Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"Link, take it slow, even if you can't KO Big Klitschko, you can win by points."

Coach Brooks said from the sidelines.

Link nodded, although what Coach Brooks said was true, knocking out his opponent was the goal he set for himself before every match. If he were to win by points, it would mean he hadn't achieved his goal, tantamount to losing.

He didn't want to lose, so he would try his utmost to achieve his goal and win by a knockout in the least number of rounds, to give himself a sense of closure.

Ding ding ding!

The bell for the second round rang, and Link spat out the water in his mouth and walked towards the center of the boxing ring with his fists clenched.

Across him, Big Klitschko was still steady, his chin smeared with lubricant that shone, and upon close inspection, you could see traces of red swelling.

This was the result of Link's multiple attacks.

And Big Klitschko's chin was also very robust, his ability to take punches was stronger than anticipated.

If this were a Light Heavyweight or Super Middleweight match, just with the punches he dealt in the first round, nine out of ten opponents would be knocked down, while Big Klitschko was merely pushed back.

From this perspective, aside from speed, heavyweight boxers surpass those in the lower weight classes in all other qualities.

After the match resumed, Link continued his aggressive assault, as in his regular training, with the fastest speed and heaviest punch, and Big Klitschko was a good sparring partner; he kept falling back while defending well, occasionally taking advantage of the gaps in Link's attack to counter and disrupt Link's offensive rhythm.

The two of them went back and forth in the boxing ring, trading blows that were fiercely contested and corporeal.

The audience below was also excitedly cheering loudly.

This is the United States, Link's fans outnumbered the others, and the audience was rooting for him, making for an extremely fervent scene.

Bam!

On the 68th punch, Link used a combination of upper and lower punches, and his fists collided with Big Klitschko's side face again, sending Big Klitschko stumbling back repeatedly, his hands shielding his head, dodging incessantly.

"Hit! Hit! Hit!"

The audience roared loudly.

Link pressed on, bombarding his opponent relentlessly, targeting the chin and head, and Big Klitschko once again managed to interrupt Link's assault with a clinching tactic.

"Boo boo boo!!"

The audience below issued a wave of disapproval towards Big Klitschko.

But Big Klitschko remained calm and expressionless, completely unfazed by the audience's mood.

Link looked at his opponent with a hint of admiration. Previously, in the Olympic qualifications for the Americas Zone, the key reason Link won against Aragon, despite being the perceived underdog, was not only because of his fitting strategy but also because Aragon tended to be influenced by external factors during the match, losing his rhythm and ultimately letting Link find an opportunity to knock him out with a single punch.

Although Link's mentality was also good, sometimes during a match, when he heard the audience cheering and shouting impetuously, he would unavoidably be influenced by their emotions and make some tactical changes.

While such changes could sometimes enhance the atmosphere and make the match more entertaining, remaining calm and rational was undoubtedly more advantageous for a boxer during a match.

Big Klitschko was doing exceptionally well in this aspect.

Link shook the sweat off his arms and gloves and chose to continue his rapid and forceful assault after the referee announced the restart. He wanted to test just how resilient his opponent's ability to take punches was.

Bang bang bang!

At 102 seconds into the second round, he hit his opponent's chin once again, causing Big Klitschko to lean against the ropes, nearly falling to the ground.

The audience initially let out a climax-like cheer, and when they saw Big Klitschko steadying himself using the ropes, they sighed with disappointment.

"Is Vitali going to lose?"

Hayden Panettiere asked from the front row of the audience seats.

Hayden Panettiere is a famous Hollywood actress, known for her roles in "Front of the Class" and "Heroes," among others. She is also the fiancée of Little Klitschko, giving birth to his son this year. She was also involved in an X-ray photo scandal recently.

Little Klitschko clenched his fists, eyeing the boxing ring, "No, this is Vitali's tactic. He's luring Link into attacking first to exhaust his stamina to the maximum. Later, he'll find an opportunity to counterattack. Link doesn't know Vitali's strategy. By attacking quickly in the first two rounds, he's really rash. Look at how much he's sweating; it clearly shows a significant drain on his stamina. At this rate, he'll last at most another round. After the fourth round, Vitali will surely turn defeat into victory."

This was also the strategy they had devised after studying Link's match videos. Since his debut, aside from lasting six rounds against Tyson, all of Link's other matches concluded within the first four rounds.

Regardless of Link's strength, he rarely fought beyond the fourth round, and his strategies were mostly focused on the first three to four rounds, which was an evident shortcoming.

Dragging the match beyond five rounds, Link's disadvantages would inevitably increase, and more gaps would undoubtedly appear, presenting many opportunities to defeat him.

This was a fact evident to many in the boxing world.

Yet very few could endure Link's ferocious and fast-paced blows past the third round.

So to drag the match into the latter half also required some level of strength.

Little Klitschko couldn't be certain whether Vitali could achieve this, and all he could do was to cheer him on from the sidelines.

"Vitali, hold on!"

"Go Link! Hit him hard!"

The audience below also continued to root for Link.

Bang bang bang!

Link continued to swing his fists, ferociously attacking Big Klitschko's vital points. Because of the quick pace of his punches, the sweat on his body was notably increasing, and his hair also grew wet and gleamed under the lights with a damp sheen.

"Link's going to lose if he fights like this."

James Toney said with his arms crossed.

"Weren't you confident that Link would definitely win? How come you now think he's going to lose just at the second round?"

Hoyle turned around in surprise.

"Big Klitschko is clearly using a stalling strategy, which is one of his most commonly used tactics. He wears down his opponent's physical strength in the early rounds and makes a sudden push in the latter half, turning defeat into victory. Link is too eager for a win and carelessly falls into Big Klitschko's trap. The later the match goes, the greater Big Klitschko's chances of winning become."

James Toney commented.

"That's right. Although Big Klitschko also counterattacks in these two rounds, he does so sparingly. Most of the time he's luring Link to continue the assault. Link has encountered few tactical masters, and even when he does, they're usually knocked out by him within the first two rounds before they can utilize their tactics. That's why his experience is lacking in this area and why he fell into Big Klitschko's trap."

The bulky George Foreman, watching Big Klitschko constantly dodging, said, "He is a very smart boxer, a true master tactician. Link is probably still a bit behind him."

"Do you mean that Link might lose?"

O'Neal asked with a big grin.

James Toney and George Foreman nodded.

"Ha ha, that's great, it's just a pity Big Klitschko isn't black."

O'Neal said.

The faces of several black boxers nearby fell. Their mood, initially eager to watch the show, soured instantly. Since the retirement of older black boxers such as Holyfield and James Toney, they had pinned their hopes on Deontay Wilder, hoping he could carry the banner for the heavyweight boxing ring.

Unfortunately, Deontay was defeated by Link before becoming the World Boxing Champion.

Since then, there hasn't been a standout black boxer in the heavyweight class.

And once upon a time, the heavyweight boxing ring was dominated by black boxers: Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Tyson, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis – all champions of their time.

With them around, light-skinned boxers hardly had a chance to shine.

But now active in the heavyweight boxing ring are all light-skinned boxers, and it's as if black heavyweight boxers have disappeared.

This forces these old-timers to lament that black boxers have indeed regressed in recent years.

Ding ding ding!

The second round ends.

In this round, Link throws 156 punches, effectively hitting Big Klitschko's chin and face 4 times, hitting the ribs and abdomen 24 times.

Big Klitschko throws 98 punches, hitting Link 8 times, most of them in the chest and abdomen, with one sweep hitting Link's side face.

In this round, Link's fast attack caused him to sweat more, while his opponent Big Klitschko's chin and left cheek become swollen and red, with a small amount of bleeding from the mouth and nose, and the skin color of the ribs also deepened.

"Link, Big Klitschko has a low attack frequency in the first two rounds. Could he be trying to wear you out using this method?"

Coach Brooks said.

"Maybe so, but it doesn't matter. The winner will definitely be me."

Link said, looking at his opponent across the ring.

The third round starts, and Link continues his assault on his opponent, striking high and low, the punches alternating on his opponent's guard. Anytime Big Klitschko is slightly slow in defending, his fist would land on the opponent's ribs, or chin.

Since Big Klitschko is 16 centimeters taller than Link and has a fast reaction speed, the number of times Link hits his chin is limited, but it's enough to cause damage.

"Is Link still going on the offensive?"

"It looks like he's set to lose."

"I wish I knew, I would bet on his loss; with more than fifty times the odds, betting ten thousand could make a lot."

"Ha ha, I like to take risks, so I always bet a little whenever there's a high odds match. This time I bet 5000 US Dollars that Link will lose."

James Toney, Foreman, Tyson, and O'Neal discussed among themselves.

"Look, Link's speed is dropping, is he running out of strength?"

Hopkins shouted.

"Very likely!"

George Foreman nodded.

"It's a pity that it's too late to conserve energy now."

Tyson shook his head.

"Are we about to witness Link's first defeat here? Heh heh, it would be quite memorable."

O'Neal laughed.

On the boxing ring, in the latter half of the third round, Link's attack speed did indeed slow, and Big Klitschko threw punches to lure him into attacking; Link's powerful punches failed to hit Big Klitschko's head, and the lethality of his fists also decreased.

After testing a few times, within the last forty seconds of the third round, Big Klitschko began to counterattack. His arms, nearly 10 centimeters longer than Link's, kept beckoning towards Link's body.

Straight Punch + Swing Punch + Hook Punch + Jab

Bang bang bang!

At this moment, Big Klitschko displayed his exquisite combination punches technique to the fullest.

"Big Klitschko truly deserves to be the long-reigning champion of the WBC Golden Belt. His combination punches technique is top-notch."

James Toney praised.

"This wave of attacks is fiercer than Link's previous ones. With the little energy Link has left, how many more rounds can he last?"

Mike Tyson said, intently watching the two men on the boxing ring.

"Is Link going to lose?"

O'Neal also widened his eyes, not blinking.