Chapter 22 The Finals Arrives
Palm Beach Shores.
Blue sky, sea, white sandy beach, large palm groves, and bikini girls playing volleyball on the beach are beautiful places everywhere.
It feels good to be back.
Link walked around on the beach with his legs, and then drove the speedboat to patrol the sea area in front of his house. After finding nothing unusual, he turned around and got back into the game.
Since the Golden Gloves Finals will be held in Miami, the locals don't have to rush. They have two days of rest before the game starts, but he can't rest yet.
The boxers who enter the finals come from four divisions, with five people in each division, and 20 people in each level participate in the competition.
They are all winners in various competition areas. Most of them have participated in the National Youth Boxing Championships, U19 Championships, Pan American Games, National Amateur Boxing Competitions, Olympic Qualifications and other competitions, and have achieved top three results.
Strong.
The competition is also more difficult than the divisional competition.
When playing in the divisional competition, he already felt that his opponents were difficult to deal with. If he wanted to win the Golden Glove Championship championship and get the "US$100 million" signing fee, he needed to make more preparations before the game.
Be prepared!
——
"Link! Link, come out quickly."
In Baker's diving equipment shop, Link sat in front of the TV and used the video recorder to watch the game video of a boxer named 'Andre Berto' frame by frame.
This person was last year's U19 National Championship Champion and the National Amateur Championship Champion. He is a boxer with a strong overall strength. He has great strength, flexible movements, comprehensive skills, and rich competition experience. He is very difficult to deal with.
West suggested that he first watch the opponent's game video, familiarize himself with his playing style, and have ways to deal with him when they meet on the field in the future.
Link approved of West's suggestion.
By watching the opponent's game video, you can understand the opponent's game style, whether he is a technical bias or a heavy gunner, a main type or a combination of offense and defense; the commonly used combination boxing combination is straight punch + jab + jab or jab + straight punch + Jab; whether the stance is traditional right or left stance, whether there is a powerful killing move, etc.
Once you understand these characteristics, it will be easier to cope with them.
He believes that in the past two days, those opponents will also watch his game videos and think about how to defeat his killer moves, heavy punches, super defense, and super physical strength.
They are all worried about each other.
"Link! Come out quickly, we have a gift for you."
James and Daniel, along with Michael on a surfboard, shouted from the door.
"what gift?"
Link was a little surprised that these three people would prepare gifts for him before the game?
A little bit of expectation.
Put down the notebook and walk to the door of the shop.
"Dang Dang Dang!"
Seeing him coming out, the three James men shouted, each took a step to the side, shook their arms, and threw out a golden cloak, which shone dazzlingly under the bright sunshine of Miami.
Link blocked it with his hand.
The cloak is more than three meters long, made of chiffon, and the workmanship is average. The key is that there are many words on the cloak.
The first line says 'Baker Diving Equipment Store will take you to explore the underwater world'
The second line is 'Daniel's Hot Dog, can satisfy all your hot dog fantasies'
There are also Michael's Surf Shop, Mexican Grill, Miss Linna's Ice Cream Shop, etc., with more than ten slogans and store signs.
Link narrowed his eyes and had a bad feeling in his heart.
"What do you want to do?"
"Haha, Link, this is the shirt we prepared for you. When you enter the venue, you will wear it and become the focus of the audience. How about it?"
Daniel shook his golden cloak and smiled as if he was taking credit.
"Link, is it supercool?"
shouted Michael from the surfboard shop.
“Why are there ads on it?”
Link asked with a dark face.
"There will definitely be a lot of media interviewing you on the day of the game. Let's place an advertisement by the way. This is called rational use of resources. What do you think?"
"Yes Link, the cloak is empty anyway. Advertising is economical and affordable, and it also looks very personal, don't you think?"
"."
Link opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but felt that there were too many flaws and it was endless, so he simply turned around and went back to the store to continue watching the game video.
——
The 2008 Golden Gloves National Championship Finals were held at the American Airlines Center in downtown Miami.
This was originally the home stadium of the NBA Heat team, but this year Heat players were troubled by injuries, and Shaq O'Neal was traded to the Suns. The team had a bad season and did not even make the playoffs. American Airlines Arena also It became a venue for boxing matches.
Compared with the Hard Rock Stadium where the music festival has been held, the space here is smaller, but the boxing championship is not a mass sports event, and the number of spectators is also very limited, so it is most suitable to place it in the American Airlines Center Arena.
According to statistics from the American Airlines Center website, before the start of the game, a total of 3,024 people had booked tickets for two days in advance by phone or online.
There were 7,320 people who booked tickets for the next day, the day of the finals.
It is expected that on the first day of the game, the attendance rate at the American Airlines Arena will be close to 70%, about 12,000 people. On the day of the finals, the home court of the American Airlines Arena may be filled with enthusiastic Miami people, provided that the Miami-born boxer Link... Baker can successfully enter the finals.
Time flew by. On the day of the game, Link came to the game wearing a golden cape. When he walked out of the tunnel, the stadium speakers were playing the theme song "Eye Of The Tiger" from "Rocky III".
Risin' up
Work hard
straight to the top
Reach the top
had the guts
use courage
got the glory
win honor
went the distance
Walked a long road
now i'm not gonna stop
Dang Dang Dang!
At this moment, Link made his debut.
The eyes of the audience and media reporters suddenly brightened up, and they turned their heads to look at him. Looking at his shining figure, he immediately became the most eye-catching cub in the audience.
"Whoa, it's Link!"
“His cape is so cool!”
There was an exclamation from the audience.
Link smiled and waved to the fans and boxing fans in the audience.
"Link!"
Fat James shouted in the audience.
"champion!!"
Sitting next to him were more than two hundred men and women wearing yellow T-shirts and holding posters of Link. They also stood up and raised their arms to shake in waves. The performance was a bit exaggerated.
"Link!"
"champion!!"
Under the command of James and Daniel, the group stood up and shook again.
These people are all merchants near the Haibin Avenue. They came to the competition site to cheer for Link today. Because everyone was so enthusiastic, Link couldn't resist. In the end, he had to bite the bullet and wear the good luck jersey given by everyone. .
Link waved to everyone.
"Link, can I interview you?"
A large group of reporters with microphones rushed over and blocked his way.
"certainly!"
Link made a gesture of asking.
"Link, I am a reporter from Miami Business Television. Why did you appear in a golden cloak? What's the meaning?"
A reporter wearing a blue Polo shirt handed over the microphone and asked.
"Yes, this is a gift from my friends. It is said to be the golden shirt that Achilles, the God of War, once wore when he fought in the underworld. It symbolizes courage and strength. What do you think?"
Link asked, shaking his cloak.
Hearing that he was joking, the reporters laughed in agreement.
"Mr. Link Baker, after the Southeast Division game, you said your goal was to win the finals. Do you still stick to this goal now?"
A tall, beautiful Latina reporter asked with a smile.
"Of course, my goal is to be the champion from beginning to end. This will not change. I also ask all boxing fans to believe in me. I will lead everyone to victory together."
Link clenched his fists and said firmly in his voice.
"Link, I have another question. In previous games, you often used heavy punches to KO your opponents to win. In the next games, will you continue to maintain your previous style?"
the female reporter asked.
Link pondered for a moment, it was difficult to answer this question.
His original goal was to reach the finals with all KOs. Now that this goal has been achieved, it will be more difficult to continue to play in this way.
"I will focus on the competition. If I have the opportunity, I will still KO my opponent with heavy punches, but the Golden Gloves Championship is the highest level boxing event in the world. The boxers participating in the finals are also of extremely high level, and there is no mediocre fighter. To be on the safe side, I will aim to win the championship trophy and will no longer deliberately pursue KO.”
Link said politely.
"Mr. Link Baker."
A reporter with a dark and thin build squeezed over and said in a sharp voice, "Can I understand that you are not confident in the next game and you do not have enough confidence in defeating your opponent, so you will temporarily change your tactics, right?"
Link glanced at him and said calmly: "Of course I am confident, but the wonderful thing about all sports competitions is that they are full of uncertainty. Let me emphasize again, my goal is to win all games and win the championship trophy. It makes no sense to stay in Miami instead of KOing your opponent and overly pursuing the KO rate.”
"Mr. Link Baker, you still don't have confidence, right? In the Southeast Division finals, it took you nine rounds to defeat your opponent Jones and win the game by luck. After entering the finals, your opponent was stronger. You were afraid of losing. You didn't You are forced to change your tactics because you have confidence in your opponent? Please don’t avoid my question.”
The dark reporter asked excitedly.
"Link, don't you have confidence in the next game?"
Other reporters also stared at Link closely, wanting to hear his answer.
Link was stared at by dozens of pairs of eyes, surrounded by dozens of microphones, and cameras. He glanced around with a cold gaze, and chuckled with raised corners of his lips, "I am full of confidence in the game, and even have the confidence to continue." Please wait and see if you can win the game by KO and win the championship.”
boom!
After hearing his words, the reporters at the scene suddenly became restless.
"Mr. Link Baker, do you mean that you are going to continue to maintain your original style, rush into the finals by KOing your opponents, and win the championship?"
"Mr. Link Baker, are you talking about KOing all your opponents, including amateur champion Andre Berto?"
"Mr. Link Baker."
When the reporters heard a big news, they rushed to ask with their mobile phones and topics.
"Yes, as you think, I will continue to kill the game by KO until I win the championship."
Link waved his arms, pushed away several microphones that were about to hit his nose, and strode into the competition scene.
The reporters cheered excitedly behind him. They got a very valuable news material from Link. This news report will definitely attract the attention of many viewers and readers.
"Want to KO Andre Berto and others to win? Hehe, Mr. Link Baker, you are still too young."
The dark and thin reporter shrugged and grinned.
Happy New Year 2024, I wish you all peace and safety in the new year, everything goes well, academic progress, and career success (*￣︶￣).
