Chapter 8

Regaining consciousness, Griffith ultimately chose to "admit defeat" and did not request another match. Despite his dissatisfaction, he grumbled that it was only because he had not practiced boxing for over six years since his retirement, causing his reflexes to greatly deteriorate, which allowed Wang Lei to hit him by luck. If it were just two years ago, when he had just retired, Wang Lei would not have been able to hit him.

However, Griffith still "accepted the bet and admitted defeat." Not only did he agree to be Wang Lei's sparring partner for thirty rounds, but he also planned to introduce a few boxers he knew to Sadler's boxing gym. It must be said that Griffith, the former champion, had a very strong character.

Two days later, Griffith indeed introduced two young boxers to Sadler's boxing gym. Both were active professional boxers, named John Ramon and Bobby Lee, one a lightweight and the other a middleweight. They were unknown, having only fought fewer than ten professional matches, and their records were quite average. Although Wang Lei had never heard of these two, they still had some skill, and with the addition of the former champion Griffith, Wang Lei's skills improved faster, and Sadler's boxing gym gained more popularity.

By September, the summer vacation ended, and Wang Lei had to go back to school. Fortunately, high school in the United States is not as intense as in China, and since Wang Lei was only in the eleventh grade, equivalent to the second year of high school in China, he could still spare one hour in the morning and two hours after school to practice boxing at Sadler's boxing gym. Additionally, he continued to practice for one hour every evening at his grandfather's place.

Before Wang Lei returned to school, Sadler registered him for a boxing competition. The San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition, organized by a boxing club in San Francisco, was an amateur boxing competition open only to boxers aged fourteen to eighteen. The competition had three weight classes: lightweight (up to 130 pounds), light middleweight (up to 140 pounds), and middleweight (up to 154 pounds). The match consisted of three rounds, each two minutes long, with a one-minute rest between rounds. Since it was an amateur competition for teenagers aged fourteen to eighteen, the prize money was low, with the champion receiving only five hundred dollars and a trophy.

Wang Lei originally weighed 136 pounds, but after two months of summer training and a balanced diet, he had reduced his weight to 128 pounds. At sixteen years old, he was eligible to participate in the lightweight (up to 130 pounds) category. Both Sadler and Griffith believed that with Wang Lei's current skills, winning the championship would be easy, unless he encountered a once-in-a-century prodigy. Wang Lei, of course, did not believe his luck would be that bad.

Sadler did not place much importance on the San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition; he was more focused on the "National Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament" held in October. The "National Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament" is one of the most important and authoritative amateur boxing competitions held annually in the United States. Boxers who qualify for this competition are generally the top amateur boxers in the country. The only other national amateur boxing competition that can be compared to it is the "Junior Olympic Boxing Championship."

Boxers who win the "National Golden Gloves Award" or the "Junior Olympic Boxing Championship" are usually interviewed and promoted by major American sports newspapers and television stations, gaining significant popularity, which makes it easier for them to obtain professional boxing licenses and become professional boxers.

However, not just anyone can register for these two boxing competitions; they require qualifications and competition results. If Wang Lei could participate in and win the San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition, he would be eligible to register for the "National Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament."

In Wang Lei's past life, he remembered that the famous heavyweight champion, Roy Jones Jr., who is considered one of the most talented boxers in history, had won the "National Golden Gloves Award" twice and the "Junior Olympic Boxing Championship" once before becoming a professional boxer. Additionally, Oscar De La Hoya, nicknamed "The Golden Boy," had also won the "National Golden Gloves Award" once.

With the "National Golden Gloves Award" and the "Junior Olympic Boxing Championship" titles, Roy Jones Jr. and De La Hoya not only gained high popularity but also had a smooth path to becoming professional boxers, almost effortlessly earning the right to challenge for the championship.

Sadler's plan and goal for Wang Lei were: to win the lightweight (up to 128 pounds) "National Golden Gloves Award" this year; to win the lightweight (135 to 139 pounds) "National Golden Gloves Award" and the "Junior Olympic Boxing Championship" next year; and to apply for a professional boxing license in the third year. Wang Lei was very satisfied with this plan and was highly motivated.

...

The San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition was to start a week later, and Wang Lei had to go to school to report to his teacher and take leave. Wang Lei attended Montverna High School, which was one of the top twenty schools in San Francisco.

The school, located near Chinatown, had over 40% Asian students, less than 30% white students, and about 20% black students, with the smallest percentages being from other ethnicities such as Spanish, Italian, Nicaraguan, Filipino, Japanese, and Korean. Although racial discrimination was not entirely absent in such a multi-ethnic school, it was not severe and was much better than in other cities in the United States.

Wang Lei's teacher, Ms. Kelly, was a white woman with a somewhat stubborn personality but a strong sense of responsibility. Upon hearing that Wang Lei wanted to take a week off to participate in a boxing competition, she immediately opposed it, advising him to focus on his studies and not to engage in violent activities.

Despite Wang Lei's efforts to persuade her, Ms. Kelly did not change her mind. Finally, out of frustration, she pulled out her trump card, demanding that Wang Lei bring his parents to talk to her the next day. Wang Lei left the teacher's office feeling depressed and decided to convince his grandfather to come and talk to Ms. Kelly the next day.

His parents were still unaware of his boxing plans, and Wang Lei intended to keep it a secret until the official competition to avoid worrying them.

When he arrived at his classroom, Wang Lei saw Bill Duncan. Bill was a black student and Wang Lei's only friend and desk partner at school. In his "memory," before his rebirth, Bill had been attacked by a few white students in the class. At the time, Wang Lei, who had practiced Xingyi Quan with his grandfather for two years, could not stand it and helped Bill drive away the white students, thus becoming friends.

Despite often being bullied by white students, Bill was tall and muscular and was a member of the school's basketball team. His idols were originally NBA legends Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers, and later he added Magic Johnson.

Bill's dream was to join the NBA after high school and become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Bill was only half a year older than Wang Lei but was a head taller, nearly 1.95 meters, and was expected to grow to over 2 meters by the time he graduated from high school. He had a good build for basketball and played power forward for the school's basketball team. Although his shooting was not outstanding, he excelled at rebounding and blocking, making him a strong defensive player.

The school's basketball coach believed that if Bill could improve his shooting and further enhance his rebounding and blocking skills, he might achieve the same success as Bill Russell, who shared his name.

Wang Lei found it hard to agree with this. In his past life, he had read several basketball novels on起点 (Qidian) and gradually became familiar with the NBA, its history, and most of its stars. However, he could not recall any NBA player named Bill Duncan, who shared the name of "The Celtic Legend" Bill Russell.

The only NBA star with the surname Duncan was Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. Bill could not possibly be Tim Duncan.

If he had not changed his name, it meant that Bill either did not enter the NBA or did not achieve any significant success and remained unknown.

As Bill's only friend, Wang Lei did not want to discourage him and instead joined the basketball team at his invitation. Since his plan to write scripts and break into Hollywood did not work out, Wang Lei had also developed an interest in basketball, fantasizing about the possibility of achieving fame and fortune like the protagonists in the basketball novels on Qidian, winning championships and establishing a dynasty in the NBA.

Unfortunately, after a few days of playing basketball, Wang Lei realized he had no talent for it and could not improve his shooting or passing, no matter how much he practiced.

To make a name in the NBA with his lack of height and talent, he would need to be like the protagonists in the basketball novels on Qidian, either possessed by a future basketball system or the soul of a deceased or future NBA legend.

Unfortunately, Wang Lei did not have such good luck and had to give up on basketball, supporting Bill silently.

Wang Lei had once revealed a secret to Bill, suggesting that after graduation, he should join the Chicago Bulls or the Detroit Pistons in the NBA draft.

Since Bill would graduate in 1988, "The Basketball God" Michael Jordan had already joined the Chicago Bulls in the previous year's draft but did not win his first championship until 1991. The two-time NBA champions before that were the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons.

Even Bill's two idols, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and their Los Angeles Lakers team were swept by the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons in the finals that year.

Wang Lei thought that if Bill joined the Detroit Pistons or the Chicago Bulls after graduating in 1988, he might have a good chance of winning a championship ring and even establishing a dynasty.

Of course, this was on the condition that he was not traded away by the Detroit Pistons or the Chicago Bulls.

Unfortunately, Bill did not understand Wang Lei's "good intentions" and insisted on joining the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wang Lei could only wish him good luck. If he remembered correctly, the Los Angeles Lakers did not win another championship until the early 21st century, establishing the "OK Dynasty."

Wang Lei did not believe that Bill could stay with the Los Angeles Lakers until the 21st century.

"Hey, Lei, I found the books you wanted. It wasn't easy, so you owe me one. Remember to treat me to a free Chinese meal at your parents' restaurant!"

Seeing Wang Lei, Bill showed him a few books and greeted him with a happy face.