boxer to hollywood

Chapter 4: Back in the Boxing Ring

In the afternoon, Mike from the neighboring surfboard shop came over to invite everyone to his bar to celebrate the second anniversary of his shop's opening. Link and James readily agreed.

Bar Street is one of the liveliest areas in Miami's Palm Bay district. It's surrounded by Miami's largest Latino community, with a permanent population of over 200,000, and two nearby resort villa areas with a population of around 50,000.

Bar Street is home to many dance halls, casinos, nightclubs, restaurants, and more, with dense buildings and high foot traffic.

Link used to hang out in the area and was familiar with it.

As they drove to the west end of Bar Street, he suddenly remembered a boxing bar nearby that featured boxing matches and occasionally invited boxers to compete, attracting hundreds or even thousands of spectators each time.

Link decided to take a detour to check it out.

James and Daniel from the hot dog shop next door, hearing his suggestion, also followed on their bikes to the boxing bar.

The sign outside the boxing bar was a giant red boxing glove that glowed red at night. The entrance hallway was plastered with photos of boxing champions.

There were photos of old-school champions like Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Mayweather, and Roy Jones Jr.

There were also photos of newer champions and famous boxers who had risen in recent years, such as Terence Crawford, Andre Ward, and Edison Miranda.

Compared to the golden age of boxing in the 70s and 80s, the current American boxing scene was lacking in promising new talent. Most of the active boxers were veterans in their thirties and forties.

The reasons for this were complex, related to the times, current entertainment consumption trends, promotional methods, and boxing rules. However, the main reason was the overall lack of strong talent and the absence of a dominant figure who could unify the four major boxing organizations.

Looking at the photos on the wall, Link said to James and Daniel, "Do you believe that one day my photo will also be hanging here?"

"Haha, stop dreaming. This isn't your living room," James said, pushing him inside.

"Link, secretly putting up your photo doesn't count. I could do that too," Daniel joked.

"Just wait and see," Link said, waving his fist and pushing open the glass door of the bar. A wave of sound, heat, and the smell of alcohol washed over them.

"Hit him! Don't let him hold you!"

"Mario, stop backing up, punch him! Fuck, you don't even know how to box!"

"Wimp Mario, stop fighting, go home and drink your milk!"

As Link and his friends entered the bar, a match was underway in the ring. Two burly boxers were locked in a clinch, bumping against the ropes before being separated by the referee.

The ring was surrounded by a crowd of about a thousand people, mostly adult men. After a few drinks, they became very irritable, and if a boxer was too passive, they would start cursing and venting their frustrations.

"This is lively. We should have come earlier. Wimp Mario, get out of there!" James shouted, even before he could figure out who Mario was.

"Don't shout," Link said, sitting on a stool at the bar and sizing up the two boxers in the ring.

Both were Latino, weighing around 90 kilograms, heavyweight fighters.

One had a fierce look, a stout build, and a big belly, like an inflatable punching bag. This was the "Wimp Mario" the crowd was yelling at. His opponent was a muscular bald man.

During the match, the bald man kept attacking, landing punches, while Mario kept dodging and moving, often resorting to clinching tactics, only occasionally attacking. He was fighting very conservatively.

This was why the audience didn't like him. In a place like a bar, people preferred to see excitement. The more intense the fight, the more they enjoyed it. Defensive tactics were not welcome here.

However, in Link's eyes, Mario was moving well, defending skillfully, and clearly had received professional boxing training. The bald man's fighting style was more amateurish, without structure or tactics, just constantly expending his energy.

If nothing unexpected happened, Mario would win this match.

And indeed, in the fifth round, Mario landed a sneak attack, a jab that knocked the bald man to the ground. The bald man struggled but couldn't get up.

Mario won the match.

"Second match, who wants to challenge Mario?" the referee shouted into the microphone to the crowd.

The rules of the boxing bar were quite interesting.

The bar owner placed a cash box in the ring with $200 in it.

If the patrons wanted to watch a boxing match, they would throw money into the cash box. Whenever the box accumulated $1,000, the bar would announce a boxing match.

The boxer who won three matches in a row that night had the chance to empty the prize pool, regardless of gender or weight class. The strongest one would take the money and leave.

"I'll do it!" A burly black man threw a hundred dollars into the cash box and, with the help of the bar staff, put on a mouthguard and boxing gloves and stepped into the ring.

The second match began. The black man was clearly prepared. After touching gloves with Mario, he started swinging, aiming for Mario's head.

In the first round, Mario was knocked down twice. In the second round, Mario managed to stay on his feet. In the third round, the black man's strength began to fade, and in the fourth round, he was knocked down by Mario. In the fifth round, Mario won the match.

The black man was carried out of the ring.

"Third match, who else wants to challenge Mario João?" the referee shouted.

After two matches, the patrons knew that Mario was no wimp, and those who were originally planning to step up were now hesitating.

"Hey, who wants to challenge me?" Mario, having won two matches in a row, was in high spirits. He stood on the corner post, waving his fists and shouting at the crowd.

"You call me a wimp, but you don't dare come up? Haha, you're the wimps, you're all wimps." Mario raised his fists and laughed.

Link glanced at him, then at the cash box full of bills, and took out a hundred dollars from his pocket.

"Link, what are you doing? That's not a donation box," James asked, puzzled.

"I'm going to box," Link said, pointing at the ring.

"Are you crazy?" James asked, wide-eyed. "You don't think doing sit-ups and jumping rope at home makes you a boxer, do you? Boxing isn't as simple as you think."

"Link, go ahead. I'm calling an ambulance for you," Daniel said, pretending to take out his phone.

Link glanced at the two of them. He had originally wanted to ask them to bet on him to win and earn some pocket money, but with their sarcastic attitude, he decided against it.

Link squeezed through the crowd to the ring, threw his hundred dollars into the cash box, took off his shirt, put on hand wraps and boxing gloves, and stepped into the ring.

"Whoa, it's a pretty boy."

"Is he here to give away money?"

"Hey, buddy, come down, don't embarrass yourself." The crowd started shouting.

Link waved his fist at the crowd, telling them to shut up.

"Hey, kid, are you sure you want to fight me?" Mario asked, crossing his arms and looking him up and down. "My fists can kill people."

"Mine can too," Link said, raising his fists.

"Hmph, tough-talking kid, I'll show you what happens when you brag," Mario said with a sneer.

"Place your bets! Place your bets! Bet on the handsome pretty boy to win, ten to one odds, ten to one odds! Don't miss this chance to get rich, folks," the bookie at the bar shouted.

"Ten to one odds? Bet a dollar, win ten. James, should we bet?" Daniel asked, tempted.

"Bet on who? Link? Are you crazy too? Do you think he can beat Mario with that physique?" James asked, gesturing at their bodies. Although Link was fit, with big chest muscles and a six-pack, he was clearly smaller than the stout, immovable Mario.

"Let's try it, just to cheer for Link," Daniel said, taking out two bills from his pocket.

"Alright, I'll bet two dollars too. I'll just eat one less hot dog tomorrow."

"You can eat one less sandwich."

Daniel went to the bookie to placetheir bets.

(End of Chapter)