Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Not long after finalizing the contract with Franco, Link received a call from Greg Cohen of the top promotion company.

"Hi, Link, are you busy? How about we talk again about the signing?"

Greg Cohen greeted him in a familiar tone.

"Mr. Cohen? What about?"

Link asked, setting down his dumbbell.

"I heard you're planning to sign with Dynasty Promotion?"

Greg Cohen scoffed disdainfully, "Link, as a seasoned boxing promoter, I can tell you very responsibly that this is a really bad decision.

Everyone knows that boxing promotion companies operate almost the same way as Hollywood talent agencies. The more powerful the company, the stronger its star-making capability.

Small companies have weak promotion abilities, they simply can't afford the initial investment for promoting an event, nor can they bring you to a higher-level platform for fights, just like Hollywood's big five agencies, CAA, WMA, ICM, everyone wants to be a signed artist with them.

If you want to become a boxing champion like Mayweather or De La Hoya and earn a lot of US Dollars, it's better to choose to work with a powerful promotion company such as Top Rank, Don King Promotions, Main Events, or Matchroom Boxing, which have almost all the champion boxers as well as money-making fighters. Link, you are a smart man, I think you should know this."

"Yes, I know,"

Link shrugged and said.

"Then why make such a hasty decision to sign? Link, I really think highly of you, this is true, even if we don't sign with you, I still want to give you some friendly advice from the standpoint of a friend and a mentor: don't rush to sign anything.

After the Olympic competitions are over, if you can get a medal at the Olympics, I think there will be many companies willing to offer you big contracts for collaboration.

Top Rank is the same. I've been discussing with Mr. Arum all this time, trying to fight for a bigger contract for you, a higher share of the fight income, which could reach 50%. This is before you become a world champion. In the future, we might be able to give you an even higher split, 70% is not a problem either.

It's just a pity that when I heard you were about to sign with a small promotion company, Link, I urge you to think about it again."

Greg Cohen said earnestly over the phone.

Link shook his head, feeling this guy was here to cause trouble.

After the qualification tournament ended, many promoters from various promotion companies had come to him, including from Top Rank, but not Greg Cohen. The contracts they offered, though bigger than after the Golden Gloves tournament, were still below his expectations, and they were stingy with the share of fight income.

Now that he was about to sign with Dynasty Promotion, Greg Cohen suddenly called to advise him, and without showing any actual contract, Link was sure the other party just wanted to disrupt things.

"Mr. Cohen, thank you for the advice, but I've decided to sign with Dynasty Promotion."

"Why?"

"Probably because Franco is more sincere,"

Link thought of an excuse and said.

"Sincere? Hmph, Link, I bet you'll regret this decision in the future. Professional boxing is far more complicated than you think, and you and Franco absolutely won't be able to handle that kind of situation."

"Maybe, but we'll see about that in the future."

Link decisively hung up the phone.

——

After the contract was finalized, Dynasty Promotion Company held a grand signing ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Palm Beach, inviting dozens of local celebrities from Miami, including members of the state sports commission, senior members of the boxing association, senior executives from media and advertising companies, and over a hundred journalists to attend the event.

Link, for the first time, wore formal attire and got a sleek hairstyle to attend the event at the Hilton Hotel.

There were more than two hundred people present, aside from Coach West, Manager Robinson, Rafael Varane, and others, the rest were strangers to Link. Seeing a few familiar faces, he went over to greet them.

"Haha, Link, you've arrived just in time, let me introduce you,"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Rafael said, pulling him aside to introduce a few middle-aged and elderly men beside him.

Some were senior media publishing executives from Florida, including the CEO of a Miami business television station, the Director of the Southern Distribution Department of "Boxing" magazine, the News Department Head of the Florida New Herald, the General Manager of McClatchy Publishing Company, and Anderson Gyllenhaal, the Executive Editor-in-Chief of the Miami Herald, who, according to Rafael, is the uncle of the Hollywood star, Jack Gyllenhaal.

Link politely greeted the group without being obsequious or arrogant.

There was actually no need to be too flattering towards these executives from the media and publishing industry.

To his own career development, they could at best play a role of adding glory to his achievements. If he made a name for himself in the boxing world, these media outlets would cheer loud for him and support him, but if he lost a match or was involved in a scandal, they would not hesitate to trample on him and slander him.

The role of the media was somewhat like a small performance company that deals with weddings and funerals; whether public figures had good or bad news, they had an opportunity to join in and boost their circulation.

If one wanted them to speak well in bad times, or speak ill in good times, it was simple—enough promotional fees had to be paid.

After all, this was the capitalist world where everything was dictated by capital.

"Link! You once publicly stated to the media that if small fry like Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, Chris Byrd, and others dared to challenge you, you would deal with them within three rounds. Were you joking, or do you truly have confidence in that claim?"

Anderson Gyllenhaal, the editor-in-chief, asked, holding his champagne glass.

Link smiled and said, "Mr. Gyllenhaal, I never talk big. As long as they dare to challenge me, I definitely won't avoid battle and will be able to beat them. If they don't come to challenge me, when I move to the professional boxing world in the future, I will challenge them, as there are fewer and fewer people worth fighting in the professional boxing scene nowadays."

"Sounds great, Link. When do you plan to compete professionally? We all look forward to seeing your performance," Anderson Gyllenhaal asked, holding his champagne glass.

Everyone nodded in agreement; if Link was really that good, they wouldn't mind going to support him.

Link gave a slight smile and was about to speak when he saw Franco and Nora walking side by side through the crowd. After Nora's arrival in Miami, Franco also changed back into his sharp attire, dressed in a black pinstripe suit and red tie, which matched Nora's red evening gown perfectly.

Link turned to the two and said, "Look, the boss and the boss's wife have arrived. Gentlemen, when I can fight professionally depends on his arrangements."

"Haha, Link, we're partners, and besides, I'll be serving you in the future. You are my boss," Franco said, patting his shoulder and then smiling to the others, "Regarding Link's professional matches, we have started planning them since signing the contract. The event should be before Christmas, and the opponent will at least be a continental champion boxer.

Please come and support the event, gentlemen."

"Haha, definitely!"

The crowd echoed with laughter.

The signing ceremony began, witnessed by celebrities, lawyers, and media reporters. Link and Franco signed the boxing promotion contract, making Link a signed boxer and co-owner of Dynasty Promotion Company and also putting over eight million US dollars in his pocket.

However, after the signing, negative news about him suddenly appeared in several newspapers, alleging that his father was a smuggler and a gangster—that he had also been involved in smuggling, had been imprisoned twice, and was not a good person. It was suggested that his preference for knocking out his opponents in the boxing ring might have been influenced by bad street habits.

But these negative stories didn't last long—a feature article in the American Express about him caused a greater sensation in North America.

"Link Baker: A 'Cinderella' Champion, a New American Dream for the New Era."

In this issue's New People section, American Express dedicated over five thousand words to his life story, detailing his roots in Miami Beach, how his ancestors were fishermen for two generations, his mother left early, his father passed away soon after, and he grew up orphaned, influenced by his environment to become a bad boy, twice imprisoned, and nearly killed in the streets, among other past misdeeds.

But since he took up boxing three years ago, he began to turn his life around. Starting from the Golden Gloves Tournament, he worked his way up to become the champion of the Americas Zone qualifier.

Recently, he signed a contract with Dynasty Company worth tens of millions and is now poised to represent the United States' Super Middleweight boxing team at the Olympics.

American Express hailed his journey from a troubled 'bad boy' to a 'millionaire' at just twenty years old as more inspirational than the lives of Ali, Tyson, James J. Braddock, and other boxing legends. They called him a new idol for young people from the lower classes and a representative of the American Dream.

The article was later reprinted by major publications such as People Weekly, "Boxing" magazine, and the Chicago Tribune, causing quite a stir in North America.

Instead of damage, Link's reputation only grew, and he became even more well-known.