"Go Link!"
The audience at the scene and in front of the TV also shouted for him.
The match began.
In the ring, Andre Ward launched an attack in advance, punching Link's left uppercut. This was a tentative attack.
Link dodged sideways and at the same time threw a punch at Andre Ward's jaw. Andre quickly took a step back and avoided his attack.
Link followed up, throwing two more punches, which were intercepted by Andre Ward raising his arms. At the same time, Andre threw a punch at Link's left rib. Link's left rib was hit, and when he retreated, he punched Andre's shoulder.
Both of them hit each other with one punch and retreated at the same time, pulling away the distance.
"What's going on?"
In the audience, Lou Duva looked at Ms. Nora Duva in surprise. In order to watch Link unify the super middleweight division, he flew from New York despite his frail health, but he saw Link playing poorly at the beginning, completely out of shape.
Nora put away her phone and said, "Franco said that Link seems to be drunk and hasn't woken up yet."
"Drunk?"
Lou Duva was stunned for a moment, then furious, "Nonsense! How can he get drunk in such an important match? Since he's drunk, why not stop the match and reschedule it? How can he fight like this?"
"Franco persuaded Link before the match, saying that they could fight another day, but Link said it didn't matter and wouldn't affect the match."
Nora shrugged.
"Nonsense! Nonsense!"
Old Duva angrily slammed his cane, "I said earlier that we should be stricter with Link and not let him mess around. Are there few talented boxers in the history of boxing whose careers were ruined by wine, women, and song? Link will definitely be ruined if he continues like this."
"My grumpy old father, why don't you watch the match before getting angry?"
Dino turned around and looked at Old Duva, grinning, "Last time Link fought Carl Froch, he wasn't in good shape in the first round either. You criticized him for not focusing on his career, but later everyone knew it was a tactic. Could this current state also be a tactic? Don't forget that Link is an actor."
Old Duva's face darkened, and he glared at him fiercely, "If you talk to me in that tone again, I'll break your leg."
"Dino, watch the match, don't talk nonsense."
Nora winked at him.
"Okay, I just wanted to remind you, father. The match has just started, and the outcome is uncertain. You don't need to be so grumpy."
Dino shrugged and smiled.
"Humph!"
Old Duva glared at him and looked back at the boxing ring. He saw Link and Andre Ward still making tentative attacks, not launching any strong attacks. Link's fighting style was obviously not as sharp as before.
He couldn't help but get angry again, but suddenly thought of his rebellious son Dino's words. Could this be Link's tactic?
As far as he knew, Link was not a person with a chaotic private life, lack of self-control, or bad habits. He didn't smoke, drink excessively, take drugs, or mess around with women. He rarely went to bars and was very serious, even devout, about boxing.
Knowing that there was an important match today, how could he get drunk the day before?
This was obviously unreasonable.
Excluding these unreasonable points, there was only one truth. Could this really be Link's tactic?
But what kind of tactic was this?
Old Duva frowned and looked at the boxing ring seriously, hoping to see through Link's tactics in this chaotic scene.
Besides Old Duva, many boxing legends came to the boxing scene today.
Bob Arum, Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr., John Ruiz, Floyd Mayweather, George Foreman, and so on.
After the match started, everyone frowned and looked at the boxing ring with serious expressions.
"Hey, why aren't you guys talking?"
De La Hoya looked at the colleagues beside him and asked.
"What's there to say?"
Hopkins came back to his senses and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He had just been studying for a long time, thinking until he was sweating, but he still couldn't see Link's tactics. He was depressed and looked at his defeated opponent, De La Hoya, unhappily.
"Link is not in good shape today. Do you think he will lose?"
De La Hoya asked.
Tsk!
Hopkins shook his head and said, "Are you kidding me? A freak like Link wouldn't be out of shape in a match? Absolutely impossible. This is just his tactic. You don't understand, so don't talk nonsense."
"Bernard is right!"
Tyson said, grinning with his gold-plated teeth, "This guy Link is very, very cunning. Last time he fought Carl Froch, the opening was even worse than this. Everyone thought he was distracted by other things, causing his strength to decline, but what was the result? It was all damn tactics! I bet his current state is definitely fake, luring Andre Ward to attack, and then waiting for the opportunity to knock him out with an overhand right. This guy is so strong, but he insists on using tactics. What a damn bastard!"
Tyson cursed. If he had 50% of Link's cunning back then, he wouldn't have fallen to the point of fighting with rich women to pay off his debts.
"Tyson is right!"
James Toney nodded and touched his belly, saying, "Link likes to fight counterattacks the most. He lets his opponent attack freely first, and when the opponent gets used to this style, he suddenly launches a counterattack, catching the opponent off guard. Mikkel, Froch, and Tyson were all defeated like this."
"You see Andre, he also sees through Link's trick, so he is very careful in the match, trying to fight according to his original rhythm to prevent falling into Link's trap."
"Yes, Andre is playing very steadily!"
John Ruiz nodded.
De La Hoya looked at Link in the ring.
In the eyes of ordinary spectators, Link was playing very actively at this time, with a good balance of offense and defense. He did not hesitate to attack when he should, and he also moved flexibly when he should. His hands and feet never stopped moving.
But in the eyes of insiders, his offense and defense were not active enough. Simply put, if he could go all out and achieve ten points, he was only showing three points now, and his whole person seemed to be out of shape.
If it were anyone else, De La Hoya would conclude that the other party was not in good shape, but this was the cunning Link, and everything seemed not so simple.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the boxing ring, both Link and Andre threw their fists hard, hitting each other while constantly dodging to avoid being hit.
In the first round, Link threw 112 punches, hitting Andre Ward 22 times. Andre Ward threw 98 punches, hitting Link 19 times.
The two sides were tied in the first round.
The audience saw the two fighting fiercely in the ring, with every punch hitting the flesh, and they were very excited, with cheers one after another.
But this kind of match made the industry insiders at the scene confused.
Since Link turned professional last September, he had gone through fourteen professional matches, and except for the Tyson match, all other matches ended in the first round.
Today, against Andre Ward, he fought a full round with his opponent.
What was Link doing?
Was this really his tactic?
"Link, how are you doing?"
In the right corner of the ring, Coach Brooks squatted in front of Link and asked.
Two assistants were fanning Link, spraying water, and applying Vaseline to his forehead.
They had been working on Link's logistics team for nearly a year, and this was the first time they had done this kind of work during a match. They finally felt a sense of existence and were quite moved, working very hard.
Link took a sip of water and spat it out, shaking the water off his face and smiling, "It's okay, I feel better and better."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Coach Brooks was a little unsure.
"Yes, I'm really okay now."
Link shrugged.
Last time after drinking, he had a vigorous exercise session with Amy Adams, and the alcohol was excreted from his body with body fluids, so it didn't affect him much.
This time, he went straight to sleep after drinking, and the residual alcohol was still in his body, affecting his performance a little.
But just now in the first round, he fought very hard, with a lot of exercise, and sweated a lot. His mind gradually cleared up, and his state got better and better.
"Okay, this is the first time you've finished a round. It's really a surprise. I, as a coach, finally come in handy. Let me tell you about your opponent. Andre played very steadily in the first round, his rhythm didn't get messed up, and his physical consumption wasn't big. If you're not sure you can knock him out within 12 rounds, you need to be more stable than him, fight slowly, don't rush, and win by points in the end."
Coach Brooks said.
Link nodded and raised his arm to move his shoulder.
"Go Link!"
Many fans in the audience shouted, holding up posters.
Link stood up and waved his fist at them.
"Link, we're here, come on!"
Miley Cyrus and Ke$ha shouted at him from a position close to the ring.
"Boss, come on!"
Emma Stone also shouted from the audience.
Link smiled gently and waved his fist at them.
In the corner opposite the ring, Andre Ward's coach glanced at Link and said to Andre, "Link is a very powerful guy. He knows you have good stamina and a steady style, so he doesn't want to defeat you in the first round. Instead, he wants to fight you on attrition and stamina. I'm not sure if he will explode in this round, but you must be careful. When dealing with a difficult guy like Link, you can't be too careful."
Andre Ward nodded silently.
Link was the most powerful opponent he had encountered in his professional career, and it was also a good opportunity.
If he could defeat him, he could unify the super middleweight division and become the overlord of this weight class.
At the same time, he could also step on Link's many halos and become a top boxer, getting more appearance fees and prize money, and becoming a billionaire.
Thinking of this, Andre couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster and his blood boil. Looking at Link opposite him, his eyes were filled with high fighting spirit.
This time, victory was a must!
Come on!
Ding!
The second round began, and Link and Andre came to the middle of the ring.
Link nodded at Andre. He was indeed a very strong opponent.
Stamina, strength, speed, combination punches, and the use of tactics were all at the top level. Moreover, his mind was smarter than ordinary black boxers, not easily angered, and his rhythm would not be easily disrupted.
When a black athlete had a smart brain, the strength they displayed would double.
The best way to deal with this kind of boxer was to fight steadily, find the opponent's weakness in mobile warfare, and then take the opportunity to give the opponent a fatal blow.
Link had done a pre-match deduction.
Because his opponent was once a light heavyweight boxer and had won the Olympic championship in this category, his punch was not weaker than his own, and his ability to withstand blows was not weaker than his own either.
His opponent had fought over a hundred matches in the amateur stage and over twenty professional matches with all wins. In terms of technique and experience, he was also richer than himself.
In comparison, the areas where he was stronger than his opponent were speed, reaction ability, and abundant physical strength.
Understanding this, Link's plan was to attack his opponent with high-frequency jabs in the second round, first breaking through his defense, and then finding an opportunity to knock him out and win the match.
"Boxing!"
The second round began.
Andre Ward threw a punch and then took a step back, raising his fists and taking a defensive stance, continuing his steady and steady style.
Just like last year in the pre-match of Holyfield vs. Valuev, he first attracted his opponent to attack, and when his opponent consumed a lot of energy, he launched a strong counterattack, and finally won the match in one fell swoop.
This was Andre Ward's usual tactic, and it was also a very practical tactic that had been verified many times. With this tactic, he had been winning all the way.
Today, when dealing with a strong enemy like Link, he planned to continue to stick to it, no matter what tricks Link was playing, he would keep his rhythm unchanged.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Last year, Andre Ward and Esteban Camou had a match at Madison Square Garden, which Link had watched in Eva Carr's box, and he had also studied the opponent's match video.
Seeing that the opponent continued to use this steady tactic.
Link no longer hesitated and took the initiative to attack his opponent, left jab + right jab + left hook + right jab. His fists were like javelins, continuously attacking the opponent's arm defense.
One punch after another, the offensive was continuous.
Andre Ward defended tightly, constantly changing his footwork, trying to distance himself from him to prevent his defense from being broken.
However, Link was slightly faster. Seeing the opponent retreat, he took agile steps and followed closely, trying not to let the opponent escape his attack range, nor give the opponent a chance to react.