151 Helping Hand

Since boxing entered the modern era, because of the continuous improvements in technology and tactics and the pursuit of athletes in this area, KO's had become relatively rare in boxing competitions. Take the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for example, only a total of two KO's occured.

Although the national championship wasn't on the same level.

Knocking out opponents in two consecutive rounds, was quite shocking to the audience.

But just then, an unexpected scene occurred.

Tang Yan walked in front of Zou Chen and then reached out and pulled the latter up from the canvas.

This scene attracted a blast of exclamation from the audience.

Taking the initiative to help up your opponent wasn't a rare thing in boxing, but seeing it from Tang Yan was stunning, it had never occurred before.

Tang Yan lifted up Zou Chen from the ground, said a few words of concern and after he was sure he was okay to stand, he let go.

The audience burst into cheers.

Some of the crowd still shouted some less than flattering words but the fighters in the ring were harmonious.

This was a measure of slapping the faces of the audience.

Some fast-acting reporters filmed the scene. Such positive news was favored by the public.

After the referee announced Tang Yan as the winner, Tang Yan helped Zou Chen out the ring and they left.

Tang Yan didn't suddenly feel any sympathy, but Zou Chen's actions of supporting his fans before the fight, as well as the skills and tactics shown in the ring showed that he was a good boxer. Although they were competing now in the end everyone was fighting to represent China. It was necessary to help each other out where possible.

After the fight, Tang Yan had a shower and headed back.

....

Zhuang Jiajie was indeed a top-level agent. He called Tang Yan after the fight and congratulated him on a good job and how he handled the matter after the fight.

When the news of tonight's fight went out, it helped improve Tang Yan's image. Although Tang Yan rarely did this kind of thing before, it was overlooked as they praised him and fed the hype.

Tang Yan took a shower and lay down to see how many Weibo fans he had gained. In just a few days, it had changed from the first dozen to more than 100,000 followers. He had to admire his agent, he wasn't all talk.

After scrolling through Weibo for a while, he turned his attention to his opponent for the next round.

His opponent in the next round was a well-known 56kg class domestic boxers.

Zhang Jiawei

This name, had a bit of an impression on Tang Yan from his previous life.

Chinese boxing wasn't very high level, as such there were only a few famous boxers tossing around. Zou Shiming and Xiong Chaozhong were among the most well-known, while Zhang Jiawei was a tier below.

The peak for the boxer was in 2015, when he was 27 years old. He defeated the WBO Featherweight Champion, Laurent Djokir and made a name for himself.

Although Zhang Jiawei was only 23 years old at this time and had yet to reach his peak, he already had a considerable reputation in the domestic 56kg class.

Tang Yan read all the information collected by Qin Hailong and gained a general understanding of Zhang Jiawei, he was a boxer who was good at long-range attacks.

At this time, he had to say that he had a great advantage. After all, if the opponent was famous, he had the benefits of the national teams resources to investigate their style, while he remained still relatively unfamiliar to his opponents.

.....

The last day of the National Boxing Championships. The audience filled the auditorium early. This time, not only fans of Tang Yan, Zou Shiming, Zhang Jiawei but also general boxing fans. The whole gymnasium was filled.

The first to fight was Zou Shiming.

After hard training, Zou Shiming's strength was even better than that of 2008. Within one round, he suppressed his opponent so much so he couldn't afford to raise his head. Although there was no KO, in the second round the referee called it off and he won by TKO.

The fight left the audience in a good mood.

The next fight, the 52kg class clash was a close match but in the end, Chu Weiguo of the Henan Province won the gold medal.

Immediately after the 52kg finals, the audience couldn't help getting restless.

The match between Tang Yan and Zhang Jiawei was up next.

When introduced before the fight, Zhang Jiawei's series of domestic titles showed that he was a well-known veteran of the battlefield. On Tang Yan's side, although there weren't many honors, a 49kg Asian Games gold medal was noteworthy enough.

The boxers on both sides finished their introductions and were putting on their protective gear while the on-site commentators discussed the upcoming fight.

"Who do you think will be the winner of this fight?"

"I would have to place my bets on Tang Yan. I feel like he is in first gear while everyone else is stuck in second. He's in a calibre of his own."

"I would have to agree with Wang Chao, a lot of people suspected that his transition from the 49kg class to the 56kg class wouldn't suit him, but after two consecutive one-punch KO's he's proved those worries are groundless. "

"Tang Yan is indeed a strong boxer but his opponent Zhang Jiawei also isn't weak. Two years ago, he won the World Championships Bronze Medal. He has steadily improved his strength. Today, the position as the number 1 domestic featherweight boxer is unmanned and ready for the talking!"

"They are both excellent boxers. Unfortunately, we only have one ticket for the World Championships. It's a pity."

"Well it's good news for the audience. Now we get to see both fighters give their all for that World Championship spot!"

...

Just as the commentators finished talking, Tang Yan and Zhang Jiawei both wore protective gear and followed the referee's instructions to stand in the ring.

"Good luck" Zhang Jiawei said to Tang Yan with a smile after taking office.

"Same to you." Tang Yan replied with a smile.

Zhang Jiawei nodded back.

The referee ran through the basic rules, the audience cheered and the two touched gloves before backing away.

The bell for the first round rang.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

"And we are off, the finals for the 56kg class begins. Tang Yan vs Zhang Jiawei."

.......

"Come place your bets, Tang Yan vs Zhang Jiawei."

"Can Tang Yan continue his miracle run"

"The odds are 1/3! The best in the house"

"I wanna bet ¥500!"

"I got a ¥1000!"

At this moment a disheveled figure made his way to the front and said:

"I wanna place ¥200,000 on Tang Yan!"