*Chapter 176: Ambush (Two-in-One)*

"Link, Andre Rell's uppercut is tricky. Be careful."

At the match venue, Coach Brooks warned.

"I understand!"

Link nodded, threw off his towel, and entered the boxing ring through the ropes on the left side of the ring.

"Link! The champion!"

"Go, Link!"

"Link, you're the best!"

As he stepped into the ring, thousands of spectators cheered his name loudly.

According to Madison Square Garden, all 26,000 tickets were sold out a day before the match, including luxury boxes, front-row VIP seats, and 20,000 general audience seats, with an average ticket price of $280.

Reports online indicated that regular tickets on the black market were being sold for over $500, and VIP seats were priced above $2000.

For many, attending the match in person was as extravagant as attending a concert, with even higher ticket prices.

Link noticed that in the audience, not only were there posters of him as a boxer being waved, but there were also many fans shaking posters of his music albums and the movie poster for "Blue Sea Tracking 2."

This indicated that his plan had succeeded. After becoming a star singer and actor, some of his music and film fans had also become his boxing fans and came to watch his matches.

This was a positive development.

As long as he continued, whether participating in boxing matches, concerts, or movie releases, his fans would continue to support him.

"Andrei! Go!"

"Andrei, beat that white face."

When his opponent Andre Rell stepped into the ring, many spectators also cheered for him, mostly African American.

Seeing this, Link felt somewhat helpless.

Although the 'Grammy Clash' had been resolved, the 'racist' label forcibly attached by Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and others had not been removed. He still faced hostility from some African American boxing fans.

However, these fans supporting Andre might also be followers of Kanye and others. They had commented online accusing him of deliberately provoking Kanye with his rap single.

Since there was no response, they were probably dissatisfied and came to attack him offline.

Link welcomed these haters, as attending the match required buying a ticket. As a star boxer with a 15% share of ticket sales, the more people came, the more he earned.

The ring referee stepped up, greeted the audience, and announced the match rules to Link and Andre Rell.

When both parties confirmed they had no questions, the referee swung his arm decisively.

"Boxing!"

The match began, and Andre Rell, showing his white teeth, extended his fist as if to greet Link.

As Link lowered his right fist to respond, Andre Rell suddenly took a step forward. The left fist he had extended as a greeting transformed into a swift left uppercut, aiming straight at Link's chin with incredible speed.

"Watch out!!!"

Coach Brooks and his team yelled from the sidelines.

Link was also somewhat surprised. In amateur boxing, greeting with a fist bump before the match was a necessary procedure and a sign of sportsmanship.

In professional boxing, this formality is often skipped, and there are no strict rules regarding fist bumps.

Seeing his opponent ready for a fist bump, Link naturally wouldn't ignore it, but he didn't expect Andre Rell to use this opportunity to launch a sneak attack, which seemed very devious.

However, he could understand the opponent's mindset. Given his overwhelming strength, even top-level boxers of his class, such as Mikkel Kessler, had not lasted a full round against him. To defeat him, unconventional methods had to be used.

Such as ambushes.

If he could successfully ambush him at the start of the match, deliver a heavy blow, and severely injure him, there was a significant chance of winning the match, becoming the WBA World Champion, and being the first to defeat Link.

Although this approach was sneaky and would be criticized afterward, earning money and fame made it worthwhile.

Seeing the sudden change in his opponent's move, Link's muscles tensed instantly.

He wanted to step back, but Andre Rell's uppercut was too fast, coming in a crescent-shaped arc with lightning speed, aimed at his chin.

Retreating was too late.

Link dodged by turning his head with incredible reflexes.

Andre Rell's fist brushed past his side, barely missing his left ear.

Boom!

Andre Rell followed with a right straight punch to Link's chest.

The punch, with a force of no less than a thousand pounds, made Link stumble backward a step.

"Wow!"

Seeing the challenger Andre Rell hit Link and force him back right from the start, the crowd erupted in astonished cheers.

"Good job, Andre!"

"Andre, hit him again, take down Link."

"Andre, World Champion."

Many African American spectators stood up, cheering loudly for Andre and giving Link a thumbs down, making booing noises.

"Good job!"

In Brooklyn's 34th Street, Black Gold Music Club, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and others watched the live broadcast on TV. Seeing Andre Rell push back Link with one punch, they were excitedly shouting.

They had been fans of Tyson before he retired. After Tyson's retirement, they followed several other African American boxers, including Lennox Lewis, Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Mayweather, and Jermain Taylor.

Unfortunately, some had retired, others had aged and lost their strength, Jermain Taylor was defeated by Link, and Mayweather's weight class was too low to help them defeat Link and get revenge.

Seeing Andre Rell push back Link now, they were thrilled and hoped that Andre could defeat Link and take his WBA World Champion title. If that happened, it would be amazing.

"Go, Link!"

"Link, punch harder! Take him down!"

"Link, that's right!"

While the black fans cheered for Andre Rell, Link's fans and supporters also shouted loudly. With a larger number of Link's fans, the roar of his supporters easily drowned out the shouts of the black fans.

"Is this the World Champion? Is this all he has?"

On the ring, Andre Rell sneered.

Link glanced at him, said nothing, and began moving his feet flexibly, closing in on his opponent, and launching a flurry of punches aimed at Andre's head.

Andre was shorter by three centimeters but had more muscular build, with significantly larger shoulders and thicker arm muscles.

As Link threw punches, Andre immediately raised his fists to protect his head.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Link threw punch after punch, hitting Andre's defensive arms.

He could have employed a head-body, head-body strategy, striking high and low alternately, but he chose not to. Instead, he focused all his attacks on Andre's head, unleashing a relentless barrage to break through Andre's arm defenses and hit his head.

Andre was startled by the power of Link's punches, feeling as if he were being hit with a wooden mallet on his arms. The strikes were fierce and unyielding.

He wanted to drop his guard, but he couldn't.

If he lowered his arms, his head would be exposed to a punch.

So, he kept fighting while retreating, trying to create distance to prevent Link from landing a knockout blow.

However, he was caught off guard by Link's speed and agility. Despite Andre's attempts to retreat, Link managed to keep up and continue attacking his arms.

"Go, Link!"

"Link, hit him! Take him out!"

"Link, that's it!"

The spectators watched as Link relentlessly attacked Andre, giving him no chance to recover. No matter where Andre tried to retreat, Link was right on his heels, delivering punches to Andre's defensive arms continuously.

The crowd was thrilled, many standing up and shouting loudly.

"Andre, hang in there!"

"Andre, fight back!"

Supporters of Andre, both in the arena and watching on TV, shouted anxiously. Andre was overwhelmed by Link's aggressive attacks and was forced to back into the ropes, his back against the ropes, and was about to use a clinch tactic.

But Link wouldn't give him a chance. A right punch hit Andre's left arm, making him stagger and creating a significant opening in his defense. Following up with a sweeping punch, Link's punch hit Andre's forehead.

Andre staggered from the impact.

Link quickly followed up with a fierce jab, hitting Andre's left cheek.

Boom!

Andre's head jerked backward, a shockwave spreading from his left cheekbone, with sweat and tears splattering from his face.

This punch, with a force exceeding 1200 pounds, was like an iron ball hitting a basketball.

Andre's face, centered around his nose, instantly caved in.

Link retracted his fist.

Pfft!

Blood gushed from Andre's nostrils, his feet involuntarily took three steps back, and with a thud, he fell on his back onto the boxing ring.

The referee walked forward and crouched beside Andre, starting the countdown.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."

Andre grabbed the nearby ropes, swaying as he stood up, but before taking a single step, he leaned against the ropes once more and fell to the ground.

"8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Andre Reir failed to stand up within ten seconds.

Link wins, successfully defending his title.

"Link won!"

"Link the champion!"

"Link, you're always the best."

Link's fans at the scene shouted excitedly. In the second-floor audience seats, a few fans even pulled up a banner, 'You Are The One,' clearly his music fans.

Link smiled slightly and waved his fist towards the audience seats on all sides.

The camera on site zoomed in on his face, broadcasting his confident and handsome smile to thousands of households through satellite signals.

"Sigh, we lost!"

Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, T.I., and Drake looked at Link's handsome face on the TV with displeasure.

"Andre is too weak, he couldn't even last one round."

50 Cent said.

"It's that bastard Link who's too strong. Andre has no chance of winning against him."

T.I. helplessly spread his hands.

"Hey, you guys are also watching Link's match? And it's in HD?"

Eminem walked in from outside, looking at the big-screen TV and teasing, "The news said Link could get 10% of the PPV revenue from this match. You guys paying to watch his match is like giving him money. So you're also Link's boxing fans."

Lil Wayne and the others' faces darkened. According to HBO's boxing live broadcast pricing, a single match costs $69.99 for standard definition and $79.99 for high definition. They paid $79.99 to watch this match, meaning Link would get $7.999.

Originally, with their tens of millions of net worth, they didn't care about these few dollars. But after Eminem said this, it felt like they were indeed giving money to Link.

This made them even more unhappy.

"Do you feel like you've lost out? I have a suggestion. You can find more people to watch the replay, so you won't lose out."

Eminem, holding a can of iced beer, sat on the pool table and joked.

"Hey, that seems to make sense."

50 Cent stroked his chin and said.

"Don't listen to his nonsense."

Lil Wayne rolled his eyes and asked Eminem, "Did you come here for something?"

"Of course. Last week you said you wanted to release a single to knock Link's 'I'm The One' off the charts. I advise you not to do that. Link successfully defended his title, and with the media hype, the single will sell even more. If you release a single now and can't beat him, it will be very embarrassing."

Eminem said.

Lil Wayne frowned, touching his dreadlocks, "So we just let Link's single stay at number one on the rap chart?"

If they had ignored Link's rap single after its release and let it climb to the top of the rap chart, it wouldn't be a big deal.

But after the media hype, everyone in the industry knew that the East Coast rappers were joining forces against Link, and many people wanted to see the outcome.

If they did nothing and let 'I'm The One' stay at number one on the singles chart, it would be equivalent to admitting defeat. This would not only damage his reputation but also disappoint his fans.

So the current situation was a dilemma.

"You've already lost, admitting defeat isn't a big deal. Before the match, Link was interviewed by the media. A reporter said you guys were deliberately suppressing Link. Link didn't take the opportunity to attack, saying it wasn't suppression but normal competition. Link also has the intention to ease the situation.

I suggest you take this opportunity to accept this statement, tell the reporters that you also like 'I'm The One' and are Link's boxing fans. Maybe you can even gain Link's friendship."

Eminem suggested.

"Are you kidding? It's not just us who have a problem with Link now. Fans are also attacking Link online and at the match. If we suddenly declare ourselves Link's fans at this time, what will the fans think?"

Lil Wayne said, grinning.

50 Cent, T.I., and the others nodded. The fans were still fighting, and if they made peace with Link first, those fans might turn against them.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Kanye West walked in from the doorway.

Eminem and the others' faces changed. If they hadn't run fast enough last time, they would have almost been shot by Kanye.

"Quick! Turn off the TV!"

Lil Wayne hurriedly said.

If Kanye saw Link winning in the boxing ring, he would inevitably become depressed or manic again. If he started smashing things again, the club would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bam!

Eminem smashed the beer in his hand onto the screen. Crack - the screen went black.

Lil Wayne glared at him angrily. The newly bought HD TV was ruined by him again.

(End of Chapter)