On October 10, Zhou Quan and Oakley fought as scheduled.
This time, the WBC arranged their back-up match in the first match.
For this boxing match, his appearance fee increased from one million to two million US dollars, while Oakley's was US$200,000, the same as Larry Johnson last time.
"Now, let us welcome the Red Boxer, the Detroit Slayer King, the crazy crossover maniac, the Iron Fist Slayer, the Quan of the Week!"
"Now, let us welcome the Black Boxer, New York's murderous king from the Big Apple, Charles Oakley."
"Bah! Boss, you actually stole my nickname. Do you believe that I will join the Detroit Killer King and kill you in turn?"
At home in New York, Anthony Mason, who was watching the boxing match, couldn't believe it when he heard the nickname of the New York Killer King.
"Is this following the trend?"
"I remember it was Oakley who gave Iron Fist the nickname Detroit Killer King. Now he wants to take it back? How shameless!"
Likewise, many NBA players laughed and laughed when they heard Oakley's new nickname.
"Charles, fuck him!"
Jordan and other people appeared at the scene again to cheer Oakley.
"Iron Fist, come on!"
Of course, the Assassins, Joe Dumars, and Rodman also cheered for Zhou Quan again, and alumni Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also appeared at the scene.
"Handsome guy, come on!"
Big Mouth Roberts, who has become friends with Zhou Quan, also came to the scene to cheer him on.
"Box!"
After the bell rang, the referee gave the order and the first round began.
Oakley made up his mind to push Zhou Quan into the corner and then defeat him. His coach also agreed. This was his established tactic.
At the beginning of the game, he continued to press forward, and through the combination of swinging punches and uppercuts, he slowly forced Zhou Quan towards the bottom corner.
Zhou Quan didn't seem to put up much resistance, and quickly retreated to the bottom corner, leaning his back against the pillar with a smile on his face. Without holding up a defensive frame, he started to show off. No, he started to dodge continuously. .
"Iron Fist, damn bastard, if you dare not defend yourself, I will blow your head off!"
The tactical goal was achieved, and the excited Oakley began his performance, attacking with all his strength.
One punch, three punches, five punches, ten punches...
"Why? Why can't I hit him? Why can't I hit him? Why?"
After a hundred thousand reasons, he still failed to hit Zhou Quan.
Twenty punches later, he finally realized the confusion Larry Johnson felt that day.
"Oh oh oh oh……"
In the Great Western Forum Arena, the roar continued to roar, and the waves got louder and louder.
"Strong dodge ability. Although Oakley is not as strong as Larry Johnson that day, I think Iron Fist's dodge ability can fully cope with stronger, real professional boxers."
"I also think that Iron Fist should have reached a professional level, and he should have the strength to compete with real professional boxers."
Two on-site commentators said in the ABC TV live commentary box.
Confidence began to collapse, his boxing techniques became more and more chaotic, and his boxing speed became slower and slower. After thirty punches, Oakley's physical energy was greatly consumed, and he could no longer hold on, so he could only retreat back, trying to distance himself and take a breath.
But at this time, the offensive and defensive situation changed, and Zhou Quan began to attack.
Sliding forward to grab the ball, he first struck with a very precise front hand straight punch. Relying on his first-class precision strike, he directly penetrated Oakley's frame and hit his left eye socket, sending his opponent flying towards him. Lean back.
Then, his combo boxing show begins.
"Stop!"
Within two seconds, Oakley hit five punches in a row, but only blocked two. The remaining three punches all hit the head. The last uppercut hit his chin directly. He was immediately knocked out and fell to the ring.
"boom!"
The Great West Forum was filled with jubilation.
"Fei Ren, how much have you bet on me? Congratulations, you won money." Zhou Quan stood on the ring and shouted at Jordan below.
"What a bastard!"
Jordan threw away the sunglasses in his hand angrily and shouted at Zhou Quan: "Even if I go bankrupt, I will not bet on you."
"Haha... Then I can only congratulate you, you lost money again." Zhou Quan laughed endlessly.
"..."
Jordan was furious.
…
On the 11th, at two o'clock in the afternoon the next day, Zhou Quan returned to Detroit.
He came straight from the airport to headquarters and discussed the lineup with Troy Weaver.
The current twelve-man roster of the team is out, all of which are contract players.
Center: Ronny Seikaly (5), Alden Polynice (4, 5)
Forwards: Rodman, Ulrich, Terry Mills, Darnell Walker, Mark Randall
Guards: Zhou Quan, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Mark Aguirre, Gerald Glass,
"Seven old people and five newcomers."
Weaver introduced: "The main players are you, Joe Dumars, Ulrich, Rodman, Ronny Seikali, and the important substitutes are Polynis, Mills, Isiah Thomas, Mark Aguirre, Glass, mainly rotating with ten people. Zhou, what do you think?"
Zhou Quan nodded and said: "Dennis's defensive pressure is relatively high. This guy got together with Madonna and let himself go a little bit. I wonder what his status will be like this season?"
When Weaver heard this, he also had a headache and said: "He only has the contract for the new season left, and he is going bankrupt due to divorce, so he has very high requirements for the new contract. It is really not possible to finish this season..."
"no."
Zhou Quan immediately shook his head, looked at Weaver and said in a firm tone: "We need him, it will be difficult to find the next Rodman, and you must not let him go or trade him.
Don't worry, I will communicate with Coach Daley and then talk to Rodman. I believe he will focus on the game. "
Zhou Quan disagreed, and Weaver had no choice but to give up the idea of trading Rodman.
Zhou Quan didn't say anything about trading John Celli for Seikali, but was worried about interior defense, which required Rodman to invest more energy on the defensive end.
The Pistons' most powerful opponent in the Eastern Conference is the Bulls. Both Pippen and Jordan are good at breakthroughs, and Grant's off-ball cutting inside is also very harmful. If you can't defend inside, you will suffer a lot.
But there is no doubt that the addition of Seikali can increase the Pistons' energy on the offensive end and make their rebounding even stronger.
In addition, the substitute lineup has been strengthened, which is also a very good thing.
Last season, the Assassins entered the substitute lineup. They originally thought that the thickness of the reserve lineup would be greatly increased. However, as a result, injuries in the Auburn Hills battle led to a serious decline in the Assassins' status. This time the substitute lineup has been strengthened, which should increase the Pistons' competitiveness.
"Troy, I'm not going to the preseason."
Zhou Quan asked Weaver for leave. He needed to concentrate on completing shooting training and strive to further improve his offensive strength before the start of the regular season. Weaver agreed.
Today happened to be the day the team started the playoffs. The players were gathering in the parking lot. Zhou Quan went to meet his teammates.
Joe Dumars is here, and this honest guy will also participate in the preseason, but he will definitely not play much.
The Assassin is out and he is not going to play in the preseason.
"Hey there."
Zhou Quan came to the parking lot, everyone was almost there, he greeted.
"Hey, that's great! Iron Fist, I thought you changed careers, but I didn't expect you still showed up, haha!" Rodman cheered.
"Dennis, I thought you were still in Madonna's bed. It's great to see you here!" Zhou Quan joked.
"Ha ha……"
The others laughed when they heard the conversation between the two.
Rodman was not stupid. He knew there was something behind Zhou Quan's words and was testing his attitude, so he immediately patted his chest and expressed his stance: "Don't worry, Iron Fist. I'm full of energy. No matter what happens off the court, it will never affect the game." .”
"That's good."
Zhou Quan originally wanted to invite Chuck Daly to communicate with Rodman, but he doesn't plan to do that now.
"Hey Joe, Dennis is full of energy, how about you?"
Zhou Quan asked after hugging Joe Dumas.
Joe Dumas smiled and said: "What else can I say? Do you mean that I have no energy anymore? No, no man would say that."
"Haha..." There was another burst of laughter in the parking lot.
Joe Dumas smiled and continued: "Iron Fist, you have crossed many boundaries, including ice hockey, golf, boxing, and baseball. You work so hard, and I will work hard too. Don't worry, I will work hard with you this season. Let’s fight to kill Michael Jordan together.”
He was very aware of his current state of mind, and his vigor was no longer what it used to be. Of course, he also knew that Zhou Quan had been worried about this, so he was the first to express his stance.
Zhou Quan nodded with satisfaction. He didn't need Joe Dumars to work hard. Now his offensive ability has improved a lot and he can continue to improve his offensive level during the season, so he can do the hard work himself.
Last season, he hoped that the team would be full of vigor and that Joe Dumars and others could stand up. That was because he did not have the ability to stand up and his offensive efficiency was low, but this season is different.
His role in the new season is different from last season. He will become the same role as the assassin before, carrying the team forward.
The team doesn't have the spirit, he can use his own offense to create it.
Then he looked at the others, and after greeting some old teammates such as Darnell Walker, his eyes fell on a few newcomers.
Ronisekali met Zhou Quan's gaze and shouted quickly: "Hello, boss."
"Hello, boss."
Several other newcomers also shouted.
"Hello."
Zhou Quan laughed, very satisfied with Seikali's attitude.
The next time, the team went to play preseason games, and he stayed in Detroit to continue training.
The next day he drove to the community college, met with Ma Jian and gave him some encouragement.
At UCLA, Ma Jian realized Zhou Quan's influence. When he came to Detroit, he realized Zhou Quan's influence in this city.
To put it simply, the Detroit Community College where he attended had countless fans of Zhou Quan, and he was introduced by Zhou Quan, so he enjoyed some preferential treatment. At least no one discriminated against him.
…
The new season started late. The opening game was on November 6. Zhou Quan trained until the end of October and completed a round of training tasks for emergency stop jumpers and step-back jumpers. The former skill was level 93, and the latter skill was level 90. You can also train for one round.
Sure enough, the offense increased from level 87 to level 89.
"The continuous improvement in overall offensive ability is due to my breakthrough ability, so in the future I will mainly focus on breakthrough layups, supplemented by floaters, pull-up jumpers, and step-back jumpers.
With so many offensive skills, including dunks, only five skills have reached the first-class level. This is why the overall offensive strength has only reached level 89. It cannot reach the first-class level. The revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still have to work hard. "
On the 25th, Skechers launched Tekken II.
On October 26, Big Bird Larry Bird, a giant in the NBA's Magic Bird era and the NBA's signature superstar, announced his official retirement during the preseason.
It was November, and with a few days left, he started training with the team.
The main lineup has not changed much. Ulrich is still there, only one John Salley is missing and one more Ronny Sekali.
After a few days of running in, I feel pretty good. Seikali is good at mid-range shots. Although as a center, his offensive efficiency is not enough, less than 50%, and his defense is weak, but his rebounding is very good, and his tactical effect is not small.
After Sekali pulled out from the basket, he, Joe Dumars, and Ulrich had more space to break in.
Of course, the presence of Seikali also made the Pistons' basket much softer, with only Rodman holding up.
The five main lineups and the defense at the fifth and third positions are not good. This is a problem that the Pistons must face in the new season.
"Iron Fist, your tonnage is now 90 kilograms. You are much faster and can jump better." Joe Dumas felt a surprise from Zhou Quan.
The assassin smiled and said: "Your breakthrough ability is stronger and your jump shot is more stable. I believe your offensive efficiency this season can reach the top twenty in the league. Of course, I am referring to the back line."
"The top 20 defenders? That's just an ordinary level. The top 10 are excellent, right?" Zhou Quan smiled modestly.
Joe Dumars said with a smile: "Practice for a few more months in the regular season, and I will be stronger entering the playoffs."
The Assassin guided: "You are faster now, have stronger breakthrough ability with the ball, and coupled with more stable pull-up jumpers and step-back jumpers, your offensive ability will definitely make great progress.
You have to make optimal combinations of these technologies and abilities, combine them with each other, use the best technologies together, and form your own offensive style, in order to maximize their power.
Your pull-up jump shot skills are already pretty good. Although they are not yet at the top level, as long as you use them well and don't run into top defenders, top-notch skills can produce strong results. "
"OK."
Zhou Quan nodded thoughtfully.
…
When he has free time, Zhou Quan will think of Catherine.
It had been a few months since they broke up in June. He promised to visit her, but he didn't go. The contact between the two became less and less. The occasional contact was just a simple greeting. The distance and long separation created a sense of indifference.
On the 1st, negotiations between the league's major television broadcasters were completed, and the league announced the number of national live broadcasts for all teams in the new season.
The number of live broadcasts across the United States is related to huge interests, and many small teams rely on this money to live.
The Bulls did their part, ranking first with 42 games, and more than 50% of the live broadcasts. This is also the first time in the history of the league that a team has more than 50% of the national live broadcasts. This shows the current popularity of Michael Jordan.
As a very unpopular team in the league, the Pistons were only assigned 12 national live broadcast games, ranking 20th in the league. This is very bad news for the team's operations.
Detroit's automobile industry continues to decline and its population continues to decrease. In the foreseeable time, the Pistons' operations will also face even worse days.
No. 3, Pistons headquarters, the Pistons’ new season media day.
"Crack, click, click..."
Zhou Quan, in a neat suit, stood in the C position, accepting the baptism of media cameras with his teammates.
"Iron Fist, with the new season coming, what are the goals for the team and you personally?" A reporter asked when entering the interview session.
He smiled and said: "The playoffs are definitely our goal, even though we have reached the Eastern Conference Finals for six consecutive seasons, neither the team nor I personally want to interrupt this record.
Personally, I hope to further improve my offensive efficiency. I know that my offensive efficiency was not enough last season and my shooting was not good enough. This is where I need to work harder. "
The reporter asked: "Can you be more specific? The Bulls interrupted the Pistons' consecutive championships, leaving the Pistons with only two consecutive championships. Now they have completed two consecutive championships. Have you ever thought about interrupting theirs?" Prevent them from reaching the Finals for the third time with their consecutive championships? Prevent Michael Jordan from completing his three consecutive championship dynasty?"
This question made everyone look at Zhou Quan, from reporters to assassins and the Pistons' management. They all wanted to know Zhou Quan's attitude.
As the boss of the Pistons, Zhou Quan's attitude is very important.
The smile on Zhou Quan's face slowly faded and became more and more serious. After pondering for a few seconds, his voice rang out in the press conference hall:
"In the new season, we definitely don't want to taste failure again in the Eastern Conference Finals. We hope to enter the Eastern Conference Finals with a stronger attitude. In the new season, we have only one goal, to defeat the Chicago Bulls."
"Crack, click, click..."
At this moment, the media’s shutter quickly rang.
…
(End of chapter)
