Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 790 - 571 Battle with Valuev

Just as the top management of the Big Six Studios and their backstage shareholders were debating whether to unite against Lionsgate Films, restrict Lionsgate's development, or strengthen cooperation with Lionsgate to make big money together.

News from Wall Street came that investors such as Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Wanda Group are currently contacting the senior management of Lionsgate to prepare for a new round of financing.

Also, there is news that Lionsgate plans to go public again next year.

Upon hearing this news, the high-level executives of the Big Six Studios felt that the rise of Lionsgate had become an unstoppable fact. Currently, Lionsgate's market value is between 8 billion and 8.5 billion US dollars, of which 11.37% of the Netflix shares are currently worth 3 billion US dollars.

With the current revenue of Lionsgate, the market value after going public is very likely to break through 10 billion, and even 15 billion US dollars. If Lionsgate successfully goes public, it will surpass Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures under Sony, and become one of the top five movie companies in the film industry.

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Regarding the rumors that Wall Street is preparing to invest in Lionsgate, Link confirms they are all true. Aside from companies like Netflix, multiple asset management companies on Wall Street are also waving checks, hoping to get rich alongside Lionsgate.

Among them, Netflix and Wanda Group are both prepared to acquire Lionsgate entirely or at least 50% of the shares with a bid of around 8.5 billion US dollars.

After thorough consideration, the board of directors of Lionsgate accepted the offer from Amazon Studios. This round of financing was based on a market value of 10 billion US dollars, transferring 20% of the shares, which was also the second round of financing after accepting Carl Icahn last year.

After two rounds of financing, the board of directors of Lionsgate included several new members. Link still holds the majority of shares at 54.8%, Amazon Studios holds the second most at 20%, Carl Icahn third at 7.6%, Summit Entertainment shareholders hold 5.5%, with remaining shareholders like Eva and Jon Feltheimer holding less than 5% each.

After the deal, the market value of Lionsgate before going public reached 10 billion US dollars.

In this round of financing, Link transferred 11% of the shares, turning the 1.1 billion US dollars received into Amazon shares, adding to the Amazon stocks previously acquired earlier this year. As a result, Golden Shell Investments, managed by Link, increased its Amazon shares to 1.805%, becoming a small shareholder.

Meanwhile, Wanda Group, who did not receive any shares, turned around to invest 2.8 billion US dollars in acquiring AMC, America's second-largest cinema chain, taking over its 338 cinemas and 4865 screens.

Wanda Group is planning to make its Wanda Cinema line go public next year, currently preparing for the IPO.

Link also plans to take Lionsgate public again within the next two years. After the IPO, he intends to hand over the company to professional managers and, together with Eva, step back to enjoy life.

Like now, constantly worrying about movie box office revenue, without even having time for a holiday.

Additionally, in a few more years, as the film industry approaches a winter downturn, Lionsgate will need to seek more support to get through this crisis. Both Netflix and Amazon Studios are considered good partners.

In October, Lionsgate also released two films, "Annabelle" and "Gone Girl."

"Annabelle" is a story adapted from the movie "The Conjuring," also known as "The Conjuring Prequel," which tells of a horror event caused by a doll and a cult.

The director of the film, John R. Leonetti, was the assistant director of "The Conjuring" and "Insidious: Chapter 2," with director James Wan serving as a producer in this film.

The film was released on October 3rd and grossed 37.13 million US dollars at the North American box office over the first weekend, reaching 61.07 million US dollars in North America after ten days.

The international box office was even higher than in North America, breaking 100 million in two weeks, reaching 125 million US dollars.

The global box office is estimated to be around 260 million US dollars.

During the release of "Annabelle," Link led the boxing team to Dubai to participate in a match against the Giant Valuev, competing for rankings within the WBC organization.

This match was initially planned to be held in the United States, but upon hearing that he would be fighting Valuev, the wealthy Middle Easterners showed great interest. Rashid, the wealthiest prince in Dubai, offered Link a 200 million US dollars appearance fee, hoping to host the match in Dubai.

Both Link and Frank did not refuse, and neither did their opponent Valuev.

The match was held in the Dubai Royal Sports Hall. On the day of the match, thousands of wealthy individuals topped with cloths and over twenty thousand boxing fans from around the world arrived.

Everyone was eager to see how Link, the new WBA Heavyweight Boxing Champion, would defeat his much taller opponent Valuev.

Valuev, standing at 213 cm tall with a reach of 213, weighing 316 pounds, approximately 143 kilograms, stood in the boxing ring resembling the giant gorilla from the movie King Kong, his body covered in sweat and hair, and his looks closely resembling the giants from "The Lord of the Rings."

Valuev, 41 years old this year, debuted in 1993 and remained unbeaten until 2007, reaching a professional record of 47 wins in 47 fights, almost breaking the curse of not exceeding 49 consecutive wins in the heavyweight category.

In his 48th match in 2007, he faced the Uzbekistan Boxing King Ruslan Chagaev and suffered his first professional defeat.

Up to now, with a total of 56 fights, he has 54 wins and 2 losses; besides being defeated by Chagaev, he also lost to the British Boxing King David Haye in 2009.

Compared to these two boxers, Link has a shorter reach, lighter weight, and significantly shorter stature, being nearly thirty centimeters shorter than Valuev. This gap adds many intriguing aspects to this match.

As the match started, Valuev roared loudly as he flexed his muscles, resembling a crazed giant ape, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

The audience couldn't help but cheer loudly at Valuev's performance.

Link smiled lightly, unconcerned. After the referee's announcement, he took the initiative to attack, using his much greater speed to land five consecutive punches on his opponent's abdomen and ribs.

As Valuev fought back during the attack, he swung his thick arms ferociously towards Link. With a 213 cm arm span and massive fists, he looked quite formidable.

Unfortunately, his speed was too slow; in the heavyweight category, he couldn't even match an ordinary professional boxer, and his reaction time was even slower.

Every time his fist swung, Link had already moved away to a safe area. When Valuev withdrew his fist, Link would close in and attack again, like a warrior attacking a Titan Beast in a game.

After several continuous attacks, Valuev could only take hits, unable to land any. Frustrated, he roared repeatedly and then swung his sandbag-sized fists, chopping and smashing at him relentlessly.

Once Link understood his opponent's strength, he had a clearer understanding of the match and was not worried about the opponent's aggressive attacks.

He kept an eye on the opponent's fists, dodging constantly in the boxing ring, narrowly avoiding the opponent's deadly moves like dancing on a wire.

The audience below was thrilled, with applause and cheers coming continuously from beneath the stage.

In the first round, Valuev threw 101 punches, 0 hit Link.

Link threw 69 punches, landing 18 on the opponent's abdomen.

By the end of this round, Valuev was panting heavily and sweating all over.

But Link was very relaxed.

In the second round, Valuev took a defensive stance, blocking his ribs and abdomen with both arms, prepared to defend staunchly.

Link, in this round, adopted an offensive strategy, hitting up and down, down and up. The opponent was 213 cm tall with an arm length of 194 cm; as long as he got close enough, he could hit the opponent's chin.

At 56 seconds into the round, Link first lured out a punch from his opponent and then landed a heavy punch on his left rib. Valuev bent over in pain, covering his abdomen, and then Link followed up with an upper hook punch to his chin.

Valuev staggered back three steps, slamming hard into the ropes.

Link pressed on, delivering a flurry of more than a dozen punches to his abdomen, arms, and chin.

Among them, a punch to the chin was more solid, causing Valuev to stagger. As Valuev tried to fight back, he was hit by another punch, unguarded. Smack! He fell sideways onto the boxing ring, like a fallen giant.

This caused an uproar at the venue.

In the third round, Valuev's condition significantly worsened, shielding his abdomen and chin with both fists, not daring to attack once.

Link continued to perform rapid punches, knocking Valuev down again at 87 seconds. Valuev struggled for ten seconds before he could barely sit up, unable to stand and continue the match.

The main reason was Valuev's heavy body, causing bodily injuries each time he fell onto the boxing ring, worse than taking a punch to the face.

After counting the seconds, the referee declared Link the winner.

The ranking match ended.

Link's professional record stands at 39 fights, 39 wins, 39 KOs.

After the match, Link flew back to the United States.

This fight earned him 180 million US dollars, Dynasty Promotion earned over twenty million, and Valuev's appearance fee was only 2 million.

The hosting Dubai prince wouldn't see a loss either, as Link and Valuev were well-known in the boxing arena, leading to high talkability. This match sold over four million PPVs, with tens of millions watching the live broadcast online and subsequent views exceeding one billion times.

Including peripheral income, this match created a commercial value of over 600 million US dollars.

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"Annabelle" grossed 85.57 million in the North American box office, 178 million overseas, and a total of 264 million worldwide four weeks after release.

In late October, shortly after Link's fight ended, a thriller starring Link and Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl," premiered simultaneously in multiple countries and regions worldwide.

Over the weekend, it earned 51.48 million US dollars in 3014 theaters across North America, breaking 100 million in ten days, making it Lionsgate Films's sixth film this year to break 100 million at the US box office.

The overseas performance was also solid, accumulating 182 million US dollars in box office receipts in 32 countries and regions within the first batch in ten days.

The marketing department projects the total box-office projection to be around 450 million.

"Gone Girl" received a very positive reception, with a media composite score of 82, a Rotten Tomatoes freshness of 87%, and an IMDB rating of 8.1/10.

Both Link and Rosamund Pike's performances in the film were recognized by professionals.

"The Boston Globe" commented that the chemistry and spiritual connection between Link and Rosamund Pike were captivating. Link fully embodied a philandering, distressed bohemian, while Rosamund Pike portrayed the figure of a high-born schemer, deeply conveying the dual nature of marriage as both heaven and hell, resulting in a thrilling experience.

"Complete Movie" magazine stated that Link's performance in this film was richer and more nuanced, with a strong chance of catching the Oscar jury's attention and being nominated for Best Actor in next year's awards.