Chapter 360 A good opportunity to make money
"What time did he make an appointment?"

Du Sheng was not surprised.

He is not a UFC boxer yet, but he got the entry ticket in a special way.

UFC is about to surpass kickboxing and become the second largest event in the world after boxing.

Boxing also declined, and UFC even had a chance to become the number one event.

Signing a formal contract with it will bring more benefits than disadvantages, whether it is to enhance fame or gain reputation points.

"In the evening. The UFC is currently in a phase of rapid expansion. He wants to meet you as soon as possible."

Don King says:

"The report about you mocking UFC and boxing when K1 won the championship last time brought a lot of heat to the fighting circle of the Lighthouse Country."

At that time, there were a lot of news in North America hyping that Du Sheng was about to participate in the UFC and would face off against Tyson's successor 'De La Hoya'.

After the finals, Du Sheng said in an interview that as long as the top ten boxers in the world in the same weight class dared to challenge him, he would guarantee that "one punch would make him tetanus-injuring, two punches would make him see his ancestors", which also caused quite a lot of public opinion in North America.

Unfortunately, De La Hoya is in the boxing circle and has publicly stated that he has no plans to cross over to the UFC for the time being, so this hot topic is gone.

At this point, Tang Jin looked at Du Sheng ambiguously:

"You've been involved in a scandal with Hilton's daughter for the past two days, and you're considered a celebrity here. Dana White couldn't sit still and contacted me twice."

The principle of striking while the iron is hot is well known both at home and abroad.

This is even more true in the fighting circle, otherwise UFC would not have risen so quickly.

"No problem, let's meet as soon as possible. You decide the place and we'll treat you."

Du Sheng agreed readily.

If Dana White can show sincerity, he is not completely unacceptable.

But the prerequisite is to ensure the freedom of the event, and some strict clauses must be included in the contract.

At present, whether for ideals or interests, boxing's influence far exceeds that of UFC.

Don King has always wanted Du Sheng to participate in boxing, so he has to fight for it.

That night, on the north side of Las Vegas, at the Hilton Hotel.

Du Sheng met with UFC President Dana White.

At this time, Dana White has yet to show the entrepreneurial style he showed in the heyday of UFC.

He still retains more of the capable qualities of a professional boxer.

Dana White is undoubtedly the most business-minded representative among professional boxers, second only to middleweight superstar Oscar De La Hoya.

De La Hoya founded the 'Golden Boy' boxing agency, which in a few years will become one of the three major promotion companies and will gather many top boxers under its command.

Not only that, De La Hoya also got involved in music, releasing records and cooperating with several commercial companies on copyright.

It can be said that like Du Sheng, even if they are not professional boxers, they can achieve brilliant achievements in other fields.

Of course, Dana White is no ordinary person.

After retiring, when he learned that the UFC parent company was interested in selling UFC, he keenly saw the future potential of mixed martial arts.
He then persuaded his good friend Lorenzo Furtita to acquire UFC, in which he held a 10% stake and became the president.

Although some people say that Dana White is not the real boss of UFC, he deserves the lion's share of the credit for the rise of UFC.

You know, two years ago, UFC was still a small fighting event that was close to bankruptcy.

It is not uncommon in history that this type of boxing match disappears completely once it goes bankrupt.

To make matters worse, most cable TV companies have stopped cooperating with the UFC.

Before Internet pay-per-view became popular, television broadcasts were almost the main source of revenue for fighting events.

After Dana White took office, he not only gradually reversed the decadent situation and promoted the legalization of UFC, but also made it one of the mainstream fighting events that attracted global attention.

"Du, I've heard of your great name for a long time!
You are the boxer I believe has the ability to change the boxing world after Li Xiaolong!"

Dana White was enthusiastic and spoke highly of him.

From his sincere tone, it can be seen that he really admires Du Sheng.

As a supporter of Li Xiaolong's boxing, Dana White once publicly declared that Li Xiaolong is a pioneer of mixed martial arts.

To a certain extent, he does not have the prejudice and arrogance of traditional Chinese people towards yellow boxers.

This is also one of the reasons why Du Sheng was willing to fly here from afar.

"Haha, Mr. Dana White, you're too kind. It's also my honor to meet you."

Du Sheng politely shook hands with Dana White and said with a smile:
"In my mind, your contribution to the UFC and mixed martial arts should go down in history."

Perhaps it was Du Sheng's humility and courtesy that surprised Dana White.

He smiled jokingly:

"I read reports about you on the Internet before, and I thought you were a difficult person to get along with.

I didn't expect you to be so humble and polite, and even offered to invite me to a meeting. It seems that many things can only be believed with one's own eyes."

"The media has a tendency to hype things up, and what they report about me is not the truth, but an image created based on demand."

Du Sheng smiled slightly and said:
"To use a popular word in our Eastern entertainment industry, it's stereotyping."

"Profiling?"

Hearing this word, Dana White was slightly confused, and then laughed heartily:

“That’s a good description, yes, a Facebook tag built out of necessity.

It seems that deep down you are still the reserved and conservative Oriental person!"

"No, no, Mr. White, you are wrong about that.

I have always believed that the strong are kings and are respected and feared.

Therefore, my image on the ring also reflects my aspirations to some extent.”

Du Sheng does not want to be seen by Dana White as a low-key and conservative person.

This image will be looked down upon in negotiations of interests.

"I also believe that strength is king." Dana White saw resonance in the other party's eyes, which was the cornerstone of reaching a consensus.

Different from Oriental people who are used to discussing business at the dinner table, people in Lighthouse Country generally do not like to talk about business while eating unless they are extremely familiar friends.

Therefore, Du Sheng did not discuss cooperation with Dana White at the dinner table.

The two were just happily exchanging some interesting anecdotes in the field of fighting.

During the meeting, Dana White asked Du Sheng more about his views on mixed martial arts.

After the meal, Dana White's eyes were shining with excitement.

Because Du Sheng is extremely optimistic about the prospects of UFC.

Some even predict that it may surpass boxing and become the world's largest fighting event.

This coincides with Dana White's plan for the development of fighting.

He never expected that an Eastern boxer would be so optimistic about UFC.

You know, there are currently no formal MMA events in the entire East.

This is a blank area for boxers in Asia as a whole.

After the meal, both sides sat at the conference table and started talking about the main topic.

"Du, you just said that the reason you didn't mind having a scandal with Hilton's daughter was to expand your popularity in North America.

Now I have a good opportunity to both increase my fame and make money, I wonder if you are interested?"

"Joining your UFC?"

Du Sheng asked back with a smile, this is exactly the core of today's talks.

He prefers to be direct, so he just opens the topic right away.

“Yes, I have studied your previous fights and know about your interest in mixed martial arts.

It is no exaggeration to say that you have what it takes to be the middleweight champion, so I very much hope to sign you!"

Dana White's words were not just politeness.

He carefully watched the recordings of several of Du Sheng's key matches, including the "Wulin" semi-finals.

Compared to most Chinese people who underestimate Du Sheng based on their stereotypes about Oriental people, Dana White is well aware of how powerful Du Sheng is in the field of fighting.

If Du Sheng was not an Oriental, but a Chinese from the Lighthouse Country, his record and status would be enough to be regarded as the next boxing superstar comparable to Tyson.

A record of all wins by KO is not uncommon, but Dana White concluded that Du Sheng's opponents and record are not fake, but were all won through real fighting in the ring.

Moreover, the opponents were almost all the strongest people Du Sheng could challenge at that time.

In other words, this is not Du Sheng's limit!
"What kind of offer can the UFC make to sign me?"

Du Sheng asked about the price directly without any more politeness.

He is currently facing a shortage of funds.

Although there is a possibility of a fight with Chuck Liddell next, which will bring a huge amount of money, the expenses are also increasing.

Leaving aside several major domestic projects, "Wanted Order" will be put on the agenda sooner or later, and this amount of money is expensive for everyone.

What's more, Du Sheng also has a grand vision of acquiring K1.

All of this requires huge amounts of money to support.

This is also the premise for Du Sheng to agree to discuss cooperation with Dana White.

As long as the conditions are right, everything is negotiable!
"This is the contract we gave you, take a look."

Dana White took out a contract and pushed it over:

"It includes fixed income, bonuses for each victory, and best game rewards, starting at a minimum of $60,000 per victory, as well as additional rewards such as night game specials and best player prizes."

“Of course, I understand that these may just be your starting points.

What makes UFC unique is that we are willing to share PPV (pay-per-view) revenue with our star fighters.

That means that in the UFC, you can get paid a cut of the pay-per-view revenue just like the fighters do.”

Du Sheng took the contract, glanced at it, and said nothing.

The treaties listed above are quite attractive.

If you are a newbie in boxing, you might be attracted immediately.

After all, the average boxer's appearance fee is only tens of thousands of dollars, with no other additional benefits, let alone a stable basic salary contract.

But for Du Sheng, this is far from enough.

He secretly shook his head in his heart. Dana White seemed to treat him as a newcomer to North America and tried to attract him with blank checks?
"That sounds good, but I'm more pragmatic."

Du Sheng said calmly:

“What is the specific appearance fee and what is the PPV share ratio?
Since Mr. White has spoken, he should have already determined these details."

He is not opposed to participating in competitions in North America; the key is whether the remuneration is generous.

Moreover, he believes he has a huge advantage:
Able to accept a high-intensity game rhythm.

Compared to top boxing champions who only fight once or twice a year, boxers who compete frequently are even rarer.

Fighting twice a month is not impossible for him as long as he can find the right opponent.

At the end of the day, fighting always involves risk.

Boxers gamble their health and lives just to make a little extra money.

Top boxers are already famous, and they all want to make more money while they still have gold belts or championships, and no longer try to show off their talents like newcomers.

However, these injury risks do not exist for Du Sheng.

He doesn't mind fighting a few more games to make money, but he's afraid that the master will be lonely and no one will dare to challenge him.

.........

(End of this chapter)