boxer to hollywood

After the heavyweight matches concluded, the cruiserweight (90+ kg) and light heavyweight (79.45+ kg) first rounds continued. It wasn't until after 2 PM that the super middleweight (76.27+ kg) matches began.

Link weighed in at 77.4 kg before the match, falling within the super middleweight category.

In the first round, his opponent was a black boxer from the western Everglades, much darker than Mario, with shiny skin and a lean body, a typical agile fighter.

As soon as the first round started, the opponent took the initiative to attack Link. Link deliberately leaned into the opponent's attack range, exposing his head as a weakness, enticing the opponent to attack.

The opponent fell for it, throwing a fierce straight punch towards his head.

"You fell for it," Mario shouted.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Link dodged the opponent's punch and, to the opponent's surprise, his fist unexpectedly landed on the black boxer's left cheek, striking hard!

Bam!

A fierce hook sent the opponent stumbling and falling to the ground.

"Whoa!"

"Oh my God!"

Exclamations erupted from the audience.

Due to Link's handsome appearance and strong, sexy physique, female spectators in the audience had been paying attention to him since he entered the ring. Seeing him knock down his opponent with one punch, the audience let out loud cheers, louder than any previous match.

"That move again, that move again, so sneaky." Mario covered his face, recalling the scene of being stunned the first time. Even though half a month had passed, thinking about it still made him dizzy.

"That move is so ruthless, I bet no one can counter it. I wish I could learn it." Reggie said excitedly.

West shook his head, stroking his white beard and saying, "It's difficult. That move requires extremely high speed, strength, and reaction time. Most people can't learn it."

"I don't believe it. I'll ask Link to teach me when we get back. Next time I fight, I'll use this move to trick my opponent." Mario said resolutely.

In the ring, due to the protection of the sponge headgear, the opponent was not knocked out and quickly got up to continue the match.

However, after learning his lesson, the black boxer became smarter. In the next two rounds, he kept dodging and wouldn't engage Link, retreating or clinching whenever Link approached, not giving him a chance to unleash his heavy punches.

Link was also a little helpless. Compared to the boxers at the bar and the three opponents in the regional competition, the state championship contestants were obviously stronger, with better speed and defense.

He would throw ten punches, and the opponent would dodge more than seven of them.

With the opponent's increased strength, the difficulty of the match also increased.

To win quickly, he had to showcase more refined techniques.

"Link, take it slow. Don't deliberately pursue a KO. Just win."

At the end of the second round, in the rest area, West reminded him.

"I understand!"

Link nodded, spitting out the water in his mouth. Maintaining moderate thirst during the match could help him perform better, like a hungry cheetah.

The third round began. Link slowed down his attack rhythm, using stillness to control movement, adapting to changes with unchanging tactics.

Seeing that Link was no longer pursuing him, the opponent thought his stamina had declined and changed his tactics, also slowing down the pace of the match.

Just 50 seconds into the third round, when the opponent retreated to the corner, Link suddenly attacked, a long-range jab hitting the opponent's arm, breaking through his double-arm defense. A backhand right hook followed, hitting the opponent's cheek, and then a straight punch to the forehead.

Bam!

This time the punch landed accurately on the opponent's face. The opponent stumbled back two steps, hitting the ropes before falling to the ground.

Although the opponent was wearing a sponge headgear, this punch was heavy and solid. The opponent struggled twice but couldn't get up.

The referee declared Link the winner.

In amateur matches, the sponge headgear worn by both sides can significantly reduce the impact of punches. Combined with boxing gloves, a 100-pound punch can be reduced to about 10 pounds.

With this double reduction, knocking an opponent down with one punch and rendering them unable to get up is a display of terrifying punching power. This was the first time such a thing had happened in this tournament.

After Link won by KO, the audience cheered loudly, applauding his two spectacular KOs.

Link waved his fists and returned to the sidelines.

"Link, you're amazing. You can knock down your opponent even with headgear." Reggie promptly flattered him. Mario snorted beside him, "Now you know how dangerous it is to be his sparring partner? Every time I train with him, I'm risking my life. It's not easy."

"But your boxing skills have also improved a lot." Reggie laughed.

"Of course, I earned it with my life." Mario patted his chest.

Link wasn't too happy. Just in the first round of the state championship, his opponent had dragged him into the third round. In the national championship, the opponents would be stronger and probably even harder to deal with.

He had originally envisioned entering the Golden Gloves finals with a record of all KOs, using his overwhelming strength to gain media attention.

Now it seemed very difficult.

Link clenched his fists, blaming himself for not training harder. If he had more punching power, faster speed, and quicker reflexes, the matches would be much easier, and he wouldn't have this worry.

--

After the super middleweight matches, the middleweight (72+ kg) matches continued. Reggie entered the ring wearing gloves. His opponent was not weak, and they fought for all ten rounds. In the end, Reggie won by points, with a score of 96:88.

This score was determined by the on-site judges.

There were six judges at the tournament: three scoring judges, two referees, and one ringside judge. The competition used computer scoring.

Each amateur match had 10 rounds, each round lasting 2 minutes, two rounds less than professional matches, and each round was 1 minute shorter.

Each boxer started with 10 points per round.

When two boxers showed the same ability and strength, with no clear advantage, each would get 10 points for the round, 10-10.

When both boxers suffered the same heavy blows in a round, and one had an advantage, the one with the advantage would get 1 point, 10-9.

When one boxer clearly won the round with a significant advantage, they would get 2 points, 10-8.

Knocking down the opponent once in a match, showing an overwhelming advantage, would result in a 10-7 score.

The winner knocking down the opponent twice in a round, or having an overwhelming advantage and knocking down the opponent once, would result in a 10-6 score.

If both sides fought for the full 10 rounds, at the end of the match, the three scoring judges would add up the scores of the ten rounds, and the side with the higher total score would win. This is called "winning by points" in boxing.

Winning by points could also lead to three different situations due to the different scoring by the three judges:

1. Unanimous Decision (UD): All three judges agree on the winner.

2. Split Decision (SD): One judge scores for boxer A, while the other two score for boxer B.

3. Majority Decision (MD): One judge scores the match as a draw, while the other two judges score for one boxer.

Reggie had a clear advantage in the match, and in the end, all three judges unanimously declared him the winner, marked as UD.

After the middleweight matches, the heavyweight second round continued.

In this round, Mario's opponent was a strong white boxer with good technique. They fought for 10 rounds in the ring, with Mario knocking down his opponent once, but the opponent also scored some points on him.

The final score was 91:94. One judge scored for Mario, and two judges scored for the white boxer. Mario lost the match by a narrow margin.

"Discrimination! It's definitely discrimination. If I were white, they would definitely declare me the winner."

After stepping off the stage, Mario said angrily.

"Shut up!"

West pulled him away from the ring.

Among the five judges in this match, there was one white, two black, and two Latino. Even if there was discrimination, there was nothing they could do. But in reality, the judges' decision wasn't a big issue; it was Mario's fighting style that was the problem.

He adopted a defensive strategy in the first round, realizing that his opponent'sstrength was average. In the second round, he took the initiative to attack. However, this time he encountered an opponent with good technique, whose defense was excellent. In the second, third, and fourth rounds, Mario only managed to knock down his opponent once, unable to finish the match like he did in the first round.

By the fifth round, Mario's attacks were weak, and he was forced to choose defense, fighting very passively. The white boxer gained a certain advantage in the match.

If it weren't for Mario's one knockdown, the score difference would have been even greater.

Therefore, the judges' decision to declare the white boxer the winner was somewhat justified. If Mario insisted on arbitration, the Amateur Boxing Association committee wouldn't support him either.

"Hmph!"

West stepped off the stage with a dark expression, not wanting to look at Mario again. During the match, he repeatedly asked Mario to change his tactics, but Mario didn't listen, acting arrogantly and overconfidently, thinking that because he trained with Link, his strength had improved and he could easily defeat his opponent. But obviously, his strength wasn't as high as he imagined.

Seeing West's dark expression, Mario calmed down and scratched his forehead, "West, it's my fault. I didn't expect his technique to be so good. I think he might make it to the finals."

"What does it matter to you whether he makes it to the finals or not? You've already been eliminated." West snorted.

"I know I was wrong, but what's the use? The match is over."

Mario thought about how he couldn't participate in the next matches, looked at his fists, and let out a low growl, sitting down on a chair dejectedly. Looking at Link listening to music and Reggie playing mobile games, he said unhappily, "I lost, and you guys don't even comfort me?"

"Huh? You lost? So fast? I didn't know." Reggie raised his head and asked with feigned surprise.

"Fuck you, Reggie! I was fighting, and you were playing games below?" Mario clutched his chest, feeling double the pain.

"Sorry, I'll definitely watch your next match." Reggie said politely.

"Fuck! I'm eliminated, I'm going home. There is no next match, do you understand?" Mario grabbed his shoulders and roared.

"Losing isn't something to brag about, why are you shouting so loud?"

Link pulled out his earphones, leaned back in his seat, and stretched. "Besides, you brought this upon yourself. West made a tactical plan for you, but you didn't listen. Who can you blame? You should go to the locker room, find a notebook, and write a 10,000-word self-criticism, instead of yelling and screaming here."

"Hmph! You're so great because you haven't lost. You'll lose eventually, and then I'll use these words to mock you." Mario said with a sullen face.

"Buddy, you won't get that chance."

Link wagged his index finger, got up, and went backstage to prepare.

(End of chapter)