Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"Mr. Link Baker, congratulations on becoming the WBA World Champion. How are you feeling right now?"

After the match, a group of reporters from various TV stations and newspapers surrounded Link by the ring.

"I feel great, I'm thrilled."

With the Golden Belt over his shoulder, Link wiped the sweat off with a towel and said.

"Mr. Baker, before the match, did you ever imagine that you would defeat Mikkel Kessler and become the World Champion?"

A reporter from American Express asked.

"Of course, I've said before, the Golden Belt is mine."

Link loudly declared to the media's cameras.

"Mr. Link Baker, before the match, you promised to KO all opponents within 100 seconds, but it took you exactly 100 seconds to completely knock down Mikkel Kessler. Do you agree that although you won the Golden Belt, your plan failed?"

A reporter from USA Today asked rather sharply.

"100 seconds?"

Link thought it had taken longer than 100 seconds, but as it turned out, it was exactly 100. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sir, you should know that Mr. Mikkel Kessler is a formidable boxer, stronger than I had anticipated. During the match, I had to give it my all.

Yes, in this match, I did my utmost to defeat him, and personally, I'm quite satisfied with finishing it in 100 seconds and don't consider it a failure."

"Mr. Link Baker, after becoming the WBA Super Middleweight Champion, what are your plans next? Are you going to compete for other Golden Belts?"

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A reporter from "Ring" magazine asked.

"Definitely, I've said I want to unify the super middleweight Golden Belts from the four major organizations; what I say, I do."

Having secured the WBA Golden Belt, obtaining the others would be much easier; he just needed the Dynasty Promotion Company to arrange fights with the other holders for unification bouts, and the victor would claim all four, just like Mikkel's bout with Carl.

AFTER the battle for the WBA Super Middleweight Golden Belt began, matches from the other three major organizations would also take place within the next half-year, allowing Link to directly challenge other organization's champions and claim their belts.

"Mr. Link Baker, I hear you've privately accepted a match with Tyson. Do you have confidence in beating him?"

A reporter from the Miami Herald asked.

"I'm not certain — Mike is formidable, a legend in boxing, and one of my idols, so I don't know if I can beat him, but I will do my utmost to overcome him and honor him."

Link said while clenching his fist.

As he answered this question, the reporters looked at the Miami Herald reporter in surprise. Link was going to fight the just returned Tyson? A super middleweight boxer against a former heavyweight champion?

When did this happen? Why didn't we know about it?

The reporters smelled a sensation and hurriedly questioned Link about the match with Tyson.

Link answered a few questions and left the match scene surrounded by his coaching team.

Afterward, the Dynasty Promotion Company hosted a grand celebration party at the Hilton Beach Hotel, inviting all the celebrities present.

Tycoon Mr. Thomp, Mayor of the City of Miami Francis Suarez, the chairman of the Sports Commission Avery Brundage, WBA chairman Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, Anderson Gyllenhaal, Rafael Varane, Coach West, Coach Brooks, James, Michael, Reggie, and others attended the party.

Link also followed Franco to meet Mr. Thomp, who praised him a few times, mentioning the grand princess Eva, who Mr. Thomp said was recording a reality show in New York and would have come to watch the match otherwise.

In 2008, Mr. Thomp's net worth reached 1.8 billion US Dollars, ranking him 689th on the Forbes world list, a genuine tycoon highly esteemed in both political and business spheres.

Seeing him being so close to Link made the other guests warm up to Link even more.

Shortly after the party, Franco found Link, beaming with joy.

"Haha, Link, guess how much our company made this time?"

Franco said as he sat down on a beach chair and sipped some cold watermelon juice.

"5 million?"

Link guessed an approximate number.

"Haha, the total revenue neared 7 million US Dollars — 3 million for HBO broadcast fees, over 2.2 million from ticket and surrounding hotel revenues, 1.1 million in advertising, and about 500 thousand from other sources. Take a look."

Franco tossed over a file, which Link opened and glanced through. Handling finances wasn't his forte, but with accountants and asset managers around, he wasn't worried about any discrepancies.

"So barring costs, we only made one or two million?"

Aside from a $2 million hosting fee, over $3 million was spent on marketing and promotion, netting about $2 million pure income.

"Is $2 million too little? It's not little at all. Dynasty Promotion is a new company, yet it managed to make $2 million the first time it hosted a major tournament. Haha, when I told my father about it, he took a deep breath. It took him nearly ten years to make his first million," he said.

Franco laughed heartily.

Link shook his head. Old Duvall entered the boxing arena in the fifties when inflation wasn't severe; back then, a million was worth more than ten million is today.

Moreover, Franco was right. Dynasty Promotion, being a new company, faced many issues during its first major tournament's promotional process.

For example, the promotion was inadequate, many boxing fans mentioned that they only learned the finals were held in Miami after the match had ended. Had they known earlier, they surely would have gone to the venue to support, and the stadium seating over 40,000 wouldn't have been left unfilled.

"Link, do you think the earnings are too low? I have more good news. Thomp International's vice president just called, wanting to offer $8 million for the hosting rights to your fight with Tyson," he remarked.

"$8 million?"

Link recalled Tyson's 2020 comeback match against Roy Jones, which reportedly had a purse of $20 million US Dollar. Returning three years post-retirement to fight a boxing newcomer like himself for $8 million seemed a bit low, didn't it?

"Apart from Thomp International, there are currently five companies in touch with us. The conservatively estimated purse for this match won't be less than $10 million," Franco said, holding up a finger with a smile.

Link shrugged. "You're the president. This kind of decision should be yours to make; I have no objections," he responded.

"Alright, I'll discuss it further with a few companies and wait for my good news," Franco replied.

Franco finished his watermelon juice, grabbing his documents and hurriedly got back into the car.

Link flipped over to lie beneath the sun umbrella and continued reading the newspaper.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

In the days following the tournament, media coverage of the event was immense, even more so than in the days after the Olympics had ended, with three main focuses on him:

First, at 20 years and four months old, he had obtained the title of Champion, becoming the youngest ever Super Middleweight world champion in WBA history.

Second, he was the fastest person in boxing history to become a champion, the New York Post credited him as the first and only person to achieve the world champion title in merely 400 seconds.

When Link first saw this headline, he was baffled, not understanding where this 400 seconds came from, but after reading the article, he realized they had added up the durations.

Since turning professional, he had participated in 11 matches with durations of 6.1 seconds, 4.8 seconds, 5.3 seconds, 9.2 seconds, 7.5 seconds, 5.8 seconds, 21 seconds, 42 seconds, 98 seconds, 91 seconds, and 100 seconds, totaling about 390 seconds, just under 400 seconds.

The public was amazed by this figure, marveling over how Link achieved the world championship in 400 seconds—truly legendary.

The third news was about the records he set in this competition. Although he didn't break Briggs' record of seven, Link also set multiple boxing records.

Such as ending six consecutive matches within 10 seconds; ending seven consecutive within 30 seconds, ending eleven consecutive within 101 seconds; winning eleven consecutive professional matches by knockout in the first round; winning the title match in the shortest time.

"The Ring" magazine stated that these records were likely unbreakable by anyone but Link himself.

Beyond these three news stories, there was another controversial topic online regarding the 100 seconds discussion.

Before the match, Link had said he would defeat all opponents within 100 seconds, but in the last match, he hadn't achieved this, lasting 100.67 seconds, rounded up as 101 seconds.

The main point of discussion among netizens was whether Link was all talk.

Some netizens argued, missing by a second; strictly speaking, Link had not succeeded, and he was all talk.

But others said, Link meant 100 seconds, 100.67 seconds is still 100 seconds; strictly speaking, it doesn't count.

Just over this one second, netizens wasted who knows how many tens of thousands of seconds arguing.

"Link, a guest called asking about diving instruction; it's a client who booked over a month ago. Do you want to take the job?" James shouted from the doorway.

"Are you kidding me? A freshly crowned world champion, and you want me to go teach diving in the sea?" Link joked.

"Should I turn him away then?"

"Never mind, send him over; I feel like swimming in the ocean too," Link said, putting down the newspaper and stretching his shoulders.