From that night to the next morning, media from all over the world, countless television stations and newspapers, large and small, began to hype the result of this boxing match.
"The King of Iron Fist, the King of Crossovers, the Glory of the Yellow Race!" Tokyo Daily News.
"Breaking PPV sales records, the king of crossovers becomes a truly super-popular sports superstar!" New York Times.
“Iron Fist, one of the greatest sports athletes on the planet.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
"We look forward to Lewis, Riddick Bowe and Bruno challenging Iron Fist as soon as possible and regaining the WBC gold belt." BBC reported.
"Double champion, Tekken has become an epoch-making world-class sports superstar." Russia News.
"The greatest cross-border giant in sports, his talent can conquer more sports." German National TV.
Overnight, Zhou Quan's popularity around the world skyrocketed tenfold and a hundredfold, and his popularity, influence, etc. also skyrocketed. He truly completed his breakout from the circle, and even got a new nickname, the Iron Fist King.
He has gone from an NBA superstar whose influence is mainly in North America and China, to a rising professional boxing star with certain influence in the world of sports, to a world-class super sports star whose influence has completely surpassed into the sports world.
This kind of influence has transcended the barriers of skin color and country, transcended the barriers of culture and race, and gained recognition from all over the world.
Its influence is first reflected in Roger Philippe, who has received a large number of endorsement invitations from the world's top brands, and the contracts are very generous, fully meeting the standards of the world's top sports superstars.
Not all the world's top sports superstars can receive endorsement invitations from so many top world brands.
These brands have a lot to pay attention to, such as whether the temperament of the spokesperson meets the requirements of the brand, whether the popularity and popularity meet the requirements, whether the appearance meets the requirements, etc.
For example, football king Maradona meets the requirements in terms of fame, popularity, strength, performance, and influence, but his temperament and appearance cannot meet the requirements of those brands.
Zhou Quan met these requirements, so a large number of the world's top brands flocked to it.
The second reaction is that in China, Zhou Quan also completed his career overnight. From a well-known sports player to a national hero, his social status, historical status, and political status have skyrocketed.
The third reaction caused by the influence was that U.S. President Donald Trump announced at the White House media briefing the next day that Zhou Quan would be granted a visa exemption and invited Zhou Quan and the NBA SuperSonics to visit the White House on October 8.
In other words, Zhou Quan no longer needs to apply for a visa. With his Chinese passport, he can enter the United States at any time, and there is even no restriction on the period of stay.
Kirsten's public invitation to Zhou Quan and the Sonics to visit the White House has shocked the United States and the world.
The NBA team accepted an invitation to visit the White House when the Celtics won their eighth consecutive championship, but it has not become a routine because basketball is not very popular in the United States. Football and baseball are far more popular than the NBA. The interaction between the president and the sports world is mainly Regarding those two sports, the championship teams from those two leagues are invited to visit the White House every year.
Later, when Jordan won his first championship in 1991, he was also invited, but after that, NBA teams were not invited to visit the White House for several years.
Normally, a visit to the White House is in September or early October, and invitations are made half a month in advance. The White House has not invited the championship-winning SuperSonics to visit the White House before, so this time, the main target of the personal invitation was of course Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan was also very surprised after hearing the news. He did not expect that after winning a world boxing championship across borders, his influence would be so great. He, an athlete from China, was actually personally invited by the President of the United States.
Subsequently, his phone calls with his agent Philippe were inundated with calls.
…
Zhou Quan and Zeng Li stayed in Las Vegas for three days, and their relationship entered a sweet stage. Zeng Li became more and more attached to Zhou Quan.
In the past three days, he has signed endorsement contracts with many top brands. His endorsement contracts have reached 24 with top brands and 47 with first-tier brands. He has made a lot of money and is called a money-attracting machine by the media.
The gifts and various brand items given to him by these brands filled a 120-square-meter room.
On the 3rd, when he took Zeng Li to have lunch, he was bumped into by a reporter.
The reporter asked excitedly: "Iron Fist, according to accurate information, you should be able to earn hundreds of millions of dollars through the World Boxing Championship Challenge this time.
Then add in the previous qualifying match and the two boxing matches to earn at least 150 million. Adding this year's salary and endorsement income, the annual income should reach 200 million US dollars.
This is equivalent to the combined total of the top four in the Forbes Sports Athletes Annual Income List last year. You are already the most lucrative sports superstar in the world..."
"Have I made that much money?" he said casually.
"Yeah, that's a lot."
"Are you asking me how to spend it?"
"Oh, yes, yes..."
"Then I tell you, pay taxes, invest, and consume, and it will be gone."
"Just, it's gone?"
"Yes, almost 45% of the money has to be paid in taxes. With the remaining money, I am going to buy a 100,000-acre farm in Brazil, and then go to the UK to buy a 500-year-old castle. I also have to borrow money from the bank. .”
"Two hundred million dollars just disappeared?"
Looking at Zhou Quan walking into the restaurant, the reporter's mind was in confusion.
…
On October 4, the two left the casino with a large amount of luggage and directly chartered a medium-sized plane to load all the luggage.
Arriving at Seattle Airport at 2pm, a large number of local media and fans were already waiting at the airport.
"Iron Fist, are you really going to buy a 100,000-acre farm in Brazil?"
“Yeah, I’m going to plant corn on the cob there.”
"Iron Fist, are you really going to buy a British castle?"
"I thought about it, those castles don't have sewers, and the smell is too strong. Should I buy something else in the UK, like the Red Devil?"
“Are you going to invest in English football?”
"If they're willing to sell."
The housekeeper, Ms. Merlin Wellington, came to the airport with two security guards to pick them up and drove his Ferrari over. Zhou Quan handed their luggage to them to transport back to the villa. He and Zeng Li left the airport in the Ferrari first.
"Ahri, this is the canal, which leads directly from Lake Washington to the Pacific Ocean. Our sailboats and yachts can enter the Pacific Ocean from here."
Zhou Quan pointed to the canal beside the road while driving.
Zeng Li looked around and saw a very broad view. There were many sailboats on the canal, some parked by the river and some sailing in the river, which looked very leisurely.
"The scenery here is so beautiful." She praised.
"Well, yes, this is the most livable city in the United States." Zhou Quan smiled.
After driving for a while, the vast Lake Washington appeared in his sight. He introduced: "That's Lake Washington. It's very big. There are several parks along the lake."
Entering the one-way lane around the lake, Zhou Quan slowed down and drove for a while before arriving at his villa.
"Ahri, that's my private dock." He parked the car at the door and pointed to the lake.
Zeng Li turned around and saw an almost completely transparent building on the lake. It extended fifty meters into the lake and was leaning on the edge of the pier, one on each side. A sailboat on the left and a yacht on the right. .
"That's a multi-million dollar yacht?"
"Yes, it's called the Iron Fist, and the sailboat is called the Wavebreaker! I'll take you up to play later. Just play in the lake for a while, and we'll go out to sea tomorrow."
Seeing his car coming, the security had opened the door.
Zeng Li had lived in the casino for a month and was used to seeing luxurious scenes. He had just seen that multi-million dollar yacht. When he saw Zhou Quan's multi-million dollar villa, he was not too impressed. surprise.
"Although there are several Chinese in my family, they are all second- and third-generation immigrants. They don't speak Mandarin very well. You should learn to speak English with them."
Zhou Quan took her on a tour up and down, introduced the workers at home, and then settled her in the master bedroom.
"Aunt Lin, please send some snacks and tea to the pier."
Then he gave instructions to the cook and took Zeng Li to the dock, which was his favorite place at home.
"We'll get on the boat after afternoon tea."
After a while, the cook brought snacks and tea. After using them, Zhou Quan took Zeng Li aboard the Iron Fist.
After boarding the yacht and entering the luxurious cockpit, Zeng Li once again experienced what luxury and technology are.
Zhou Quan started the electronic system of the yacht, and the system first performed a self-check.
"The technological content of this thing is higher than that of American warships. In the United States, rich people come first and civilian technology is very advanced," he said.
"This is for our self-defense. It's fine in the lake, but it might be dangerous if we go out to sea. There's a cockpit and a weapons cache in the bedroom."
He opened another hidden compartment, which actually contained two rifles and two pistols, a dozen large and small magazines, and a maritime phone, which shocked Zeng Li.
He took Zeng Li up and down again. The yacht, which is more than thirty meters long and more than ten meters wide, has a duplex structure inside. For two people, the space is very large, from the bedroom to the bar, etc. All facilities are available.
After the self-check found no problems, Zhou Quan slowly drove the yacht away from the dock and quickly increased the speed to twenty knots, accelerating very quickly.
The top speed of this yacht is 59 knots, 110 kilometers per hour, which is fast among surface ships. Zhou Quan increased the speed to 50 knots, and the huge yacht surged forward like a sharp arrow.
"Ahri, how do you feel?" he asked loudly and excitedly.
"Slow down, slow down!" Zeng Li said loudly with a pale face.
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan began to slow down. If he had to maintain a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour for a long time, he could only go to the Pacific Ocean. He was not the only boat on this lake.
"Are you seasick?"
"A little bit, not too serious."
"It would be nice to play it a few more times."
After his boat slowed down, a luxury cruise ship sailed over in the distance. It was similar to his. Once he saw the boat number, he knew who it was. It belonged to Shakni Wales, the president of a medium-sized Internet company. .
The horn sounded once and he raised his hand to say hello. Wales on the opposite side also waved to him with a smile on his face.
"Boxing champion, you have to have a party in Seattle to celebrate."
After the speed slowed down, the two ships came closer. With only about ten meters between them, Wales walked out of the cockpit and leaned against the side of the ship and shouted loudly.
"Haha, okay, Shakni, you will receive my invitation." Zhou Quan also walked out and replied loudly.
Then he introduced Zeng Li, and Wales waved to Zeng Li, said hello, and then sped away.
After playing on the lake until evening, the two drove the boat back to the dock.
The housekeeper Merlin Wellington has already transported the luggage back, using several trucks. While counting, he also sorted it into categories in the villa's warehouse.
"Ms. Wellington, please, I'm going to have a party the day after tomorrow, please prepare it for me." Zhou Quan said to Wellington.
"Okay, sir."
"I'll give you the list."
"yes."
"In addition, if the villa is short of staff, you can decide to hire two or three more people. Note that there must be no criminal records and bad habits, including alcohol and drug addiction, violence, and racial discrimination."
"Okay, sir."
"By the way, call the fuel truck to help me fill up the yacht's fuel. I'm going to sea tomorrow."
"Already called, sir."
"Thanks!"
…
The next day, the Iron Fist went to sea.
Once in the Pacific Ocean, the dragon returns to the sea. Zhou Quan increased the speed of the Iron Fist to 50 knots and raced on the sea for an hour, which was enough.
Zeng Li's face is a little pale, but there is no big problem. He is much better than yesterday and his physical condition is still good.
On the 6th, Zhou Quan held a party at the villa, inviting his friends in Seattle, as well as SuperSonics teammates, management, and coaching staff.
"Iron Fist, we are going to Washington tomorrow, are you ready?" head coach George Karl asked excitedly at the party.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I have prepared a gift for the president, what about you?"
"Well, the management has prepared a gift, but I personally don't have one. But you should. After all, the president mainly invited you, and we just took your ride." George Karl smiled.
Then general manager Whitsitt introduced the lineup. There were no major changes. The main thing was that Jose Hawkins replaced Kendall Gill. In addition, the 1993 first-round pick Earvin Johnson was traded back.
"Hawkins' offensive efficiency is higher. He was selected as an All-Star substitute in 1991. He is still capable to a certain extent, better than Kendall Gill."
He handed a lineup list to Zhou Quan. In fact, it was not necessary. All SuperSonics players attended his party today.
Centers: Almon Gilliam, Matt Geiger, Earvin Johnson.
Forward: Rodman, Detrev Schrempf, Steve Scheffler, Sherrel Ford.
Defenders: Zhou Quan, Jose Hodgins, Vincent Askew, Nate McMillan, David Wingate.
(End of chapter)
