On the 10th, Zhou Quan left Changsha, came to Xiangcheng, and flew to Los Angeles with Cheng Derong, while her mother took care of her.
Roger Philippe came to pick him up. A group of media reporters were waiting for him at the airport. When they saw him coming out, they rushed up.
"Iron Fist, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp announced that they are leaving the Pistons. What do you think?"
"Iron Fist, you will have a professional boxing match at the end of the month. Your opponent is David Tua, who is ranked seventh in the WBC heavyweight world. He is the bronze medalist at the 1992 Olympics. He is very strong, especially with great fighting ability. He has He has the potential to become a world boxing champion, are you confident that you can beat him?"
"Iron Fist, is this lady next to you your new girlfriend? I'm sure she must be a star. So who is your next target?"
"Iron Fist..."
"Iron Fist..."
After he lost the finals last time, he did not accept interviews with the media and then left the United States, so the media asked all kinds of questions when they met.
Cheng Derong and Cheng's mother saw a large group of American reporters surrounding Zhou Quan, and had a deeper understanding of his popularity and influence in the United States.
Zhou Quan's boxing match was at the end of July, and he needed to stay in Los Angeles during this period. After leaving the airport, he went to the hotel to settle down.
The four of them had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Philip handed Zhou Quan some information about David Tua, including several CDs of David Tua's boxing matches, and said:
"Zhou, he is very strong. He turned professional after competing in the Olympics in 1992. He is currently seventh in the WBC, ninth in the IBF, and thirteenth in the WBA.
He is very strong, stronger than your last opponent, the Polish Bad Boy, and his ability to withstand blows is very strong, even better than the Iron Man Michael Tyson, so you have to pay attention.
The reason why WBC chose him is that they are also testing your strength. If you can defeat him, WBC will probably arrange an opportunity for you to challenge the world boxing champion in the future. "
Zhou Quan nodded, feeling a little excited.
It is his dream to challenge the world boxing champion, but there is no chance to challenge the world boxing champion unless he has the strength. If the boxer has no reputation, no influence, and no box office appeal, the boxing match will not be attractive to boxing fans. Not only the four major boxing Organizations, even those world boxing champions, will not fight you.
He has little training time, and his trump card is dodging and precise strikes. However, because he is relatively light in weight, his punches are not strong enough and his ability to hit hard is not strong enough. This time, assign him a guy with strong fighting ability, then as Philip said, The WBC should be testing his strength.
He took a look at David Tua's information. He was 175 centimeters naked, 13 centimeters shorter than him. His wingspan was also 175 centimeters, 27 centimeters shorter than him. He weighed 100 kilograms, 8 kilograms heavier than him. He was nicknamed the Terminator and Xiao Tai. Sen.
"Little Tyson?"
He looked back at his weight and height, and they were really about the same as Tyson. He should even be a little shorter than Tyson.
And Tyson's ability to fight is also very strong. Among heavyweight boxers, Tyson can definitely be ranked in the top five in history. David Tua's ability to fight is even stronger than Tyson. That is really a very difficult boxer. A tough opponent.
"Be careful of his heavy blows. Zhou, your heavy blows are not as good as his, and your resistance to blows is not as good as his. He can withstand ten punches from him, but if you are hit hard by him once, you may be KO." Philip said seriously.
Zhou Quan nodded and continued reading the information.
Keen judgment, quick reactions, rapid speed, ferocious punches, and only one weakness is movement speed.
There were several photos of David Tua in the information. He picked them up and looked at them. Good guy, he couldn't see where his neck was. His ability to resist blows was super strong without even trying.
Philip added: "This TV broadcast is carried out by ESPN. They take half of the PPV income, and you will distribute the remaining half 70%, and David Tua 30%. The unit price of PPV is 45 US dollars, which is higher than your boxing match." It’s $10 higher, very high.”
"Is my ratio so high?" Zhou Quan was a little surprised.
Philip smiled and said: "David Tua also wants more, but he has only played professionally for three years. Although his ranking is good, he has no reputation and no box office appeal. The box office of this boxing match depends on you, you If you are responsible for selling tickets, you are certainly eligible for 70%."
At this point, he asked: "Zhou, you don't think that any boxer has PPV rights, do you?"
"Isn't it?"
Zhou Quan was a little surprised, he didn't know much about this.
Philip smiled and said: "Only top boxers have PPV treatment. The so-called top boxers are not just about strength, but also broad popularity and influence. The most intuitive manifestation is the box office appeal. Therefore, many first-class boxers do not have PPV treatment. Power, including many world boxing champions.
Zhou, you got PPV rights in your match with the Polish Bad Boy last year because of your box office appeal, not because of your ability.
If David Tua's opponent is not you this time, he has no PPV rights at all and can only get appearance fees. PPV income has nothing to do with him at all. "
Zhou Quan nodded and said: "I see, you haven't told me before."
Philip added: "This David Tua also participated in many sports during college, playing rugby, cricket, and others, but he is not as talented as you. After he officially started his boxing career, he gave up other sports. sports."
"Zhou Quan, do you want to box with this man?"
Cheng Derong asked after Phillip left.
Zhou Quan nodded and smiled: "This is a New Zealander, half a year younger than me. The current highest ranking in the world is seventh, and he is very strong."
"What should I do if I lose?"
Cheng Derong picked up Tua's photo and looked at it. She felt that he was stronger than Zhou Quan, like a wild beast, which frightened her.
"Lost? It's normal to lose. I don't have much time to practice boxing, only one hour a day. However, I am still very confident in myself. He can carry it well, but I can fight and hide well. Zhou Quan laughed.
"Xiao Zhou, be careful not to get hurt." Cheng's mother reminded.
"Thank you for your concern, Auntie." Zhou Quan nodded and smiled.
Then he said: "Xiao Rong, have a good rest tonight. There is a party tomorrow night, a gathering of some Hollywood friends. I will take you there to have fun."
"Who is there?" Cheng Derong asked curiously.
"Julia Roberts, Rambo, Arnold, Tom Cruise..."
Zhou Quan said a few names casually, and Cheng Derong couldn't close his mouth. Cheng's mother was also surprised and asked: "Zhou Quan, they are all Hollywood superstars, are you friends with them?"
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "The relationship is okay. I am engaged in sports. I am not in the same circle as them. There is no conflict of interest. We are just friends."
He said it very easily, but both Cheng Derong and her mother knew very well that even if they are not in the same circle, if they are not of similar status, they may not even say a word to you. People in the entertainment industry are the most realistic. Yes, the social circle has very strict boundaries and a clear hierarchy.
It was difficult for the two of them to truly feel Zhou Quan's popularity and influence in Xiangcheng, but as soon as they arrived in the United States, they felt that the young man from mainland China who always had a smile on his face had the same social status as a Hollywood superstar in the United States. status.
Looking at the entire Hong Kong entertainment circle, perhaps the only person who can achieve superstar status in the United States is Bruce Lee. Jackie Chan has not yet made it in Hollywood.
But even Bruce Lee did not make it out in the United States at first, but returned to Hong Kong to make his mark before returning to Hollywood.
The next day, Zhou Quan threw himself into boxing training.
The main training content is, first, strength training to quickly rejuvenate the body; second, dodge and pace training; third, striking training; fourth, actual combat.
Phillip arranged several sparring partners for him, all of whom were very capable and serious professional heavyweight boxers. They only came as sparring partners because they had no resources and needed to make money.
It's not just during this period that he does boxing training. Even during the regular season, he will set aside an hour every day for dodge and pace training, as well as hitting training, but there is no actual combat training.
If he loses this boxing match, his progress in this cross-border competition may be temporarily stagnant. He will not be able to get the opportunity to challenge the world boxing champion in a short period of time. This short period of time will be at least three years.
But if he wins, he will officially enter the ranks of boxers challenging the world boxing championship, and the next match is likely to be a qualifying match to challenge the world boxing championship.
That night, Zhou Quan took Cheng Derong to a party in Beverly Hills.
The party was hosted by Tom Cruise. He loves to hold parties at his villa and will hold them two to three times a month whenever he has time.
It was an eye-opener for Cheng Derong. It was the first time he saw so many first-tier Hollywood movie stars, at least thirty of them.
Seeing Zhou Quan chatting and laughing with so many big Hollywood stars, she saw for the first time Zhou Quan's social circle in the United States, which was far beyond her previous imagination.
When she was in Xiangcheng, she thought Zhou Quan was an outstanding athlete with great commercial value and could make money, but she didn't think Zhou Quan had a high social status.
But now she knows she was wrong. She never imagined that a sports star would have such a high social status in the United States.
And this is a Chinese. No Chinese can succeed easily in the United States, let alone such success.
Her father once told her that many successful business tycoons, even if they are worth tens of billions, will not be recognized by Americans in the United States. It is difficult for them to integrate into the upper class society in the United States and their social status is very low, so she feels more and more incredible about Zhou Quan.
"On July 30th, my boxing match will be held. Then you will have time to support me." Zhou Quan invited me at the party.
"Iron Fist, if you win David Tua, I will throw a celebration party for you." Rambo Stallone raised his glass.
Tom Cruise laughed and said: "Iron Fist, if you become the world boxing champion one day, I will definitely invest in a movie called The King of Crossovers, haha. You will have to give it to me then."
Stallone immediately said: "Then you must arrange a role for me. Iron Fist, how about giving me a role as a sparring partner?"
"It's a deal." Zhou Quan smiled.
Cheng Derong's eyes widened when he heard the words of Tom Cruise and Rambo.
…
Zhou Quan spent the next time in training.
Cheng Derong trained with him during the day, and he often took her to some parties at night to prevent her from getting bored and make the life go by faster.
On July 15th, the NBA freeze period ended.
The league announced the salary cap for next season, which is US$17.5 million. Due to the increase in operating income, it is more than US$2 million more than last season.
Starting from this day, the alliance can conduct formal transactions.
On the 16th, a group of SuperSonics management rushed to Los Angeles and held a media conference to renew Zhou Quan's contract.
Zhou Quan's rookie contract was 3+1, and he gave up the last year of his contract.
The new contract was negotiated last year. It will be US$5.2 million for the 1994/95 season and the total amount will be US$68.2 million for five years.
His salary needs to be included in the salary cap, but it is only 150% of the previous year. His salary last year was US$1.95 million, which means US$2.925 million needs to be included.
On the 17th, the Pistons reached a deal with the Heat. Gary Payton went to the Heat, Alan Houston went to the Pistons, and the Heat received an unprotected first-round pick in 1995.
On the 18th, the Pistons reached a deal again. General manager Troy Weaver took a liking to the forward selected by the Timberwolves this year, No. 3 overall pick Grant Hill, and traded Rainman Shawn Kemp for him.
Grant Hill is a very famous college sports star. He is much more famous than Zhou Quan. He defeated the Dream Team in a training match in 1992. He has a superior family background and is related to the president's family. He is considered to be the next successor to Jordan. people.
…
Time has entered late July, and major casinos have opened their odds for the boxing match between Zhou Quan and David Tua.
All in all, Zhou Quan's odds are higher than David Tua's, and much higher. The highest odds are 1.25 to 1, while David Tua's highest odds are only 1 to 1.1.
Casinos are the most professional experts, which means they are not optimistic about Zhou Quan. Their attitude immediately affected the media. The media looked down on Zhou Quan and believed that he would be KOed by David Tua.
So after these odds came out, although Zhou Quan's odds were much higher than David Tua, gamblers were only willing to bet on David Tua.
Zhou Quan has repeatedly watched David Tua's boxing matches, and now his actual combat training has been simulating the opponent's style, so his confidence in boxing matches is growing.
"One to one point two and a half, so high?"
After seeing the odds of a casino, he couldn't believe it. How unfavorable was he? He decisively bet $500,000, and if he wins, he will earn $100,000, which he can use as pocket money.
Because there were too few people betting on Zhou Quan, these casinos were forced to continue to adjust their odds. His odds increased further, while David Tua's odds dropped further.
As a result, the number of gamblers betting on Zhou Quan increased a lot.
Zhou Quan's highest odds increased to 1.35, and he decisively raised the bet to US$500,000.
…
(End of chapter)
