Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

"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 fight Link, and remember to call me when you 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 next to him.

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 hard on 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 shook and fell backwards involuntarily.

Tyson and James Tony supported him from behind and let him fall slowly.

"Hahaha, 7 seconds, Shaquille, do you still dare to be stubborn?"

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

"Shaquille, you can provoke anyone else, but you have to fight Link. If he hadn't held back, this punch would have killed you."

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

The doctor who had been arranged in advance came over and shone a small flashlight in O'Neal's eyes, and left after saying that there was no problem.

O'Neal lay on the ground for three minutes before he stood up staggeringly, holding his forehead.

"O'Neal, how do you feel? Do you want to sleep?"

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

Hopkins and James Tony joked on the side.

De La Hoya took a camera and shot O'Neal's big face.

"Stop arguing, it's a headache!"

O'Neal rolled his eyes and looked at Link opposite 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. You can have a fight with Mayweather when you have time. The lightweight class is faster."

Link laughed.

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

"Shaquille, do you know how big the difference is between professional boxers and ordinary people now? Not to mention Link, you can't beat any professional boxer here."

Hopkins laughed.

"Huh, so great? Let's go to the basketball court for a one-on-one duel. I can beat you."

O'Neal said unhappily.

"It's boring for you to say that. I'm not going to play basketball with you."

Hopkins shook his head and said.

The fun was over, and everyone continued to party.

Link asked O'Neal to play basketball together when he was free. O'Neal nodded quickly. He grinned and decided to dunk on Link on the court to regain his lost face.

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

Hoya said with a camera.

"No, I don't agree."

This video will definitely be laughed at if it is posted online.

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

"That's right, Shaquille, you just said that you will play basketball with Link next time. Next time I will shoot another video and post it online, and you can also retaliate. Isn't this great?"

Hoya and Hopkins persuaded.

O'Neal rubbed his forehead and thought about it. He agreed to post the video, but he also had to tell netizens that he was going to play basketball with Link to regain his face on the court.

Hoya smiled and accepted the 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 presenter.

Singers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis received the most nominations at this year's American Music Awards, with 6 nominations.

Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake each received 5 nominations.

Ariana Grande, the single-group band, and Imagine Dragons received 3 nominations.

Beyonce, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Selena, Charlie Puth and others were nominated.

The sales of American singers' albums this year are as follows: Taylor Swift's new album "Enchanted" ranks 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 is Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers" with 2.17 million copies.

Ariana Grande's new album "Yours Truly" ranked fifth with 1.38 million copies.

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

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

The top ten also includes Luke Bryan, Imagine Dragons, Florida Georgia Border, Drake, Beyonce, Blake Shelton, etc.

However, the best-selling album this year is not an album released this year, but Link's "As It Was" released last year, which sold 5.91 million copies this year, exceeding the sum of the top two.

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

This year, the total annual sales of the US record market is about 289.4 million copies, down about 8% from 315 million copies last year. Physical record sales continue to decline, 14% less than last year, and digital album sales also fell for the first time, 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. It is also the only song this year with sales of more than 8 million copies.

Ranked second and third are the hit singles "Thrift Shop" by the rap group Macklemore \u0026 Ryan Lewis and "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons, with sales of 6.15 million and 5.5 million copies respectively.

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

This year, a total of 106 songs sold more than 1 million copies in the US record market, and 38 songs sold more than 2 million copies in 2013. The total sales of singles for the whole year totaled about 1.26 billion, a decrease of 6% from last year.

Judging from these data, the market situation in the US music scene is worse than last year.

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