*Chapter 232: New Event Arrangements*

"Brabo asked me, what changed, why are we going home? I said nothing changed, but that wasn't the truth. Everything changed, and so did I."

After the war, Eversmann, his face wounded, sat in front of a rack, looking at his fallen comrade lying on it.

Earlier, during a street battle, a soldier from the squad was covering his teammates when he was shot in the femoral artery by a militia member. He died because he couldn't be treated in time, and the scene was very gruesome.

"A friend once asked me, before we were sent here, he asked me, why are you fighting someone else's war? Do you think you're a hero?"

Eversmann smirked slightly.

"I didn't know what to say at the time. Now my answer is, no, I don't want to be a hero. No one wants to be a hero. Sometimes we just have to fight."

He frowned at his fallen comrade, placing his hand on the soldier's chest.

"Don't worry, I'll find your parents."

Eversmann slowly stood up, put on his hat, and walked out of the warehouse.

"Cut!"

Clap, clap, clap~

A round of applause erupted on set.

Richard exhaled outside the door. Finally, it was over.

At first, fighting in the city was intense and thrilling. But as the final scenes unfolded, with comrades falling left and right, his mood darkened, and he became depressed. During emotional scenes, he didn't need to prepare; he could slip into character at any moment.

However, while it's easy to enter those emotions, it's harder to get out. After two weeks of filming tragic scenes, he had been feeling down for two weeks.

"Richard, I heard you got hurt a few days ago. How's your arm?" asked producer Bruckheimer as he walked over.

"Yeah, it was just a minor scrape," Richard replied, raising his arm with a smile.

Three days earlier, during the filming of an explosion scene, a piece of glass had been shaken loose. He pushed the cameraman next to him out of the way, and his shoulder got a slight cut, resulting in a minor injury.

"Richard, you're a tough guy and a good actor. Let's work together again sometime," Bruckheimer said, extending his hand with a smile.

"Sure!" Richard shook his hand.

After finishing this scene, Richard wrapped up all his scenes. He stayed with the crew for three days, and once the director's team had reviewed the footage, he packed his bags and returned to New York.

By May, the weather in New York was gradually warming up, and the streets were full of colorful outfits and long legs, but Richard was starting to get tired of the view.

With work slowing down recently, Richard spent most of his time training at the boxing gym. The rest of his time was spent with Ms. Bündchen, strolling around, watching movies, attending fashion shows, exhibitions, and charity auctions. Life was quite leisurely.

In mid-May, Paul and Venus got engaged in New York. Paul had previously bought a mansion in the southern Bronx for over four million dollars. It covers more than five thousand square meters, with a large garden, a gym, and a tennis court—it's quite beautiful.

The engagement ceremony was held at the new villa, with about thirty or forty close friends and family in attendance.

For some reason, Paul invited O'Neal, and surprisingly, O'Neal showed up. The group of them played around at the engagement party, even dragging Richard into the fun, getting some cake on him and splashing some wine.

"Paul has finally settled down," Alvin said, rubbing his stubble and smiling from the bench on the sidelines.

"Yeah, maybe you should find someone too. With your looks, you could easily find someone younger," Richard said, handing him a beer.

"No need, I'm good the way I am now," Alvin replied, grinning.

"Richard, don't give him any ideas. Alvin already has someone," former medic Elle chimed in with a laugh.

"Really?"

"Elle, don't make things up. I don't have anyone," Alvin said, his face turning red as he blew his mustache and glared.

"Elle, keep going. Who's Alvin's partner?" Richard asked, grinning.

Elle glanced over at Paul's group and chuckled.

"You figure it out!"Richard glanced over and saw Paul, Venus, Norman, and Mike, along with a black lady who turned out to be Paul’s mother, Samantha.

“Uh, no way…”

Richard looked at Alvin in surprise. So that's how it is? No wonder Alvin treated Paul like his own son, never giving up on him no matter how he performed—there was a deeper connection here.

“What are you looking at?” Alvin snapped, glaring as he walked away with his hands behind his back.

Richard chuckled and glanced at Paul. He wondered if Paul knew. Probably, right?

“Alvin, you should be braver! Don’t let them down!” Richard called out.

Alvin ignored him and walked even further away.

“Richard, I need to talk to you,” Andy said, approaching with a drink.

“What’s up?”

“It’s about the Nike deal. You mentioned creating your own sports brand, and Nike is interested, but they’re still unsure about your current influence. They’re proposing a two-year endorsement contract first. If the sales do well, they’re open to further collaboration.”

Andy paused before continuing, “I understand Nike’s hesitation. They typically don’t partner with boxers because, in the boxing world, no one is unbeatable, and a loss in boxing isn’t like losing in basketball or soccer.

“In team sports, losses are common, the responsibility is shared, and teams can bounce back. But for a boxer, a loss is final. Take Tyson, for example—he won 37 matches from 1985 to 1990, but he still lost in 1990. So brands are very cautious when choosing an ambassador. Nike is only offering you a deal for a single product line right now.

“But you’ve been undefeated since 1997, and your influence has only grown. They recognize your commercial value, so they’re willing to start with an endorsement and then consider developing a sub-brand with you. If you keep winning over the next two years, both in boxing and on screen, not just Nike, but other sports brands will come knocking, giving us more options.”

Richard nodded, already somewhat familiar with this. He knew that besides the possibility of losing, boxers also often have a lot of scandals, which is another reason why many brands hesitate to work with them.

But Richard had been boxing for four years, from winning his first championship belt to holding four grand slam titles, with very few negative stories about him. That’s why Nike was willing to take the risk. Their marketing department was making a bold decision.

“How about the endorsement fee?” Richard asked.

“Two years, $20 million. If you win the heavyweight title and avoid any major scandals during the endorsement period, you’ll receive an additional $5 million bonus.”

Richard thought for a moment before agreeing. $20 million wasn’t a small amount.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it,” Andy said, finishing his drink and leaving the party.

“Richard, are we heading home? I have an event this afternoon,” Gisele Bündchen asked as she approached.

“Let’s go.”

With the ceremony over, there wasn’t much else to do, so Richard and Gisele left early. They spent the day shopping for groceries and enjoying a quiet evening at home.

——

Over the weekend, the WBA Light Heavyweight Championship match was held at Madison Square Garden.

The challenger this time was Julio César González, a tough Mexican boxer known for his heavy punches but with average technique and stamina.

Richard fought González for eight rounds before the Mexican’s stamina gave out, and Richard knocked him out of the ring with one punch, securing an easy victory and extending his record to 24 wins and 24 victories.

With this win, he successfully defended his WBA-WBC World Championship title for the sixth time.

In the light heavyweight division, no opponent had been able to stand against him. Boxing experts had started calling him the “Iron Wall.”

Some said his strength was unparalleled, but he never rushed for a quick win. Instead, he wore down his opponents until they couldn’t stand. Some even dubbed him a “fearsome yet gentle killer.”

After multiple successful defenses, the WBA presented Richard with a “Super Championship Belt,” an honorary title.

According to WBA rules, a boxer can become a WBA Super Champion if they win the WBA belt and any two titles from the other three major organizations (WBC, IBF, WBO), or if they successfully defend two organization titles three times in a row.

Richard could have claimed this title last year, but he was busy with other things and didn’t rush to apply.

With the WBA Super Champion title, his prestige in the division was unmatched.

“Richard, we’re selecting your first opponent for the heavyweight division. Who do you think would be a good match?” asked Bob Reut, his manager, as he held up a laptop in the office.

As the Super Champion of the light heavyweight division, Richard didn’t need to work his way up through ranking matches in the heavyweight division. He could directly challenge any champion.

Currently, the WBA heavyweight champion was John Ruiz, who won the title by defeating Evander Holyfield in February.

John Ruiz stood 1.88 meters tall, had a reach of 1.98 meters, and weighed 205 pounds. His physical stats were similar to Richard’s, which would make for a comfortable fight.

“Let’s start with him,” Richard said, pointing at Ruiz’s photo.

“Okay, I’ll set it up,” Bob Reut replied with a smile.

——

(End of the chapter)