Boom!
Link landed a punch on Andrea Berto's cheek.
Andrea staggered backward, hitting the ropes. Link was about to follow up with his victory when a clang, clang, clang of the bell sounded from the audience.
The first round ended.
Link returned to his corner and sat down, sweating profusely.
"Link, don't rush. If you can't win in five rounds, just go a few more. The match is ten rounds; nobody said you have to win within five,"
West advised.
"West, don't worry. I said I'd finish the fight within five rounds, and I'll stand by my word, no matter how difficult, I'll give it my all to make it happen,"
Link said firmly, clenching his fists.
"Wow, that sounds great!"
Mario curled his lips and said to Reggie below the stage, "Write this down—Link says he'll KO Andrea within five rounds, no matter how hard it is, he has to do it. What a motivational statement, you should remember it."
Reggie nodded and took out his phone to take note.
Mario, rubbing his belly, chuckled continuously.
Link glanced at him, raised his fists, and strode toward the center of the ring.
Andrea Berto also got up and walked over, clenching his jaw fiercely and glaring at Link, with his brow bone and left cheek looking somewhat reddened.
"Keep defending, and let's see if I can smash through your shell,"
Link said with a chuckle, shaking his fists.
"You won't last much longer, the championship will be mine!"
Andrea said with a fierce look.
"We'll see!"
The referee came over and warned them that chatting wasn't allowed in the ring.
In the second round, Link continued with his aggressive heavy-hitting strategy, throwing 84 punches in a row, 12 of which hit Andrea on the head. One punch even knocked Andrea down near the corner post; had he not grabbed the ropes with both hands in time, it could have been a knockout.
But he still couldn't knock Andrea down, with only three rounds to go.
"Link, don't worry, take it slow. When you throw punches, try to hit his head as much as possible without wasting energy,"
West counseled.
Link nodded. Boxing might look simple with two people swinging at each other, but within those two to three minutes per round, throwing out 60 punches could deplete as much as one-fifth, or more, of an average person's stamina.
Those who could last for more than 10 rounds were the ones with exceptional endurance.
Having thrown more than 80 punches in two consecutive rounds, Link, despite his abundant stamina, wouldn't be able to sustain such output.
At the opposite corner,
"I can't just defend anymore; I have to counterattack,"
Andrea Berto said as he returned to the corner to rest.
"Andrea, just hang in there a bit longer. Get past five rounds, and let's see what Link is going to do?"
His coach suggested.
Andrea shook his head, gasping for air: "You haven't fought him, so you don't know how heavy his punches are. They must be over 1000 pounds. Even through the sponge padding, it hurts, and if I endure three more rounds, I might get killed by his punches."
"You can't even fend him off with all your might?"
The coach frowned.
"It's hard. His punches are not only heavy, but fast, especially the jabs. They come extremely quickly and at tricky angles. If my defense is a bit slow, I'll get hit,"
Andrea touched his brow bone and nose bridge with his glove. If he hadn't defended quickly in the previous round, his nose might have been broken by Link. Also, his ribs, despite wearing high-elasticity sponge armor, were aching.
"Hold out for one more round. Link has been on the offensive for two rounds, throwing nearly two hundred punches. He won't have much energy left. Let him attack for another round, and then it's your turn to go on the offensive,"
the coach said thoughtfully.
Andrea Berto thought for a moment and nodded.
After the doctor treated his injuries, he raised his fists and walked towards Link.
"This round, I'm going to knock you down at least once,"
Link said with a smile.
"Don't even think about it!"
Andrea Berto snorted coldly.
The referee came up and warned both fighters once before the match began.
Bang, bang, bang!
Link continued to attack Andrea's head and ribs with heavy punches. Compared to the previous rounds, his speed had noticeably slowed, and his attack frequency had decreased significantly, but Andrea, having taken so many heavy hits, was also greatly exhausted.
Boom!
At 88 seconds into the third round, Link landed a left jab on Andrea's left rib, a liver shot!
Andrea raised his arms, shifting his balance downward, exposing a flaw.
Link's fist rose, seizing the opportunity for a right swing punch that solidly struck Andrea's head. Andrea's body wobbled, and Link followed up with a rapid jab to Andrea's brow.
Andrea let out a scream and staggered backward, collapsing onto the floor.
Boom!
The audience, silent for so long, suddenly erupted into noise.
The shouts suppressed for two rounds now burst forth from the fans' mouths.
"Link, fight on!"
"Link, champion!"
"Link, one more punch!"
Fans stood up and shouted loudly. They too had heard Link's bold words about knocking out Andrea within five rounds. The stakes he had set were daring and dangerous.
As time passed and Link hadn't secured a knockout, everyone internally worried for him.
Seeing Andrea hit the ground, the fans glimpsed the hope of Link defeating Andrea within five rounds.
They were so excited they jumped up, unleashing their voices at maximum volume to cheer for Link.
Today, over 17,600 Miami locals filled the United Airlines Arena to the brim, most of them came for Link. Hosting the Golden Gloves finals in Miami and having a local win would become a lovely tale—a shared glory for Miami itself. At this moment, no one wished for anything other than Link's victory.