204 Scouting Out The Competition

Boxing originated from the United Kingdom and became an Olympic event under the impetus of the British. And even to this day the United Kingdom was still a boxing powerhouse.

The show ran through the history of British boxing, how it was customary for members of aristocracy and nobility to give patronages to specific fighters, financing their training and placing large bets when they fought. Explaining why boxers were given the alias of 'Royal Boxer' when they gained noble patrons back in the 19th century.

They discussed the establishment of the first boxing rules that still helped govern the sport now and various other historical accounts.

At the end of the documentary, they also conducted some interviews with British boxers who were currently active in the scene. There were professional boxers as well as amateur boxers. Among them was the well-known young British boxer Ashley West of the 63kg class.

"Royal boxer, what a cool title. Although it is still far from me, I will definitely reach such a level. I have planned a path for myself. I want to win the World Championships then the Olympics, then the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF titles. Unifying all the belts in my weight class. It's a difficult plan, but I hope to realize it step by step.

Tang Yan found himself being drawn in as he watched the show all the way to the end. On the one hand, it was because the BBC program itself was well done, and on the other hand, Ashley West was likely to be one of his opponents in the future.

Tomorrow would be the fifth match day and the knockouts for the remaining boxers in the 63kg class would continue. Compared with today, the strength of the boxers tomorrow would be more striking. Including the likes of the 57kg gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko.

Although he had to shift weight class to 60kg because of the removal of the 57kg class, from his previous performances it was clear his strength hadn't decreased but increased, he was even in a position to enter the professional boxing world.

Plus in addition to Lomachenko, Ashley West would be fighting tomorrow. So naturally Tang Yan couldn't miss it. It was a great chance to scout out the competition.

...

The number of spectators who were here today was about twice that of yesterday, with Vasyl Lomachenko, Misha Aloyan, Lázaro Álvarez and other world-renowned boxers all fighting, the atmosphere today was naturally more tense.

Because Zou Shiming's fight was yesterday, the 49-kilogram match didn't attract much attention, but with the 52-kilogram fight, Misha Aloyan's debut soon ignited the venue.

As a rare lightweight boxer from Russia, Aloyan's boxing record in the past two years could be described as spectacular, winning the 52kg gold medal in the World Youth Boxing Championship and the European Boxing Championship in succession, he was among the favourites to win the 52kg  class.

Aloyan faced a Filipino boxer and scored a crushing victory of 20 to 5 on points to easily advance to the next round.

After Aloyan, the Cuban star Lázaro Álvarez also easily defeated his opponent in the 56kg class.

And with the 56kg fights over, the 63kg fights finally began.

The opening match was Vasyl Lomachenko against Azerbaijan's Aidar Akayev.

One the favourite to win the championship, and the other a local boxer. The host didn't even need to hype up the audience for the match between the two.

Tang Yan also watched on, attentively from the stands.

With the excited cheers of the audience, the match between the two sides officially started.

Feeling at home, Akayev's momentum was like a flood. Right from the beginning of the match, he launched a crazy attack on Lomachenko. His performance excited the audience.

But within a few moments, Lomachenko showed the strength of a defending champion and began to take the fight back.

During an offensive and defensive battle in the first half of the first round, Lomachenko drew sideways to avoid Akayev's attack and followed with a cannonball-style hook, cleanly striking Akayev's head.

After the two separated, Akayev was out of it, laid out on the canvas.

This violent reversal attracted an uproar from the audience.

Lomachenko appeared calm and not showing much excitement, he waited for the referee to raise his hand and signal him as the winner.

The cheers on the scene were very sporadic, perhaps because of the violent reversal from Lomachenko and seeing their local boxer being defeated in this way.

Tang Yan narrowed his eyes. Lomachenko's explosive power was slightly alarming. His slugger style would be difficult and dangerous to fight against.

A defending champion of the Olympic Games was indeed stronger than anyone he had ever faced before.

Lomachenko's match was followed by a contest between two Asian boxers, North Korea's Kim Jae-Rok vs India's Dijan Galawa.

Dijan Galawa won in the third round with a TKO.

But it was the next fight that gained Tang Yan's full attention again.

Ashley West was up. His opponent was Kamfi Masimov from Kazakhstan, who was well-known for his quick movement and combo punches.

At the beginning of the fight, Masimov took the lead in launching a tentative attack, using his excellent foot movement and solid boxing skills, he quickly gained the initiative in the ring.

Forcing West to take up a defensive posture as he used his body to carry Masimov's attack.

The home audience gave out cheers for Masimov's performance.

But such cheers didn't last long. After resisting Masimov's offensive for more than half a minute, West started a counterattack. Compared with his defense, his attack was like a storm.

Soon, Masimov was forced to the corner by his attacks despite his footwork, allowing West to seize the opportunity to attack and score several points.

But in haste to get rid of his suppressed situation, Masimov tried to force West back by attacking, but this just gave him more opportunities and continuous punches snuck through gaps as West rattled Masimov with punches, before finally sending him stacking it down to the canvas.

At the end of the referee's countdown, Masimov was still struggling to get up from the canvas.

Winning, West was ecstatic. Not only did he yell at the audience, but he directly stripped off his shirt and exposed the tattoos on his back.

Tattooed was the British landmark, Big Ben, in addition, to a figure of him seemingly being knighted below it.