Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Chapter 066 Provocation

"Boxing!"

The referee came over and swung down his arm.

The match continued, and Link raised his fists and advanced slowly towards Aragon, fearless.

Meanwhile, Aragon held his arms up, moving his shoulders up and down, constantly changing his footing.

Seeing his opponent's stance, Link knew the man had become more cautious and would exert more effort on defense, making it more difficult to trade blows using the tactic of 'exchanging injuries'.

In Boxing, an emphasis on defense also means 'a more conservative style of fighting', at least more conservative than the first 100 seconds.

With the opponent preparing to bolster his defense, Link's method was to continue the offense, bombarding the enemy's defensive line with heavy punches, then trying to find an opportunity.

He threw a right straight punch at Aragon's head, who leaned back to dodge it, while simultaneously a left swing punch attacked Link's face from left to right.

Ignoring the incoming left swing punch, Link swung a right upper hook punch, aiming at Aragon's chin.

Swing punches rely mainly on the pectoral muscles, scapular muscles, and the inner muscles of the arm for power; they involve more muscle groups, have great strength and damage, but are slower and have a longer attacking distance.

Upper hook punches primarily utilize the waist and biceps brachii; they require activating fewer muscle groups, have a bit less power, but are faster and have a shorter attacking distance.

If an uppercut and a swing punch are launched simultaneously, the hook often strikes the target first.

At this moment, Link's hook punch was only slightly slower than his opponent's swing punch; he didn't have a conclusion about whether he could achieve 'striking later but arriving first' without hitting the target first, but in a narrow path, it was worth a try.

"Look!"

"They're going to exchange blows again!"

The audience exclaimed loudly.

Just as everyone thought a fierce collision was imminent, Aragon suddenly stepped back, withdrawing his left swing punch and also dodged Link's upper hook punch, opting for a more conservative approach.

The audience let out a wave of disappointed hissing noises.

Link looked at Aragon across the way and smiled faintly. Boxing is called 'the sport of the brave', yet Aragon recoiled at a critical moment, showing he had reservations and dared not give it his all.

This was a good sign.

Link raised his fists and proactively approached Aragon, seeking close combat.

Ding ding ding!

The first round ended.

Link returned to the red corner. Both sides had exchanged blows dozens of times during the round, requiring full concentration on both the mind and muscles, which were extremely tense, leading to trembling muscles after a match.

As the first round ended, Link sat down on the stool to receive Morales and Andzeje's care, including massages, being given water, and having sweat wiped off; however, the two bumbling men were clumsy and not adept at tending to others.

"Link, you did well. Keep it up, take it slow, and don't be too hasty," Ed, the coach, although having attended many boxing matches, had rarely encountered a bout between boxers of Link and Aragon's caliber where both were evenly matched in technique and other aspects. So Coach Ed couldn't offer much guidance and could only provide words of encouragement, cheering Link on.

Link nodded, his gaze shifting to the opposite corner where Aragon was being spoken to by Champion Coach Felix with a serious look on his face. Whatever was being said, it probably couldn't alleviate the pressure on Aragon's body and mind.

Although Aragon claimed he wasn't nervous before the match started, he was visibly tense during the fight.

He appeared indecisive on the offense and hesitant when retreating; his style was also less flexible than before.

Link believed that if Aragon couldn't gain an advantage by the end of the match, he would become even more nervous. What Link needed to do was disrupt his rhythm, find opportunities to deal heavy blows, and increase his stress, since his goal was to win by KO, not just to defeat him.

With limited time and a tall order, Link could only proceed step by step, gradually increasing his own advantage and magnifying the opponent's disadvantage. Read exclusive content at empire

Ding ding ding!

The second round began.

"Go, Link!"

"Victory to Link!"

On the second floor, James and his group vocally supported and cheered vigorously.

Reggie and a few apprentices from the boxing gym were also shouting vigorously, their voices breaking through the encirclement of the Cuban audience and reaching the boxing ring.

Link swung his fists and walked to the center of the ring, looking towards Aragon who was walking towards him. Aragon's expression had become much calmer than before, probably due to Sawn's mental preparation work paying off.

"Link, you must be very nervous at this time,"

Aragon suddenly said coldly, his dark face making it impossible to see his psychological state.

Link thought to himself interestingly, "Why would I be nervous?"

"Your goal is to KO all your opponents to enter the Olympics. For boxers at our level, not achieving the goal means failure. Someone as proud as you could never accept failure. But now we're in the second round and you've used all your strength but only landed one punch on me, with no way to knock me down. Shouldn't you be nervous?"

Aragon said, grinning with his white teeth.

"You have a point, but what does that matter? My failure only affects me, whereas if you fail, you let an American take a victory on Cuban soil. That's not just your shame, but also Cuba's shame. You will be hated by the Cuban people. Aragon, are you nervous?"

"I won't lose!"

Aragon clenched his fist, glaring at him coldly.

"Aragon, if I were you, I'd fight him with all I've got. I'd rather die gloriously on the boxing ring than watch my enemy win. Are you afraid of dying?"

Link stared into his opponent's eyes, speaking earnestly.

Aragon clenched his mouthguard, his arms trembling slightly.

The referee walked to the middle of them.

"Boxing!"

Link glanced at Aragon, shouted furiously, and lifted his fist to smash towards his opponent's head.

Aragon, with a sullen face, blocked the straight punch with his left arm, while his right swing punch came crashing towards Link viciously. Almost simultaneously, Link tensed his biceps and forearm muscles, delivering a simple and direct left uppercut from below straight to Aragon's chin.

This time the situation was similar to the last, Aragon had backed away before, but what about this time?

"Look quickly!"

The spectators widened their eyes.

Bang!

Link and Aragon were struck by punches at the same time; Link was swept by Aragon's swing punch and quickly staggered two steps to the left, leaning on the rope.

And his left hook also came later but arrived first, hitting Aragon's chin hard.

This punch carried more than 1000 pounds of force, and despite the double protection of the guard and glove, the impact on Aragon's chin was over 200 pounds. His body involuntarily lifted a bit, then he staggered back four or five steps and crashed heavily against the corner post.

"Wow!"

There was an exclamation from the stands.

No one expected the two to exchange punches again in such a simple and brutal manner. It didn't look like a match between two boxing experts but more like a street fight, exchanging punches, with each hit being solid.

"This is almost suicide fighting. Why are they doing this?"

The host Steve said in surprise, looking at the boxing ring.

Rafael Varane shook his head, "Their overall strength is quite equal, and fighting in the usual way, neither of them would defeat the other in four rounds. Since they both are desperate to win the championship, to this extent, they can only exchange injury for injury, to see who can hold out longer."

"That's crazy, how will they compete in the Olympics if they are injured?"

"Fighting to this extent, they can't manage that much anymore. They just want to knock out their opponent and win the match. They are fighting for honor, they are both true fighters!"

Rafael Varane shouted, waving his fist.

"Rafael, who do you think will win?"

Steve asked with his microphone.

Rafael looked towards the ring and shook his head, "In a fight between experts, victory and defeat can often be within one or two punches. It's still too early to tell who will win and who will lose at this point."