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Chapter 223: Childhood Shadows

Added 2024-09-10 04:25:51 +0000 UTC

On December 22nd, the eve of Christmas, in Berlin, Germany, the much-anticipated match between Richard and Polish boxer Dariusz Michalczewski took place at the Estrel Convention Center in Neukölln. Dariusz, known as "The Tiger," was the WBC-WBO light heavyweight European champion.

At 28 years old, with an undefeated record of 40 wins and 35 KOs, Dariusz was a formidable opponent. He had even challenged Roy Jones Jr. in the past, only to be turned down, with the media claiming that his skills were comparable to Roy Jones Jr.'s.

As soon as the match began, Richard was met with an aggressive onslaught from Dariusz. Not one to back down, Richard fought back with equal ferocity, and the two battled through all 12 rounds.

By the end, both fighters were drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Just as the match was nearing its conclusion, Richard threw a powerful punch that knocked Dariusz out, securing his victory and extending his record to 23 wins with 23 KOs.

After the match, third-party data analysis revealed that the scores were neck and neck throughout all 12 rounds. Had Richard not delivered that final punch in the last round, he might have suffered his first defeat.

"Richard, that match was way too close. You nearly lost all your championship belts," Andy said excitedly in the car.

"I wouldn't say that. Dariusz is good, but he's still not quite at my level," Richard replied with a smile.

"Really? If you hadn't pulled that off at the end, you would have lost this match," Andy pointed out.

"But I didn't lose, did I?" Richard shrugged.

"So, was that part of your strategy?" Andy frowned. "You used to win every match so easily, but in your last two fights, your performance has been getting worse. In the final rounds, you almost seem out of steam. Is it because your stamina is declining, or are you just faking it?"

Richard smiled slightly. "Neither. The matches are indeed exhausting. In the past, I used to hide my fatigue, but now I don't pretend anymore. I also like to give people a bit of hope. In my earlier matches, I was flawless from start to finish—virtually unbeatable. Would anyone dare challenge me in that state?"

Andy shook his head with a laugh. "You've thought this through well. There's no one left to challenge you in the light heavyweight division. Why not move up to heavyweight starting next year? There are plenty of skilled fighters in that category, many of them famous, and the prize money for heavyweight matches is higher."

"That works. Moving to heavyweight could push my earnings past $10 million."

In September, his title unification bout with Richard Hall drew 1.32 million pay-per-view subscribers, just slightly less than the 1.37 million from his second fight with Roy Jones Jr. in 1999. After the match, with a 75% share of PPV revenue plus the prize money, Richard took home $9.5 million, bringing him closer to his goal of earning $10 million per fight.

For today’s match, the base prize was $3 million plus PPV revenue, bringing his total earnings to around $5 million.

He mentally tallied up his earnings for the year. Not counting stock market returns, his income from fights and movies alone was close to $40 million—not bad at all.

——

Back in New York, Christmas arrived, and Richard took Gisele back to the Bronx, where he hosted a big party at home, inviting familiar faces from the neighborhood to join in.

After Christmas, he followed his usual routine, visiting several orphanages in New York State with gifts in tow, spending three days with the kids in a low-key manner.

"Which orphanage did you live in before? I've never seen you visit it," Gisele asked in the car.

"In Newburgh. It closed down a long time ago."

"Why did it close?"

"Poor management," Richard replied with a squint and a smile.

"That's a shame. I was hoping to ask the old folks there about what you were like as a child."

"No need to ask. I was handsome and a great fighter even back then," Richard said with a grin.

"I used to get into fights as a kid too. I was more like a tomboy—short hair, always climbing trees on the hills, and digging sand in the river."

"That's cool, but let’s just hope our daughter doesn't take after you."

"Why not? What's wrong with being like me?"

Gisele said with dissatisfaction, "Fine, it's better to be a little more obedient."

"Hmph, I'm also very obedient!"

Gisele laughed heartily.

After playing Santa Claus, Richard attended several parties in New York.

Somehow, word got out that he had made a fortune in the stock market last year, becoming a newly-minted billionaire, so the parties kept coming one after another.

There were private parties, the Norman family's party, Wendi Deng's party, Ivanka Trump's family's party.

There were also business parties, Stralem Asset Management Company's internal party, Universal Pictures' party, Amazon shareholders' party, and so on. Busy as he was, he ushered in another New Year.

2001 arrived, and during the first few days of the new year, New York was covered in a heavy snowfall. After finishing his daily training, Richard would wear a thick down jacket, hat, and scarf, pulling the reluctant Gisele to walk through the snowy city, spending a few leisurely days.

"Richard, are you coming to Colin's wedding?"

One day, Uncle Frank called to ask.

"I'll be there; it's been a long time since I last saw him."

Colin Campbell was Frank's eldest son and Richard's older cousin, five years his senior. He had a Ph.D. from Stanford and was an assistant professor of biology at the University of Seattle.

The Campbell family also had a younger son, Kevin Campbell, who was the same age as Richard.

In the past, Richard often fought with the two of them at the Campbell house, always leaving them in tears.

When they couldn't win, they would try to frame him, accusing him of stealing money at home, spying on girls taking a bath, and even stealing the neighbor's sister's underwear—stealing a lot of things.

At that time, Frank wasn't home, and Aunt Michelle Campbell, without investigating the truth, wanted to kick him out.

Richard was in a rebellious phase at that time and didn't bother to explain; he just left the Campbell house.

Ten years had passed, and now it all seemed amusing.

"What are you laughing about?" Gisele asked on the plane.

"Just thinking about childhood memories. Didn't you want to see pictures of me as a kid? Maybe the Campbell family has some."

Richard smiled gently and began to talk about the past conflicts with the Campbells.

"You left for New York alone just because of a little disagreement?" Gisele laughed.

"Was that a little disagreement? They filled my school locker with girls' underwear. When I opened it, everything fell out, and then they shouted that I was stealing underwear, drawing hundreds of onlookers. The whole school knew, and it was a social death scene.

When I got home, they spread the word again, saying I stole money. I was furious and gave the two of them a good beating. Finally, I had a big fight with Michelle and left in a huff."

"Haha, why did they want to frame you?" Gisele laughed.

Richard thought for a moment and then smiled, "Probably jealousy."

"Jealousy?"

"Yes. Frank was rarely home, and whenever he was, he would take me out to train. He treated me better than Colin and Kevin, so they got jealous and kept giving me trouble.

And at school, I was cool and a good fighter. The girls liked me, which made Kevin even more jealous. After spending so much time together, conflicts were inevitable, and fights happened.

Another reason was that Michelle was very strict at the Campbell house, with a strong sense of control. I couldn't stand it, so I decided to move back to New York."

Richard laughed.

"You said you were popular at school back then? How many girls did you hook up with?" Gisele laughed.

"None. I was eleven or twelve years old then. The little girls were too immature; I liked more mature ones. But the older girls thought I was too young. After moving to New York, I spent all my time going to school, working temporary jobs, and training, so my youth was completely wasted."

Richard chuckled.

"Haha, you were thinking about dating older girls at eleven or twelve?"

"Not just older!"

Richard's gaze fixed on her chest.

"Ugh! Pervert!" Gisele rolled her eyes at him. "When you see Colin, Kevin, and Michelle later, will you forgive them?"

"Forgive? It's not like that. We've all grown up now."

Richard smiled as he gazed out the window.

At noon, a Boeing aircraft slowly landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Richard and Gisele walked out of the airport side by side.

"Richard! Richard!"

At the exit, a young man in his twenties excitedly waved his hand, dressed in sportswear with curly hair and a slender build.

Richard looked at him and frowned, "Who are you?" As he spoke, he raised his hand to brush his hair.