skinned guy weighing less than 80 kilograms, do it?
It must be fake.
Shut up! !
Link's fans stood up and loudly defended Link, saying that Link had won every game from the regional competition to the finals by knocking out his opponents, and there was video evidence, so it was impossible to fake it.
Just because no one had done it before and Link did it now, it cannot be considered fake. This kind of thinking is extremely narrow-minded.
Miami media and Florida media also published articles to support Link Baker, believing that this was due to Link's fame and the jealousy he caused.
They also @the National Amateur Boxing Association, the organizer of the Golden Gloves, online and asked the boxing association to come out and explain.
The Amateur Boxing Association immediately came out and publicly stated that there was absolutely no problem with the match, and there was no problem with Link's match either.
However, the voices of doubt on the Internet were too loud, and Link was still labeled as a fake boxer by netizens.
At the same time, as a controversial figure, Link has appeared in major media across the United States.
The core issue of the controversy is whether Link has faked his fights? Is his record of 16 wins and 16 KOs in 16 fights true or false?
Because of this doubt, many people are looking forward to tomorrow's match between Link and Andre Berto, the top amateur super middleweight.
Whether it is true or not, we will know after watching tomorrow's game.
(End of this chapter)