Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 656 - 472: Consecutive Knockdowns_2
But just as he had adjusted to Link's pace, Link suddenly changed his approach, causing him to suffer greatly.
As he was going down, Hopkins suddenly remembered Hoyle's advice before the match:
"Link likes to strategize opponents during the match, letting them get used to his style and then suddenly changing his tactics at a crucial moment to catch them off guard. That's Link's trick, or rather, his rhythm, his tactic."
In the past more than twenty matches, Link had won at least eight using this method. Although it was less than half, it was a highly lethal tactic that one could not ignore.
While studying Link's matches, Hopkins had also realized this and had secretly warned himself not to fall for Link's tricks.
Despite all precautions, a moment of distraction had still led him into Link's trap.
This filled Hopkins with fury, he swung his fists, unleashing his maximum power and speed, sparing no effort in his attack on Link.
Facing Hopkins' barrage of attacks, Link raised his arms continuously to block while also throwing punches at Hopkins.
Link threw a total of 36 punches, 3 hitting Hopkins' head and 8 hitting his torso.
Hopkins threw 54 punches, sweeping Link's chin once, and hitting Link's shoulders, chest, and abdomen six times.
"Go for it!"
"Link oppa, fighting!"
Seeing the two tangled up, exchanging blows, the punches landing heavily, making it hard to determine a clear winner.
The live audience began shouting excitedly.
"Fight! Fight!"
Hopkins tended to talk trash while boxing, cursing or making offensive gestures as if it gave more power to his punches.
No matter how his opponent fought, Link continued at his own pace, steady and methodical.
With just over ten seconds left in the first round, he quickly dodged Hopkins' upper hook punch, landing a swift jab to Hopkins' left ribs.
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This punch was much more powerful than the previous ones, and as his opponent's center of gravity sank, he followed it with a powerful right swing punch, forcefully breaking through Hopkins' guarding arms and smashing right into Hopkins' face.
Bang!
Sweat from his arm muscles also vibrated with the impact of the punch, scattering behind him.
With Hopkins punched in the right side of his face, his dark skin rippled into wrinkles, his hair and sweat flinging upward, sparkling under the lights. His eyelids involuntarily narrowed from the punch, making his whole black face appear distorted.
Before Link could follow up with another heavy punch, Hopkins crashed into the rear ropes, stumbled forward a step, and fell to the ground again.
Boom!
Seeing Link knock down his opponent again, many in the audience began to chant excitedly, shouting "Champion! Champion!" for him.
"Stop!"
The referee rushed over to push Link away and knelt next to Hopkins to start the count.
"8, 7, 6, 5, 4..."
Nearby, Link exhaled, shook the sweat off his arms, and quietly watched his opponent.
He had thought that this fierce punch would crush Hopkins and end the match, but something unexpected happened.
When the referee counted down to 3, Hopkins, supporting himself with his fists on the ring, shakily stood up, shook his head, and glared at Link with even fiercer eyes, like a wild beast.
Link looked at him somewhat surprised. That punch had been solid, weighing at least 1,500 pounds—no opponent he had faced before could have withstood such a hit, not even Tyson in '09.
But unexpectedly, Hopkins had taken the punch and managed to stand again within ten seconds.
No wonder he was once the middleweight champion. At 46, his ability to take punches still made him one of the best in the boxing world.
Link looked at his opponent with a sense of admiration, while Hopkins, seeing the look of admiration on his face, felt insulted and his look towards Link was murderous.
Ding ding ding!
Before they could start fighting, the bell for the end of the first round rang, and Link and Hopkins each went back to their corners to rest and heal.
——
"He's so strong, Mr. Baker is incredible!"
"Ji-hyun, how does it feel to have such a formidable boyfriend like Mr. Baker?"
In the VIP section, renowned actress Song Hye-kyo looked at Link in the boxing ring, noting his strong muscles, and nudged Jun Ji-hyun next to her asking.
Jun Ji-hyun brushed her long straight hair behind her ear, her cheeks blushing as she shyly said: "Link oppa is great."
"Great? In what way?"
Song Hye-kyo teased.
"Everything is great, Link oppa is really caring."
Jun Ji-hyun said with a bashful blink.
Song Hye-kyo watched her, feeling somewhat envious and jealous.
She and Jun Ji-hyun were both signed under SidusHQ agency and entered the company around the same time, initially as models.
She became a sensational star across Asia with her TV show "Endless Love" in 2000, while Jun Ji-hyun exploded into fame with the film "My Sassy Girl" in 2001.
One took the path of a TV drama actress, the other a film actress, but there was also some competition between them internally; a few years ago, they even competed for the title of top actress in their company.
In recent years, she gained fame with TV dramas like "Full House" and "Hwang Jini," becoming a top star in South Korea.
Jun Ji-hyun also maintained high popularity in South Korea with movies like "My Savage Senior Sister" and "Daisy."
However, Jun Ji-hyun's career had been declining in the last three years, her popularity waning, and last year she even parted ways with the SidusHQ agency.
It was expected that Jun Ji-hyun's career would suffer significant damage after leaving the agency, possibly even dropping her to a second-tier star, but unexpectedly, she snagged a huge investment from the superstar and tycoon Link Baker while working on the "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" film set. Together they founded the J&Baker Entertainment Company.
