At eight o'clock, the back-up game starts.
There are three games in total, the first game is six rounds, and the next two are twelve rounds. If the rounds are full, the three games will take at least two hours, and the main game will start at about ten o'clock.
During this time, Zhou Quan stayed in the lounge.
In addition to his team, his agent Philip and his girlfriend Zeng Li are also here, and some friends also come in to visit him from time to time.
"Hey Iron Fist, long time no see."
At this time, someone else arrived, but it was Chen Long, whom he had met in the G1 game of the 1994 finals.
Not seen for more than a year, Chen Long, who had failed several attempts to hit Hollywood through a popular TV series, finally succeeded and has become a household name in the United States.
"Brother Chen, why are you free to come over today to support me?" Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Oh, I originally wanted to come here last time for the finals, but I really didn't have time. I was too busy. This time I finally had some time, so I came here."
Chen Long explained with a smile, and then said with great emotion and surprise: "Iron Fist, I didn't expect you to be so good at basketball and boxing."
"Just for fun. By the way, let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend Zeng Li."
Zhou Quan introduced Zeng Li, and everyone chatted for a few more words. Chen Long didn't want to stay here any longer, so he went to the scene.
Zeng Li was not surprised to see such a big star like Chen Long come to see her boyfriend. She had seen so many Hollywood stars these days. Whether she knew them or not, there were always dozens of them, which made her feel numb.
At 9:47, the third back-up match was completed. Two of the three matches were played. There was a KO in the second match, and the main match was next.
The assistant helped Zhou Quan put on a red cloak, and a group of people surrounded him and walked out of the lounge, including Zeng Li and Phillip.
When he came to the exit, Zhou Quan pulled Zeng Li and said in her ear: "Ah Li, please stand outside first."
"oh oh."
A ceremonial and sacred appearance ceremony had already made Zeng Li extremely nervous. His whole body was shaking and his heart was beating extremely fast.
She and Philip came outside the exit. Both sides of the passage were already lined with Zhou Quan's friends. On the left were Hollywood stars, on the right were NBA stars like Bill Walton, and on the right was SuperSonics owner Ballmer. The first one, Chen Long stands in the middle on the left.
Philip looked around and brought Zeng Li to Ballmer's side.
"Miss Zeng, stand here."
Ballmer knows Zeng Li and met him at Zhou Quan's training gym yesterday. He took the initiative to give up his first position.
"Three grams of oil!"
Zeng Li couldn't understand, but he could understand the gesture and thanked Ballmer.
Philip stood in third place, and Ballmer asked: "Mr. Philip, Iron Fist and his girlfriend..."
Philip said: "Mr. Ballmer, as far as I know, they have already discussed the topic of marriage, and maybe they will get married next offseason."
Ballmer nodded. He was not surprised. Flash marriages often happen. Iron Fist's is not considered a flash marriage.
He also hopes that Iron Fist can get married as soon as possible, and it is best for his wife to be by his side, so that his life and relationship will be more stable, and it will be better for the team.
At the scene, the host shouted with an passionate voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's dinner time, and a professional boxing match that attracts worldwide attention is about to begin.
It is a qualifying match for the four major boxing organizations to challenge the WBC heavyweight world title defense. The winner will be eligible to challenge the current head of WBC, world heavyweight champion Oliver McCall. "
"Oh ho!"
Cheers erupted at the MGM Arena.
The host's voice sounded again: "Now, we invite our red boxer, a great professional sports crossover..."
"Oh ho!"
Warm cheers erupted again at the MGM Arena, even interrupting the host's voice.
Zhou Quan is now most famous for his two identities, one is the winner of two NBA championships and FMVP, and the other is a professional crossover player, both of whom are very influential in North America.
To put it simply, Zhou Quan is a popular boxer in the professional boxing world, and the influence of popularity is greater than the influence of strength.
The host continued to shout with a passionate voice: "Let us warmly welcome the first executioner from the NCAA University Alliance UCLA University Hockey Team, the Iron Fist Slaughterer...
From the NBA Seattle SuperSonics championship winner, finals FMVP, professional golfer, professional heavyweight boxer, great professional sports crossover, iron iron iron iron iron from China...Iron Fist! "
"Oh ho!"
The stadium filled with even louder cheers.
The host's voice sounded again: "He is 188 centimeters tall, weighs 92.5 kilograms, and has a wingspan of 202 centimeters.
His previous professional boxing record was 2 wins in 2 fights, all by KO.
He has the best dodge and defensive skills, he has a stormy offense, and he will bring us the most entertaining game. "
"Oh ho!"
Warm cheers came one after another, fully demonstrating Zhou Quan's popularity in North America.
Amidst the cheers, Zhou Quan walked out of Daotong and appeared in two huge spots of light, making the cheers even more enthusiastic.
First he hugged Zeng Li, then high-fived and fist-bumped with the others, and slowly ran towards the ring amidst cheers.
"It's our job to press the rope."
When Zhou Quan was about to enter the ring, O'Neal and Thomas the Smiling Assassin stole the work of two beauties in bikinis, making the two blonde beauties glare at them in anger.
Two damn bastards, are they trying to steal their jobs? They also want to have an intimate interaction with Iron Fist.
"This boy!"
At the other exit, Hammer Michael Muller stood inside, clearly aware of the movements outside, and to be honest, a little jealous.
He became the world boxing champion in 1992, and his peak was last year when he defeated Holyfield and won the title for the second time. However, over the years, his popularity and influence are actually not as good as that of a cross-border kid who plays basketball. PPV shares and appearance fees are both low. Not as good as the other party, which made him very unconvinced.
But he had to be convinced, because PPV prices and sales would not lie. His PPV sales were not as good as others, and PPV was the embodiment of influence and popularity, and box office represented everything.
Now, he can only prove himself with his strength, defeat Iron Fist, get back on track, and restore the decline caused by Foreman punching him out of the ring last year.
Michael Tyson, who was standing in the front row under the boxing ring, was also surprised. He did not expect that a cross-border basketball player would be so popular in the professional boxing world.
He is no longer what he used to be. After several years in prison, his strength has dropped a lot, his popularity has also dropped a lot, and his appearance fees have dropped even more. Guys like Lewis no longer want to fight him because they can't make money fighting him. How much does it cost.
Now that he saw the popularity of Iron Fist, his heart was moved, and he felt that a fight with Iron Fist would be suitable for him now.
Of course he doesn't think he will lose to Iron Fist. If he wins, he can just get back on track with the popular Iron Fist.
It's a pity that there will be no chance in a short time.
At this time, the host began to call Zhou Quan's opponents: "Now we invite the black boxer, the great boxing champion from the United States. He has won the championship for the second time. He defeated Holyfield..."
"Shet!"
Holyfield, who was sitting in the front row of the audience, swore directly. He stared at the host on the stage and could not help but pull him down and knock him out with a punch.
"Ha ha……"
Lewis and several other boxing champions beside him burst into laughter.
Indeed, in terms of strength, status in the boxing world, popularity, and influence, Michael Muller is actually at least half a level behind them, or even one level.
Holyfield lost to Michael Muller last year, lost two gold belts, and his career fell to a low point. This is not only a huge shame for him, but also a huge scar, but now this scar has been presided over People tore it apart just to give Michael Mueller a foothold.
The host's voice continued: "Now please give me Hammer...Michael...Michael...Michael Mueller!"
"Oh ho!"
At his peak, he held three world heavyweight boxing championship gold belts, and he won the title for the second time. He was an American. Michael Muller was very popular, and the cheers were very enthusiastic.
The host continued to introduce the information: "He is 188 centimeters tall, weighs 101 kilograms, and has a wingspan of 198 centimeters. He has a professional record of 31 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, including 27 knockouts and KO wins."
At this time Michael Muller completed his appearance and stood in the ring.
After the referee explained the main rules, Zhou Quan and Michael Muller returned to the bottom post, and the coach and assistants went up.
In the HBO commentary box, Rockchacher laughed and said: "Compared to the popularity, Iron Fist is higher, but the popularity of Iron Fist comes more from the high exposure of the NBA. There are too many games every season, and it is difficult to reach the finals. , over a hundred games.
In terms of exposure, I think any boxing champion in the professional boxing world is inferior to Iron Fist. In this regard, he has taken a big advantage. "
Morel Winston joked: "The high exposure, in addition to popularity and influence, has also brought a lot of brand endorsements and sponsors. This is probably what other world boxing champions envy Iron Fist.
But I don’t think you need to envy Iron Fist, because gentlemen, as world boxing champions, you can actually cross borders, and no one prohibits you from crossing borders. "
"Haha..." Shacher burst into laughter.
"This bastard, I'm going to beat him to death!"
"Help me beat that bastard a few times. His name is Winston, right? I know him."
When several world boxing champions heard this, they cursed in frustration.
"What cross-border projects do you think we can do?" Michael Tyson was now short of money, so he asked.
"You can make small movies part-time and become an 'action' star." Holyfield said angrily.
"Ha ha……"
Several people laughed.
Tyson was so angry that his face was shaking. If he hadn't known Holyfield since he was a child, by the way, at this time, his normally inactive mind suddenly started to move. He turned around and looked at Holyfield, thinking to himself, this guy loses. Given the hammer, now in the trough period, isn't it the best opponent to have a fight with him?
"What are you looking at me doing?" Holyfield said angrily.
"How about, Evander, let's have a fight?" Tyson said.
"You should know that the boxing match between me and Riddick Bowe is scheduled for November 5th, next year."
Holyfield did not refuse. This is his friend. He has just come out and needs a significant opponent and a quality boxing match. If he can help, he will help and fight every time.
"Then it's settled." Tyson laughed.
On the ring, Hans was making final tactical arrangements.
"Don't forget that he is left-handed and his boxing skills are very tricky. His wingspan is about the same as yours. You have to control the distance between you and him, try to take advantage of your movement and sense of space, try not to be hit by him, and then use your strength. He hit him with more precise punches..."
Under the opposite base post, Michael Muller's coach was also giving final tactical instructions.
"Be defensive, his punches are very accurate, protect your chin, and be careful with his combination punches. David Tua was destroyed by his rain-like attacks."
"When playing defensive counterattack, you must seize the opportunity to strike hard and use your left-handed advantage to hit him unexpectedly."
Michael Mueller nodded, then bit into the mouthguard his assistant had inserted.
He publicly stated to the media that he would take the initiative to attack, but in fact it was just a smokescreen to confuse Zhou Quan.
Because Zhou Quan's boxing skills are too precise, taking the initiative to attack will definitely expose gaps in defense, making it easy to be hit. However, Zhou Quan's mobility and dodge abilities are stronger than him, so his active attack may not be able to achieve the effect. It is better to play defensive counterattack, which is also the result of repeated discussions by the coaching team.
It was almost ten o'clock. The referee signaled the two to stand up, and the coach and assistant got off the stage. Then he checked their protective gear and communicated with the timekeeper off the stage.
"clang!"
Soon, the bell rang for the first round.
"Box!"
The referee gave the order and the game officially started.
Zhou Quan took a step back, then slid right to avoid Mueller's front.
"Is this a defensive counterattack?"
He fought like this because Michael Muller promised to take the initiative to attack, but he immediately discovered that Muller was not active in grabbing and punching, and the hold was very tight, without revealing any flaws.
After three seconds of roaming confrontation and determining the opponent's tactics, Zhou Quan started to attack.
"call!"
Just when he was about to grab the ball, Muller, who reacted quickly, moved his right fist and fired a powerful jab. His head turned to let go of the jab, and at the same time, his feet slipped back.
"call!"
The next moment, Muller punched out his left fist, a vicious backhand straight punch and jab that formed a combo. Unfortunately, Zhou Quan retreated in time, allowing his combos to miss.
"Straight punch combo? Hit the air!"
"Iron Fist reacts very quickly."
In the HBO commentary box, Shacher and Winston explained loudly.
"call!"
Standing under the stage, Zeng Li, who was close at hand, exhaled nervously, his forehead already covered with beads of sweat.
On the ring, a smile appeared on Zhou Quan's face, and he actually released his hold, signaling Mueller to attack.
"Haha! This is a provocation. Iron Fist is provoking Hammer, who is crowned king for the second time." Shacher laughed.
"Mueller didn't react. He only showed his fist at Iron Fist. He played very conservatively," Winston said.
"Attack! Attack! Attack..."
At this time, a burst of shouting suddenly sounded in the MGM Arena, the sound became louder and louder, and became more and more uniform.
(End of chapter)
