Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 548 O’Neal

"Link, I've been practicing boxing recently, how about we have a fight sometime?"

On the night of the game, at the celebration party at the MGM Grand Hotel, O'Neal saw Link and extended an invitation to him.

"No problem, I train at Muscle Beach Club, you can come over anytime."

"Okay, I remember, I will go find you."

O'Neal shook his fist and said in a pretentious manner.

Link smiled softly, raised his glass and continued chatting with the other boxers.

"Shaquille, do you really want to fight Link? I bet that if you really want to fight, you won't be able to last more than 10 seconds in his hands."

Bernard Hopkins laughed.

"10 seconds?! I have participated in WWE and defeated Big Show. You said I can't last 10 seconds in Link's hands?! Who are you looking down on?"

O'Neill said dissatisfied.

"WWE is nothing. I can knock down one of the wrestlers there with one punch. Beating them is nothing."

"You boxers like to brag. You are so powerful, how can you not beat Link? I think I can beat Link."

O'Neill pouted.

De La Hoya laughed after hearing this, "I also think Shaquille can do it. Shaquille is 216 centimeters tall and has a wingspan of nearly 220 centimeters. He is so much taller than Link. Link can't hit him with his punches. Shaquille, I strongly recommend that you have a fight with Link, and remember to call me during the fight."

"Yes, that's it. I'm taller and stronger than Link. As long as Link dares to fight, I will definitely win."

O'Neill said.

"Shaquille, remember to call me. If I'm not here, remember to take a video and send it to me."

Mike Tyson, James Toney, and Michael Jordan said beside them.

—

Here Link met Dino Duva and Mario. The three chatted for a while, and Mario proposed to come to Los Angeles and continue to be his sparring partner.

Link did not refuse. He now has six sparring partners, all given to him by Franco and De La Hoya. He hopes that there will be another Morales among his sparring partners, and one more Mario will not affect him.

"Link, if I had been your sparring partner since 2008, would I have had the chance to become a world boxing champion like Morales?"

Mario asked.

"Maybe."

While chatting, O'Neal and more than a dozen strong black men gathered around, including Tyson, Jordan, James Toney, George Foreman, Hopkins, etc., all wearing suits.

It's like filming a gangster movie, it looks very oppressive.

"Link, you just said you wanted to fight O'Neal, right? How about we fight now? We all want to see it, how about it?"

Hopkins said.

"Link, they said you could knock me out within 10 seconds. I don't believe it. Do you dare to try?"

O'Neill said with his fists clenched.

"Fighting here? I don't think it's a good idea."

Link shook his head.

"Link, come on, let this boy O'Neill know how powerful you are."

Mike Tyson persuaded.

Others persuaded Link to show O'Neill a little color.

It's party time and everyone wants to see the excitement.

Link made a request that O'Neal be given an amateur game suit to wear to protect his head and prevent playing problems.

O'Neal firmly opposed wearing sponge armor, saying that he was not afraid of his fists.

Link said that this is a rule in the boxing world. Professional boxers compete with ordinary people in the same way as amateurs. If they don't wear it, they won't fight.

With everyone's encouragement, O'Neill reluctantly agreed, but his expression was very unhappy.

This is the MGM Grand Hotel, where boxing matches are often held. There is also a boxing training club in the hotel. Boxing gloves, sponge armor, and braces were quickly delivered to the party.

Hopkins and James Toney helped O'Neal put it on.

De La Hoya and Chris Bird were nearby filming with handheld cameras.

"Link, come on, you can never defeat me."

O'Neal waved his fist, hit his armored head and shouted that his head was originally very big, but after wearing the sponge protective gear, it became bigger than a pumpkin.

"I'll be the referee, you guys take your positions."

Tyson said standing in the middle.

Link walked to the middle and stood up. When Tyson raised his arms and shouted "Start", Link took a step back first. O'Neill roared and punched Link with both fists.

O'Neill's arms were long and his fists were big, but his speed was too slow. Link held his fists and stood still. When the opponent's fist swept over him, he nimbly dodged the opponent's first punch, and then the third. Two punches.

Every time O'Neal's fist looked like it was going to hit him, but every time it came close to his head, he would avoid it skillfully and narrowly. Every fist seemed to rub his head. Call over.

O'Neal was stunned. When he was watching the match between Link and Holyfield in the audience, he didn't realize how powerful the two were. He felt that he could do it.

When I actually fought with Link, I realized that his opponent's movements were too flexible and impossible to catch.

"O'Neill, be careful!"

Suddenly someone shouted from the side.

Bang!

Before he could make any move, a fist came from the opposite side and hit his forehead protector firmly.

boom!

O'Neal threw his head back suddenly, as if he had been hit **** the head by a hammer. His mind was buzzing, and the world was spinning in front of his eyes. His eyes became cross-eyed, more white than black.

The huge body swayed and fell backwards involuntarily.

Tyson and James Toney supported him from behind and let him fall slowly. "Hahaha, 7 seconds, Shaquille, do you still dare to be tough?"

"Shaquille, now do you know how powerful Link is?"

"Shaquille, you said it's not good for you to provoke anyone, but you have to fight Link. If he hadn't withdrawn his strength, this punch could kill you."

Everyone laughed and joked around O'Neal who was lying on the ground.

The doctor who had arranged in advance came over and took a photo of O'Neal's eyes with a small flashlight. He said there was nothing wrong and left.

O'Neal lay on the ground for three minutes before standing up unsteadily, covering his head.

"O'Neal, how are you feeling? Do you really want to sleep?"

"You must know that in the boxing world, only world boxing champions and boxing champion challengers are qualified to be knocked unconscious by Link. It is also a rare experience for you to be knocked out by Link."

Hopkins and James Toney joked around.

De La Hoya held the camera to O'Neal's big face and filmed it.

"Stop arguing, I have a headache!"

O'Neill rolled his eyes, looked at Link across from him and said, "How can you be so fast? Are you the Flash?"

Hahaha!

Everyone laughed.

"Your reaction speed is too slow. My speed is not the fastest in the boxing world. If you have time, you can spar with Mayweather. The lightweight is faster."

Link laughed.

"Link, you are too humble. Your reaction speed is top-notch in the lightweight class, even in the flyweight class."

"Shaquille, do you know how different professional boxers are from ordinary people now? Don't talk about Link, you can't beat any of our professional boxers here."

Hopkins laughed.

"Humph, isn't it amazing? Let's go to the basketball court to have a duel? I can beat you."

O'Neill said unhappily.

"It's boring for you to say that. I don't want to play basketball with you."

Hopkins said, shaking his head.

The fun is over and the party continues.

Link asked O'Neal to play basketball together when they had time. O'Neal nodded quickly. He grinned and decided to dunk Link a few times on the court to regain the lost face.

"Hey, Shaquille, how about I post a video of your game online?"

Hoya said while holding the camera.

"No, I won't agree."

This kind of video will definitely be laughed at if posted online.

"Shaquille, I think you should agree. You are now a retired player and a comedian, and Link is a world-class superstar and a billionaire. With Link's traffic, you will definitely become popular."

"That's right, Shaquille, you just said you would play basketball with Link next time. Next time I will make a video and post it online, and you can come back with revenge. Isn't that great?"

Hoya and Hopkins persuaded.

O'Neal rubbed his forehead and thought for a while, and agreed to post the video, but he also wanted to tell netizens that he was going to ask Link to play basketball and regain his face on the court.

Hoya smiled and accepted this condition.

—

After the boxing match, Link returned to Los Angeles, took a day off, and attended the American Music Awards held at the Nokia Center, still as an award guest.

Singers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis received the most six nominations at this year's American Music Awards.

Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake each received five nominations.

Ariana Grande, single group band, and Dream Dragon received 3 nominations.

Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Selena, Charlie Puth and more are all nominated.

The album sales of American singers this year are as follows. Taylor Swift's new album "Enchanted" ranked first with sales of 2.74 million copies.

In second place is Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience" with sales of 2.43 million copies.

The third place is Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers" with 2.17 million copies.

Ariana Grande's new album "YoursTruly" ranks fifth with 1.38 million copies.

Selena's new album ranks ninth with 1.09 million copies.

Charlie Puth's new album "Ego" ranks 12th with 1.02 million copies.

Rounding out the top ten are Luke Bryan, Dream Dragon, Florida Georgia Border, Duck Drake, Beyoncé, Blake Shelton and more.

However, the album with the highest sales this year is not an album released this year, but "As It Was" released by Link last year. This year, it sold 5.91 million copies, more than the top two combined.

Adele's "21" also sold 1.29 million copies this year.

The total annual sales volume of the U.S. record market this year is about 289.4 million, down about 8% from 315 million last year. Physical record sales continue to decline, 14% less than last year, and digital album sales also declined for the first time, by about 1%.

In terms of hit singles, Link's "Reality" released in September sold 8.33 million copies in the United States in just two months, ranking first at the top of the cliff. It is also the only song to sell more than 8 million copies this year. .

Ranking second and third are the hit single "Thrift Shop" by the rap group Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and "Radioactive" by the Dream Dragon, with sales reaching 6.15 million and 5.5 million copies respectively.

Charlie Puth's "Look At Me Now" ranks eighth with 340 copies, and Ariana Grande's "Problem" ranks 15th with 2.8 million copies.

In the U.S. record market this year, a total of 106 songs sold more than 1 million copies, and 38 songs exceeded 2 million sales in 2013. The total sales of singles for the year totaled approximately 1.26 billion, down 6% from last year.

Judging from these data, the American music scene is worse than last year.

"Billboard" magazine believes that the main reason for the deterioration of the market is the influence of free music platforms such as Spotify. With free music to listen to, fewer people are willing to pay to listen to music, and more people are taking advantage. In addition, Lin It has a lot to do with Ke not releasing a new album.

(End of chapter)