### Chapter 330: Earning $160 Million in Six Months

After chatting for a while with Monica Bellucci and her husband at the café, Link and Marion got up and left.

Having finished shooting his scenes for Midnight in Paris, Link's work in Paris was done, and he was set to return to America. Their next meeting would be in two or three months, or maybe even four.

Not wanting to waste any more time outside, they bought some fruits and flowers at the market before heading back to Marion's apartment by the Seine.

They had a light meal and then cuddled on the balcony, watching the Seine, chatting, sipping red wine, and making love passionately, as if it were their last time together.

Around 4 PM, Link kissed the still-sleeping Marion, left a note, and quietly departed her apartment, donning his hat.

"Boss, Mandy just sent a message you might want to hear," said Anna, carrying her work bag in the car.

"Go ahead, I'm listening," Link said, checking his unread texts on his phone.

"Since yesterday, many American media outlets have been spreading rumors about you being a playboy, claiming you toy with women's feelings and bodies. They've even pulled up Amber Heard's interview from last year, alleging you have a history of abusing women," Anna reported.

She glanced at the documents, noticing words like "pervert" and "sex addict," but out of respect for Link, she didn't say them out loud.

"Is it widespread?"

"Only among tabloids and small news websites with circulations under 100,000," Anna replied.

"This is slander. What does the legal department say?"

"They're gathering evidence and preparing to sue the media outlets infringing on your reputation," she said.

"Have they found out who is behind this?"

"The company is investigating. There are two main theories," Anna replied.

The first theory involves Jay-Z and his associates. As the media spreads rumors about Link being a playboy, some outlets and musicians criticize him, saying his album sales are due to hype rather than quality. They've compared his albums The Woman I Love, Brave Forward, and The Fighter unfavorably against Eminem's new album Recovery.

"How is Recovery doing in sales?"

"It sold 357,000 copies in the U.S. in three days. It might reach 800,000 in the first week. They might be trying to use Eminem's new album to compete with you," Anna explained.

"I doubt Eminem is involved. He’s pretty hardcore and doesn’t play dirty. As for Jay-Z and Kanye, let Scooter and the PR team investigate. No matter who it is, I'll face them head-on," Link said.

Anna nodded and added, "The second theory involves the casting for Captain America. Many young actors are vying for the role, including Will Smith, Sam Worthington, Channing Tatum, and Chris Evans."

Marvel recently released a list of auditioning actors, with Link at the top. Many Marvel fans and media believe he's the best choice for Captain America. A fan site with a "Best Choice for Captain America" poll has 358,000 votes for him, 106,000 for Will Smith, and under 10,000 for other actors.

"Mandy thinks the rival agencies might be trying to tarnish your reputation since Captain America is supposed to be a faithful character, not a playboy like Iron Man," Anna suggested.

Link considered it but wasn’t concerned. He would take the role if offered, but wouldn’t be upset if not.

He instructed Anna to handle the PR properly, stating that while he didn't care about the playboy image, album sales criticism, or the Captain America role, he wouldn’t tolerate slander.

"Understood!" Anna nodded.

---

Back in New York, Link ignored the negative press and continued his training at the boxing gym. On the 15th and 18th, he participated in two boxing matches, the WBC and WBA super middleweight title challenges.

The WBC title match was held at the Tokyo Dome against Alan Green, the WBC Americas champion known as "Ghost Dog." The event attracted 48,000 Japanese fans.

Link won in 86 seconds, knocking out Green cleanly, causing a massive uproar with fans chanting his name. This match, organized by WBC Japan, JPBA, and other associations, earned Link a $32 million appearance fee without any share of PPV, ticket, or ad revenue.

Afterward, the organizers arranged for eight beauties to help him shower, which he declined. Link preferred women he pursued himself rather than those offered to him. Plus, with the media painting him as a playboy, doing such things in Tokyo would only provide them more ammunition.

On the 18th, he flew to Dubai for the WBA title match against Danish champion Mikkel Kessler. This highly anticipated rematch attracted many boxing fans.

The appearance fee was $30 million plus a luxurious apartment in the Burj Khalifa and two sports cars, totaling over $38 million.

Kessler fought tenaciously, guarding his head and moving around, making it difficult for Link to land punches. Link had to be patient, using his technical prowess to break through Kessler’s defense and win by knockout in the third round after 65 seconds.

This victory brought his record to 19 wins, 19 KOs, solidifying his dominance in the super middleweight division. Sports media like Ring, KO, and others praised him as the greatest super middleweight boxer, surpassing legends like Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Joe Calzaghe.

With $163 million earned from five matches, Link was recognized as the highest-earning athlete of the time.

"Earning $160 million in six months is insane," 50 Cent said, reading the news on his phone in a New York metal music bar.

"It's not $160 million a year; it's $160 million in six months," Eminem corrected him while sipping beer.

"I know that," 50 Cent replied, rolling his eyes. He turned to his friend Jermaine Taylor and asked, "Jermaine, how much do you earn per match?"

Former WBA Americas champion Jermaine Taylor shrugged, "You can't compare. Link is a boxing superstar, almost on par with Tyson and Ali, and he's only 21. He'll make even more in the future."

"Jermaine, you're also a boxer and seem bigger than Link. Why can't you beat him?" Chris Brown asked.

"Jermaine, I was wondering the same thing. Why don't you go all out and try to win?" added Drake.

Jermaine showed his big white teeth in a helpless smile. "Boxing isn't a sprint where you can shave off a few seconds by trying harder. It's about overall skill. Sometimes going all out doesn't help. Link is just too good, with the strength of a heavyweight, the speed of a featherweight, and impeccable technique. In the ring, fighting him feels like a child battling a strong adult. Also, boxing has rules, you know."

"Is Link really that good?" 50 Cent asked.

"He's amazing. Although he's a super middleweight, he punches like a heavyweight, moves like a featherweight, and has excellent technique and strategy. He's the most versatile boxer. In the super middleweight division, no one can match him for the next decade," Jermaine explained.

"What about outside the super middleweight? I read he plans to move up to light heavyweight next year," 50 Cent said, browsing his phone.

"Not many can beat him, but winning the light heavyweight title won't be easy. Fighters like Beibut Shumenov, Chad Dawson, and Hopkins are formidable," Jermaine replied.

"I hope he loses at least once. From music to boxing, he's never tasted defeat, and most of those he beat are black. He's too arrogant. Someone needs to knock him down a peg," Chris Brown said.

The others realized he had a point. In the ring, Link had defeated Tyson, Roy Jones Jr., Jermaine Taylor, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Jean Pascal, and many other black champions. His belts mostly came from black champions. In music, he had outshined East Coast rappers, also predominantly black. His rise seemed to come at the expense of black celebrities.

"Hey, Chris, are you trying to stir trouble? Remember, Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, and Lucian Bute aren’t black. Black boxers have dominated for decades. Now Link's emerging, and you can't accept it?"Eminem retorted,

"I'm not picking a fight, but I just don't like him."

Chris Brown said, and 50 Cent nodded in agreement.

"You're just jealous. Honestly, I'm jealous of the guy too. He's so handsome, great at boxing, sings well, and is really popular with the ladies. This guy is indeed quite enviable," Eminem remarked.

Ring, ring! 

Just as he was speaking, Eminem's phone rang. He took a look and saw that it was a call from Link.

Link called to congratulate him, celebrating that his new album Recovery had sold 718,000 copies in its first week, becoming the Billboard sales champion.

Eminem laughed heartily, thanked Link, and invited him to come to New York for a drink next time.

As he was talking to Link on the phone, 50 Cent and Chris Brown looked at him with displeasure. Eminem was casually contacting Link in their stronghold and chatting happily, as if an undercover agent was openly communicating with the police without caring about their feelings.

"I'm friends with Link; I don't get involved in your disputes," Eminem said as he put down his phone.

Just then, Puff Daddy and Jay-Z entered the bar with a few white men. Eminem glanced at them, "Who are they? Why is Jay-Z hanging out with white people?"

50 Cent took a look and said, "Peter Peltz, David Zuckerman, Luther Deitsch, and Josie Epstein."

"Epstein? What's his relationship with that Epstein?" Eminem asked.

"Uncle and nephew, though I heard he's an illegitimate child," 50 Cent whispered.

"Why is Jay-Z associating with people like that? Isn't he worried about his reputation?" Eminem said with disdain.

The elder Epstein was a billionaire from New York. Since the 1980s, he had mingled in elite circles, accumulating a vast network of contacts, including big names in both politics and business, earning him the nickname 'The Modern Gatsby.'

Since the 1990s, many people had reported Epstein for alleged crimes, but he used his connections to settle things.

In 2005, police undercover agents spent nearly a year close to Epstein and gathered a large amount of evidence linking him to crimes, including multiple sexual assault cases and forcing women into illegal activities, with many victims under the age of 18.

In 2008, the police arrested Epstein, but he easily settled the matter thanks to his connections within the judicial system, receiving only an 18-month sentence and recently being released, continuing to exert influence in the elite circles, even impacting the state of affairs in the United States.

Eminem was very disgusted with this type of person; even hearing someone named Epstein made him instinctively feel they were up to no good.

Seeing Jay-Z go upstairs with those men, he couldn't help but frown.

"Puff Daddy knows those guys; he probably introduced them, but I also think Jay-Z mixing with them isn't a good thing," 50 Cent said, curling his lip.

"We should talk to Jay-Z; we can't let him go further down the wrong path," Eminem said, getting up.

"Are you serious? Maybe they're just talking, not planning anything bad," 50 Cent said, pulling at Eminem's hoodie as he got up.

"How about we go and listen?" Eminem suggested, looking at 50 Cent, Chris Brown, and Drake.

After thinking for a moment, they all nodded in agreement.

(End of the chapter).