At four o'clock in the afternoon on September 17, Bob Arum and Don King held a press conference at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas, inviting more than 80 large mainstream and professional media from around the world.
Witnessed by Ross Hogg, the chairman of the WBC organization, Zhou Quan and Oliver McCall officially signed a contract and announced that they will defend the WBC world heavyweight title on October 1st.
"Crack, click, click..."
Even though Zeng Li was standing in the corner, his eyes were dazzled by the flash of media cameras.
At this time, she was under a lot of psychological pressure, because her boyfriend was so outstanding, but she was so ordinary, and they got together suddenly, with no emotional basis, so she was particularly lacking in confidence.
When she saw Zhou Quan standing with that opponent, she was also particularly worried, because this opponent was stronger than the last opponent. The opponent the day before yesterday was one circle stronger than Zhou Quan, and this opponent was two or three circles stronger than Zhou Quan. , looks very scary.
"Ouch!"
Waving his fists vigorously, Oliver McCall roared and unleashed his most powerful momentum towards Zhou Quan, wanting to put psychological pressure on Zhou Quan.
He even hit Zhou Quan with his chest, trying to create a physical conflict and further suppress Zhou Quan psychologically.
Unfortunately, his mobility was not as good as Michael Muller. Zhou Quan slid to the right first, and after dodging the impact, he waved his left arm and hit McCall on the nose with a left hook.
"oh!"
With a cry of pain, McCall covered his nose.
He had an iron chin, but not an iron nose. It hurt so much that tears came out of his eyes. Fortunately, Zhou Quan didn't use too much force, otherwise the bridge of his nose would definitely be broken.
A group of security personnel immediately swarmed up and separated the two.
Zhou Quan stared at McCall with a smile on his face and shouted: "Hey, Bull, I'm always very excited about fighting bulls. If you can't wait, I can kill you right here."
"Ha ha……"
The press conference hall burst into laughter.
"You bastard!"
McCall glared at Zhou Quan fiercely. He couldn't rush forward despite being blocked by security, so he had to swallow his breath first.
"Iron Fist, how confident are you about this world boxing championship challenge?" a reporter from the New York Times asked.
"Must win!"
The boxing match is just around the corner. At this time, Zhou Quan cannot have any humility, otherwise he will destroy his morale, and self-hypnosis will arouse his own morale.
"Iron Fist, this is Reuters reporter Rex Luke..."
"Iron Fist, I am a BBC reporter..."
"Iron Fist, I'm a reporter for the Associated Press..."
"Iron Fist, I am a reporter from AFP..."
"Iron Fist, I'm a Google News reporter..."
Zhou Quan felt a little emotional. All the world's top media came to a boxing match, and the level was much higher than that of the NBA!
"Iron Fist, I am Saburo Mizui, a reporter from the Tokyo Daily News. May I ask why you launched a mandatory challenge to McCall in such a short period of time?"
"Because I'm a cross-border athlete and I'm in a hurry."
"Pfft!"
I don’t know which one it is, so I laughed out loud.
Mizui Sanlang was also a little embarrassed and asked a nonsense question. He was about to ask another question, but the host had already asked someone to take away his microphone.
The host took a look and saw a Chinese man among the reporters raising his right hand. Thinking that Zhou Quan was also Chinese, he clicked on the Chinese reporter.
Zhang Lu was very happy. After taking the microphone, he hurriedly asked: "Zhou Quan, I am Zhang Lu, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency. I wish you success."
"Thank you! I hope your words come true." Zhou Quan nodded and smiled.
Next, the host turned over the CCTV reporter's card again.
After the press conference, Bob Arum said: "Iron Fist, Oliver McCall's gold belt has been handed over. I suggest you copy one immediately. It only costs tens of thousands of dollars. After you win him, you will be awarded your own copy." , after throwing away the golden belt in the future, you can keep it forever without having to hand it over."
"OK."
Zhou Quan agreed.
After the press conference, he devoted himself to training.
Bob Arum organized all the information about Oliver McCall, from written information to game videos, and even got a few boxes of McCall's training videos.
Zhou Quan was also very surprised by the training video. He didn't know how Arum got it. Did he send a commercial spy to steal it? Networking is really powerful.
Oliver McCall, a 30-year-old native of Chicago, USA, entered professional boxing in 1985. He is 188 centimeters tall, 110 kilograms, and has a wingspan of 190 centimeters. His nickname is Atomic Bull, or Bull.
At the beginning of his career, he was the sparring partner of Michael Tyson and the British boxing champion Bruno. He once knocked down Tyson in internal actual combat training. His style combines Tyson's ferocity with Bruno's calmness. His punches are fast and fierce, and his punches are extremely powerful. He is good at grasping and seizing opportunities, and can often KO his opponents with unexpected punches.
As Tyson's sparring partner, his fighting ability is even better than that of Tyson. He has a steel chin and is the only sparring partner who can withstand Tyson's heavy punches. So far, he has never been knocked down in his career, not even once. Known as the undefeated boxing champion.
Lewis once commented that Oliver McCall is the only boxer in the world who has no pain nerves.
He's heavy and moves relatively clumsily, but his ability to hit hard is very powerful.
…
After Zhou Quan read some written information, coach Hans said to him: "Iron Fist, beat McCall, you have to be more patient and eat him slowly.
He is an extremely strong bull, and you are the fastest cougar. You have to accumulate damage on him bit by bit. No matter how strong he is and how strong he is in resisting blows, he will be worn to death by you.
But you must be careful. His punching ability is stronger than Michael Muller and David Tua, and even stronger than Tyson's punching ability. Don't take his punches, and don't be hit hard by him.
Fly a kite and lead him to hunt. You are the hunter, and he is the bull that you hunt.
Win him and you become the greatest pro crossover athlete, and you will definitely become one of the greatest pro athletes on the planet. "
British boxing champion Bruno accepted an interview with the BBC in London and said: "The undefeated boxing champion McCall weighs 110 kilograms. In addition to being my sparring partner, he has also been Tyson's sparring partner six times, so I know him very well.
His fighting ability is so strong that he can withstand Tyson's heavy punches. He should be the best boxer in the world and can be called a real iron man.
With a tonnage difference of 18 kilograms, I think Iron Fist can't beat him at all, and Iron Fist has no chance of knocking him down. In this boxing match, I am optimistic that McCall will successfully defend his title, and I will bet on him. "
As a generational British boxing champion, Frank Bruno’s words have certainly been recognized by many media.
But some media thought he was making sarcastic remarks, because the WBC was planning to directly arrange for him to be McCall's second mandatory challenger without even having to compete in the qualifying round, but in the end the WBC chose the more popular Zhou Quan.
Hans Wellington, the editor-in-chief of Boxing Carrier, the world's most famous and authoritative professional boxing media, talked about Bruno's statement in an interview with the German media.
He said: "Although Bruno is a generation of British boxing champions, his highest achievement is only to win the title of European heavyweight boxing champion, and he has not won the world boxing title of the four major boxing organizations and the IBO organization, so strictly speaking, he Not a true world boxing champion.
And he is already 34 years old. He lost the opportunity to challenge McCall this time, which is a major loss and blow to him. At his current age, he may not have the opportunity to win the world boxing title in the future, so I feel for him. "
Michael Tyson, who had not yet left Las Vegas, took the initiative to find a New York Times reporter to comment on the boxing match.
He said with certainty: "I will bet on Iron Fist. He will beat McCall, just like a leopard hunting a clumsy alpaca. Sooner or later, the leopard will tear the alpaca into pieces.
McCall is indeed very capable and punches very hard, but his weakness is too obvious, that is, he is too slow in front of Iron Fist!
In fact, just because he weighs only 92 kilograms, Iron Fist should be one of the fastest and most agile Iron Fists among the heavyweights in professional boxing. "
"How about you?"
"Of course he's not as good as me. I'm ten centimeters shorter than him. I can beat him."
McCall has been Tyson's sparring partner six times, so his words are still valuable and have been recognized by many media.
Muhammad Ali was preparing to leave Las Vegas and was interviewed by the media at the airport.
"Ali, aren't you going to watch this boxing title defense challenge live?"
"No, I will come again in a few days."
"Who do you think has the advantage, Iron Fist or McCall?"
Ali rubbed his stiff face and tried his best to smile: "Both have advantages, it depends on their performance on the court. If McCall can hit the iron fist hard, then he will successfully defend his title.
But if Iron Fist can avoid getting hit hard, then he has the potential to become one of the greatest athletes in the world, the King of the Crossover, and he'll truly make a name for himself. "
"Which one of them do you want to win?"
"I have no inclination towards this."
…
Starting from the 18th, Bob Arum and Don King began to exert their efforts. Through the promotion of large sums of money, media around the world were promoting this world boxing champion challenge and defense match.
Even the domestic media was affected. The overwhelming news about the boxing match made the popularity and attention of this boxing match occupy the world's attention.
"The undefeated boxing champion faces the crossover king, and the Bulls are destined to successfully defend their title for the second time." New York Times.
"The greatest crossover king is about to be born!" Tokyo Daily News.
"Iron Fist, the lightest heavyweight boxer in the world, can he create another cross-border miracle?" German newspaper Die Welt.
"my country's famous basketball player Zhou Quan will compete for the first professional heavyweight WBC world boxing title in his career in Las Vegas on National Day," Xinhua News Agency reported.
"On October 1, a black bear challenges a brown bear. This will be a Waterloo battle for the cross-border king Iron Fist." Agence France-Presse reported.
"The Iron Fist overestimating its capabilities to challenge Bull McCall is the same as a frigate challenging a cruiser. It will be a tilted battle." Reuters reported.
"The WBC should give an explanation to Bruno and an explanation to the British Empire. They gave up the opportunity that should have belonged to the British boxing king to a Chinese." BBC reported.
"One blow! With just one heavy blow, McCall, the undefeated boxing champion, can KO Iron Fist and complete his second defense of the title." Russia reported.
Zhou Quan didn't have time to pay attention to these media reports, but his agent Philip paid attention to it every day. He told Zhou Quan that most of the media were still more optimistic about McCall.
"The issue of skin color and identity is the main reason, and strength is not the basis for these media's judgments." He comforted Zhou Quan.
"Let them be."
Michael Jackson has been labeled a pervert. Zhou Quan doesn't care about these media reports at all. The full level of willpower is no joke.
…
On September 20, major gambling companies in the world launched odds for this boxing match.
This time, no gambling company dared to set Zhou Quan's bet above 1.2, and the same was true for McCall.
The bets offered by major gambling companies for the two are almost the same, and gamblers must make their own judgments.
Jordan remained in Las Vegas, studying the odds.
He was very distressed because he was very optimistic about boxing champion Oliver McCall. The bull was too strong. He thought that the iron fist could not bite McCall, so he wanted to place a big bet, and most of the media in the world also supported it. His opinion.
However, this time, gambling companies all over the world had a vague attitude, counting 50 to 50, which made him very hesitant.
He just signed a three-year, $72 million contract, but due to his failure to defend his title, his sneaker sales have stagnated. Part of the market has been taken away by Tekken's sneakers, and sponsorship and endorsements have also been reduced, so there is no need for him to do so. Dare to make random bets.
Moreover, I have just ordered a luxury yacht worth more than 4 million yuan, which is deliberately larger than Zhou Quan's. I want to outdo Zhou Quan, but I have spent a lot of money recently, and I don't dare to mess around.
After thinking about it for a few days and losing more than three hundred thousand in the casino in Las Vegas, he finally decided to bet two million dollars on the bull. He won and lost in the casino. You can get the money back.
As for losing, it is his biggest hobby to bet but not to lose. It is impossible not to gamble, otherwise he will lose the greatest joy in life.
Besides, if he can win back the championship next season, sell more shoes, engage in more endorsements and sponsorships, and casually earn an extra 20 to 30 million US dollars a year, it won't be a problem for him.
I lost so badly in the casino that day that I was discovered by a reporter when I came out to get some fresh air.
"Oh, Michael? Hey, Michael, would you like to be interviewed?" the reporter exclaimed.
"Okay, okay, you can ask three questions." As soon as he came out, Jordan didn't want to go back right away, and said a little impatiently.
"First question, Iron Fist said that beating the Bulls makes you feel good. Do you think the Bulls he meant were your team or Oliver McCall?" Bull asked excitedly.
"I don't know, ask him." He said angrily.
"Second question, how much did you bet on this boxing match? Who did you bet on?" Although Jordan's attitude was not good, the reporter asked without any discouragement.
"Of course it's the Bulls. I won't tell you how much, you have to guess." Jordan said rather mysteriously.
"The third question, your eyes are already red, so how many days and nights have you been at the gambling table? Can you tell me how much you lost?" the reporter finally asked.
"Who said I lost? I won two to three hundred thousand dollars." Jordan dropped a sentence in displeasure, turned around and walked towards the door of the VIP room.
"Michael, one more question, if Iron Fist becomes the world boxing champion, do you think his status in the world of sports will surpass you?" the reporter caught up and asked.
"How can he beat Bull McCall? Holding and gnawing? Even if he hits McCall ten times, he can't hurt McCall. Hitting the chin is useless, but McCall only needs to seize the opportunity to give him a hard hit. If you hit him, you can KO him." Jordan said disdainfully.
…
(End of chapter)
