Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Link knocked out Canada's number one super middleweight, Jean Pascal, in 42 seconds, achieving an 8-0 record with all wins by knockout, seven of which were within 30 seconds, tying the professional record set by 'Cannon' Shannon Briggs.

Briggs had achieved seven wins by knockout within 30 seconds in his professional bouts, the fastest being in 3 seconds.

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Despite not setting a new record, Link's performance still shocked countless people.

Jean Pascal was an undefeated boxer who had also defeated opponents in a matter of seconds during ranking matches, demonstrating incredible strength.

Everyone thought he could withstand Link for a while, and even if he couldn't beat Link, he would last more than 100 seconds. However, under Link's heavy punches, he only lasted 42 seconds.

The media exclaimed that Link's rise to the throne of boxing was unstoppable.

In this context, the Americas continental championship challenge began, with challenger Link Baker facing off against WBA Americas continental champion Jermain Taylor.

Jermain Taylor from Arkansas, dark-skinned, 30 years old this year, 1.85 meters tall, with a reach of 1.89 meters, nicknamed 'Malintent.'

An amateur record of 144 fights, 132 wins, the 1998 US amateur boxing light middleweight champion, the 1999 US amateur Golden Gloves light middleweight champion, and the 2000 Olympic middleweight bronze medalist.

He turned professional in 2001, with a professional record of 30 fights, 3 losses, 1 draw, and 19 knockouts, also a former IBF-WBC-WBO middleweight champion. Last year he moved up to super middleweight, defeating several opponents in fights and claiming the WBA Americas continental championship golden belt.

He is currently ranked third in the WBA super middleweight division, behind Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch.

Jermain's main achievements include twice defeating 'Executioner' Bernard Hopkins in 2005, dominating the middleweight division, and forcing Bernard Hopkins to move up to super middleweight.

Jermain's main defeats were in 2007, when he was beaten twice by the Ohio boxer 'The Ghost' Kelly Pavlik, losing all golden belts and being forced to move up to super middleweight.

Interestingly, in February of this year, Hopkins dropped his weight to below 160 pounds to fight again in the middleweight division, and defeated Kelly Pavlik in a fight.

These three boxers had a cyclic dominance over each other.

After reviewing Jermain Taylor's file, Link had an idea; his opponent was also a boxer good at attacking, with heavy fists and flexible fighting methods, liking to deliver sneak punches during the fight to knock out his opponent, which was the reason he was known as 'Malintent.'

To deal with such a boxer, one simply needed to press the opponent during the fight, preventing them from having the opportunity to launch a sneak punch, and handling them wouldn't be more difficult than facing Jean Pascal.

"Link, you also need to pay attention, Jermain moved up from middleweight, so he's very fast. If you want to KO him within 100 seconds, it's best to corner him before striking; you can't let him run around," Coach Brooks advised before the match.

"I understand!"

Link nodded, dressed in his fight gear, passed all the checks, and once again arrived at the Madison Square Garden arena.

There were more spectators than the last match, about 15,000 people, with the seats around the boxing ring densely packed, even more so than when the New York Knicks played in the playoffs.

According to Selena, she and Catherine, along with their family, were going to attend the match. Taylor also said she would come to watch the fight, but there were too many people at the venue, and Link, with a quick glance, couldn't spot them.

"Go Link!"

"Anesthetist Link!"

"Quick Gun Link!"

"Big Demon King Link!"

Many people in the stands were shouting loudly.

Link curled the corners of his mouth; there were too many nicknames, but he still preferred people calling him King Link.

He jogged to the boxing ring, where his opponent Jermain Taylor had also arrived, his shoulder adorned with a green and gold belt, the WBA continental championship golden belt, one size smaller than the world championship golden belt.

The world championship golden belt has a world map on its emblem, while the continental championship only has maps of each continent.

"Hey, Link, want this? Then you'll need to defeat me first," his opponent said, noticing his gaze and tapping the golden belt with his glove, smiling.

Link shook his head, "My goal is the world championship, not that one. If you're willing to step aside, I'll let you keep it."

"Haha, that's impossible. To become the world champion, you need to get past me first," Jermain Taylor shouted, swinging his fists.

"Alright! I'll do my best," Link replied, nodding to his opponent before biting down on his mouthguard.

During his amateur days, because he was poorer, he used a standard mouthguard that covered both upper and lower teeth. It didn't fit well and made speaking difficult. After signing with Dynasty Promotions, he spent twenty thousand US dollars to custom-order three fitted mouthguards that protected his teeth well and made speaking easier.

The referee took to the ring and read the rules before announcing the start of the match.

"Boxing!"

As the referee stepped back, Link raised his fists and fixed his eyes on his opponent, who was roughly the same height as him, with a small head, broad shoulders, and thick and strong arms, his eyes filled with a fighting spirit that was clear-cut and distinct.

Link took the initiative to attack, but before he could make contact, Jermain preempted with a forceful punch. This was a tricky jab, extremely fast, aiming for Link's defending hands.

Link kept his hands firmly protecting his head.

Bang! Jermain quickly swung his left fist, hitting Link in the abdomen from a side-back angle.

Link's muscles tensed sharply, and he bent down at the waist, followed by another right swing punch from Jermain, sweeping toward his head at a very high speed.

This offensive technique of striking down and then up bore a resemblance to the tactics Link had used against Pascal.

As the opponent's fist came sweeping in, Link dodged by tilting his head to the side, while delivering a left swing punch aimed at his opponent's head.

Jermain was not much slower than him and quickly retreated a step back to avoid the punch.

In this exchange, it seemed Link was at a disadvantage.

"Tommy, is Link going to lose?" Dino asked nervously, watching the ring.

"How much did you bet?" Coach Brooks inquired.

"I put all the money I won last time, principal and profits, on this match. Come on, Link!"

Dino shouted toward the stage.

"Don't worry, Link is going to win. He'll become the champion."

Morales said, clenching his fist.

"But I bet that he would KO Jermain within 100 seconds, and it's already been 50 seconds."

Dino screamed, covering his forehead in agony.

On the boxing ring, Link had no idea how much time had passed, but the tension in his mind grew tighter with each passing second, and he pressed forward, swinging at his opponent.

Jermain seemed to sense his urgency and quickly pulled back to maintain distance as Link closed in.

"Come on, Link, there are only 40 seconds left."

Dino yelled from below the stage.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Link remembered Coach Brooks' words, forcing his opponent towards the left edge of the ring as he began to pull away.

Jermain threw a punch at his head, which he blocked with his fist, then followed up with a punch to Jermain's abdomen.

Link completely ignored his second punch and, as Jermain was about to hit his left rib, landed a straight punch on Jermain's shoulder. Jermain stepped back and hit the ropes behind him.

Taking advantage of his opponent's unsteady balance, Link threw a punch to Jermain's left rib, the powerful impact nearly making Jermain vomit blood and naturally bending his body forward with both arms moving down to protect his ribs.

Now's the chance! Taking advantage of Jermain bending down, Link landed a heavy left swing punch on his forehead.

Bang!

Jermain's forehead took the punch, his head jolted sharply, his body swayed, and he fell straight to the ground.

"Wow~ oh~"

The audience couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise.

"He's finally down! How many seconds?"

Dino asked Simon.

"81 seconds!"

Simon said, looking at the electronic timer.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."

On the ring, the referee counted to 6, and Jermain, holding his forehead, staggered to his feet, pounded his chest with his fist, and glared at Link.

"Link, only 10 seconds left," shouted Dino.

The match restarted.

After tasting the power of his punches, Jermain held his arms up high, tightly guarding his head, and kept stepping back.

Knowing that time was running out, Link didn't give his opponent a chance to delay and initiated the barrage bombardment punches again. One heavy punch after another hit Jermain's defense like a storm.

In five seconds, he threw 12 punches, the 10th hitting Jermain hard in the right rib. As Jermain's arms sank in defense, the 11th punch followed swiftly and hit his head again. Before the 12th punch could land, Jermain's back hit the ropes, and his body slumped down.

"Wow!"

A gasp of astonishment echoed through the venue.

"...5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

The referee counted down to 10, and Jermain struggled to stand up while holding the ropes but failed.

"Yay! Link won!"

Dino yelled, raising his tattooed arms.

"98 seconds! It was almost over 100 seconds," said Simon, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Link is the champion! Link is the international champion now," exclaimed Morales excitedly.

Above the ring, the referee raised Link's arm high to declare Link Baker the winner of the match.

Clap, clap, clap!

A burst of warm applause and cheers arose from the stands.

After two rounds and nine matches, with 9 fights, 9 victories, and 9 KOs, Link became the WBA International Champion and was ranked third in the WBA Super Middleweight division.

As the matches in the Americas Zone concluded, the boxing associations of South America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific also wrapped up their competitions one after another.

The Continental Champions of South America, Glen Johnson, Europe's Mikkel Kessler, and Tony Dodson from Asia and the Pacific.

After the draw, it was Link vs. Asia and Pacific Continental Champion Tony Dodson, and Mikkel Kessler vs. South American Champion Glen Johnson.

The match between Link and Tony Dodson was still held in Madison Square Garden, New York.

In this match, Link faced an opponent with extraordinary resilience. In 91 seconds he threw 82 heavy punches and knocked his opponent down twice before finally securing victory.

In the European bracket, Mikkel Kessler also managed a third-round KO against Glen Johnson, advancing to the WBA Super Middleweight final.

The WBA headquarters released the battle report: the fight for the World Super Middleweight Golden Belt will take place on October 2nd in Miami, pitting the American champion Link against the European champion Mikkel Kessler.