Hundreds of people packed into the ballroom of Shanghai's Hyatt on the Bund on Friday night to watch a boxing event like no other. The 18 fighters Shoes Air Max 97 OG Undefeated Sail White Sale , Chinese and foreigners alike, were all amateurs and ""white-collar"" workers with no previous boxing experience. Just three months before they had been like you and I, but on Friday night they climbed into the ring to duke it out under the Marquess of Queensberry rules and for three two-minute rounds under the heat of the lights those competitors felt like the great pugilists who have given the sweet science its salubrious sobriquet.
This was an event eight years in the making. The organizer Air Max 97 OG Undefeated Shoes Militia Green Sale , White Collar Boxing International's Shane Benis, launched China's first white-collar boxing event in Shanghai in 2008 with the Brawl on the Bund. Since then the promotions have expanded to include the nation's capital, Macao and Taipei.
The middle-class version of the sport has its origins in New York City Air Max 97 OG Undefeated Shoes Black Sale , with Gleason's Gym credited with starting the craze in the 1980s. And the deal is quite simple. Those who have signed up with hopes of steeping into the ring in front of their peers have to attend 12 weeks of boxing and fitness training three times a week, put in the hard yards on the road outside the gym and lay off the regular vices of the Oasis-penned theme tune of the sedentary office worker - cigarettes and alcohol.
Even if you manage that, it's no guarantee of a chance you'll be dishing out hits in the glamour and glitz of the main event. Not everyone makes the cut - and that could be for the fact that they are too good Men's Air Max 97 Shoes Gold Yellow Black Sale , juts not good enough, unfit or there is no one else in their weight class. This happens because the organizers don't want anyone getting hurt.
This is not a straightener in the back of a pub car park. It's a fully refereed affair that is scored in the same way as boxing in the Olympics and just like -every Games until Rio this summer, headguards are mandatory.
The attention to detail in regards to the safety of the competitors is matched by the event's production values. It's a black-tie affair that is sponsored to the hilt and it gives a lot of professional boxing shows a run for their money Men's Air Max 97 Ultra Shoes All Black Sale , from the Grammy award-winning entertainment to the inestimable announcers.
The other difference is that much of the money raised at these events goes to support local charities in China - which is some solace after you've taken a good licking in the ring. And I can confirm that after coming second (of two) in my own white collar boxing debut at the inaugural Brawl on the Wall in 2013.
In a world where participation in traditional grass-roots sport seems to keep going down, this is a TKO, putting ordinary ladies and gents in touch with the sacrifice it takes to be a top class athlete - even if it is just for 12 weeks. If you like the sound of it Men's Air Max 97 KPU TPU Shoes Black White Sale , you can throw more than your hat into the ring in December.