Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Sunlight shone on the awning in front of Baker's small shop, casting a cool shade.

On the beach table, there were two cups of floral tea, a voice recorder, a notebook with a pen clipped to it, and a Canon camera.

"Link, it turns out you really are a professional diver."

Reporter Simmons looked at Link's diving license, his face showing a surprised expression.

As far as he knew, obtaining a diver's license required multiple assessments and accumulating over 1000 hours of diving time. It was tough for ordinary people to obtain, being issued by the Miami Diving Association.

Link smiled faintly, the diver's license had been acquired through his physical abilities after traveling here.

Initially, he had planned to use it to make a living, but due to lifestyle habits, unwillingness to settle, and regrets from his past life, he returned to his former path.

"Mr. Simmons, I didn't expect you to be a journalist either."

That morning, as he returned from jogging and was eating breakfast, Simmons came to visit, asking for diving lessons in the sea.

Since Simmons offered money, Link would not refuse; he took Simmons for a swim in the sea.

Just after returning to the shop, Simmons revealed his identity, claiming to be a journalist from the Miami Herald, wanting to interview him.

Since the Miami Herald was clearly biased towards him, praising him multiple times in their articles.

Sports editor Rafael Varane had even written several commentaries admiring him.

When the 'fake boxing scandal' erupted these past few days, the Herald also published several articles defending him.

Both emotionally and logically, he could not refuse; nor would he refuse the journalist's interview.

After all, his future plan was to become a professional boxer, continually appearing in the news to deepen the audience's impression of him, which was extremely beneficial for his future development.

"Link, how about we start the interview?"

Simmons picked up the notebook and said.

"Sure, I hope your questions won't be too difficult."

Link gestured with his hand invitingly.

Simmons laughed heartily and glanced at his notebook, saying, "Link, first of all, congratulations on defeating Andrea Berto in the Golden Gloves Championship and winning the Super Middleweight title. Are you satisfied with yesterday's match?"

"Of course, I am the victor,"

Link said, clenching his fist.

"Regarding your opponent, Andrea Berto, you've fought him once before. What do you think of him as a boxer?"

Simmons asked.

Link thought for a moment, then said, "No doubt, he's excellent! In terms of technique, strength, speed, and boxing awareness, he's top-notch. He's a strong and well-rounded opponent with almost no flaws, which makes him tough to handle."

"But you knocked him out in just five rounds," Simmons said with a smile,

Link smiled slightly and spread his hands, "Relative to ordinary boxers, he is perfect and formidable. However, compared to me, his speed, strength, technique, boxing awareness, and even tactics, don't measure up. That's why I could defeat him while others couldn't."

"Can this statement be interpreted as you believe you overwhelmingly outpower him in every aspect?"

"Overwhelming? No, I think 'suppress' is more appropriate."

"Haha!"

Simmons looked at him and laughed, "Yesterday at the American Airlines Arena, in front of hundreds of reporters, you said you were too strong to keep a low profile. Why are you so humble today?"

"Because now it's just you. Bragging in front of one person would not only make you uncomfortable, but it would also make me uncomfortable," Link spread his hands.

Simmons laughed loudly, adjusted his toupee on top of his head, and continued, "Yesterday before the match, in an interview with the HBO host, you suddenly declared you would knock out Andrea Berto in five rounds. Was that a pre-planned tactic or a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

"It was a spur of the moment!"

"Oh, why did you suddenly make that decision? Was it because Andrea said in the interview that you were playing a fixed match, and that angered you?"

"Not entirely!"

Link sipped his tea and said, "Before the match, I had watched Andrea's fight videos over and over. He's a difficult opponent to find faults in, and at that time, he was ranked number one in the Super Middleweight category. Before facing him, I wasn't even sure I could beat him, let alone KO him."

"Link, you're saying you weren't sure you could beat him before the match?"

Simmons was very interested in this question, so he sat straight, held his pen, and listened intently to his reply.

"Yes, he was strong, and he was ranked number one in the same rank. I wasn't 100% sure I could beat him before facing him in the ring. However, I was confident in my abilities, which may sound contradictory, but the outcome of a match sometimes depends more on personal confidence than one might think."

Because I believed in my strength, to push myself, I set a goal not just to beat him, but to knock him out within five rounds."

I was hard on myself, which made me give up defending and take the initiative to attack, bringing out all my potential in critical moments. If you have seen the matches, you would know that in the first four rounds, I averaged 100 punches per round, totaling 467 punches in five rounds."

In professional boxing matches, over 12 rounds, most boxers throw around 500 punches, those being the ones in good physical condition.

For example, James Toney and John Ruiz, their punches are also only around 600 in total. Throwing nearly 500 punches in five rounds nearly drained all my stamina."

That match was extremely tough."

I almost gave everything I had, but fortunately, I managed to win the match and fulfill my promise," Link said, shrugging his shoulders.

Simmons couldn't help but clap his hands, "Yes, you were excellent, and we could all see that.

In the last match, you were very aggressive. Andrea Berto couldn't defend against your strong attack and was forced to exchange punches with you, subsequently being knocked down several times. All this was the result of you pushing yourself."

Link, if you hadn't pushed yourself and set such a demanding goal, could you have beaten him?"

Crossing his fingers, Link smiled and said, "Of course, I've said my goal is to be the champion. Even if I couldn't knock him out within five rounds, I would have done it within ten rounds.

I brought my plan forward and set a more demanding goal for myself as a way to motivate myself and secure the victory ahead of time."

This is also a habit of mine, setting a demanding goal for myself and then working hard to achieve it; the fruit of victory is sweeter that way."

Simmons smiled and nodded, jotting down a few sentences before continuing, "You didn't change your goal, you just made it more demanding. So, during the pre-match press conference, you told the reporters, including Bernard Hopkins, Chris Byrd, and even Roy Jones, that anyone doubting your strength who dares to challenge you would be defeated by you within three rounds.

Is this one of the 'demanding goals' you set for yourself?"

Link gently shook his head, "That doesn't count."

"Oh? Isn't that goal demanding?" Simmons asked, puzzled.

"Not really. Among these boxing predecessors, except for Valuev, who is a bit tough due to his height of 213 cm, which makes fighting him somewhat difficult, the rest of these champions are all over thirty-five years old. Whether it's physical stamina, technique, or speed, they are far from their prime. Beating them within three rounds is entirely feasible; it's not a demanding goal."

Link spread his hands calmly.

Simmons scratched his head under his wig, his lips twitching uncontrollably. This guy just said that boasting in front of just one person would be embarrassing. Isn't this boasting?

It's important to note that the champions and former champions he just mentioned are among the top-tier boxers in the boxing world today, ranking in the top ten in the four major professional boxing organizations WBA-WBC-IBF-WBO.

Although they are a bit older and not as powerful as in their prime, they still have the capacity to compete for the world championship.

Yet, in Link's words, defeating them within three rounds is not a demanding goal?

Simmons's eyes shifted, deciding to publish these interview segments completely in the newspaper to see what reaction it would elicit from those champions.

"Link, if they aren't considered a demanding target, then who, in your opinion, is a more challenging target?" Simmons asked.

"The Klitschko brothers."

The Klitschko brothers are the current holders of the heavyweight Gold Belts from the four major organizations.

The older brother, Vitali Klitschko, is 202 cm tall with a reach of 203 cm and is the WBC heavyweight champion."

The younger brother, Vladimir Klitschko, is 199 cm tall with a reach of 206 cm and holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight Gold Belts.

Not only are these brothers tall and have long arms, but they also have good stamina and well-rounded skills.

An important point is that defeating either brother often leads to a challenge from the other as a form of revenge."

They often train together and study their opponents' fighting styles, making them a formidable duo."

Link has only resumed training for less than a month and is not yet mature enough in various aspects to consider himself a match for the brothers just yet."

"Link, your challenge to several champions is now well known. Everyone is eager to know when you will turn to professional boxing. Do you have an approximate timeline for your transition?"

"Probably next year," Link thought for a moment before answering.

Simmons nodded and then asked a few more questions, to which Link responded one by one.

The interview lasted nearly an hour, after which Simmons packed away his things and left the dive shop, thoroughly satisfied.

——