Last weekend, the WBC Asian Boxing Championship started in Foshan, Guangdong. In the main event, WBC Super Featherweight Asian Boxing Champion Liu Wensong from China met the challenge of Japanese player Ryu Nakai, but the entire event started from the first back-up match. It set off a climax. The two female players participated in a fierce battle for 6 rounds. In particular, the British player Ellie attacked quickly and kept using her diving skills to hit combination punches at close range, which made the Australian player Maria Turner tired of dealing with it. In the end, the three judges unanimously agreed. Ellie was judged to have won by points.
Ellie (left) in the game
This was Ellie’s third professional match. While she remained unbeaten, she also ended her opponent’s undefeated record (previously 5 wins and 3 KOs). Ellie and her friends after the game They hugged each other excitedly. At this moment, the Chinese boxing circle was also quite relieved, because the British female boxer Elle in front of them was truly "Made in China". She is the only female boxer of the famous domestic m23 team. Speaking of which, , can be regarded as the junior sister of former WBA world boxing champion Xu Can.
Pursuing boxing dreams in China
stems from her love for Chinese culture since childhood
Since signing with m23 in October last year, Ellie entered the professional boxing ring and played 3 games in less than half a year. First, on December 31, 2023, in Shaanxi Shangluo drew with Zhao Xuan, the national championship 54kg champion, in 4 rounds. On May 11 this year, she defeated North Korean female boxing champion Hong Yunzhong by unanimous decision in 6 rounds in Anshan, Liaoning. In addition to this game, Ellie's career start was surprising. However, while witnessing Ellie's outstanding performance, many people will definitely wonder why an Englishman pursues his dream of professional boxing in China?
This probably starts with the fate between Ellie and China.
Ellie has lived in China with her family since she was a child
Between 2000 and 2014, Ellie's father was stationed in Beijing, China, as a senior accountant. Ever since she was 4 years old, Ellie has come to China for a few weeks every holiday. She learned to use chopsticks when she was four or five years old, and also developed a Chinese stomach. Traditional Chinese foods such as steamed buns, dumplings, spicy soup, and sesame balls were her favorites. When she was 14 or 15 years old, Ellie simply came to I went to an international school in Beijing for two years.
To this day, Ellie still misses the days when she and her family were in Beijing. “When I was a child, my father would ride an old-fashioned three-wheeled bicycle and put my brother and me on the bike. There would be many passers-by staring at us along the way. Maybe you think our family is very funny.”
In 2014, Ellie was admitted to Cambridge University. Because of her love for China, she chose a Chinese course. In her junior year, she came to Qingdao as an exchange student. This close connection with China In her graduation year, Ellie made an important decision - to continue working and living in China. She found a job as an English teacher in Hangzhou. According to her own words, "I felt that my English was not good enough." , still need to continue to improve, while teaching others English, it is also helping herself to learn Chinese. "
So far, Ellie's life has not had much intersection with boxing. She has only participated in some activities in the boxing club in Cambridge, and more often. Li was more focused on powerlifting, which she had been doing for many years. At that time, she did not expect that returning to China would open the door to professional boxing for her.
"You always need some partners to do sports. After returning to China, my friends in the UK who were engaged in powerlifting were no longer around. I happened to see a boxing gym opposite the school, and I thought, since I have tried some before, then I will practice boxing instead.”
Ellie’s original idea was just to play, and the boxing gym where she took classes was called “Shengque”. The owner of the gym was Xu Que, a famous domestic professional boxer, whom she met through the coach here. She met Liang Guanghuo, who was engaged in boxing training in Shanghai. Afterwards, when Ellie moved to Shanghai, her boxing training did not stop.
Liang Guanghuo was once a professional athlete within the system and won many national championships. The famous domestic boxer and National Games champion Gao Linzhi was his senior brother. After retiring, Liang Guanghuo engaged in coaching work and once served as the coach of former WBO world champion Kimura Sho. Prepare for the head coach.
Liang Guanghuo (left) took Aili into the boxing field.
Under Liang Guanghuo's training, Aili continued to make progress. It was from that moment on that Aili felt that it was no longer possible to separate herself from boxing.
signed with the Chinese boxing team
A surprising decision
From 2020 to 2022, for some reasons, Ellie returned to her hometown of Nottingham, England. The strong boxing atmosphere in the UK allowed her to quickly stand in the ring of amateur competitions.
In 15 months, Ellie played 20 amateur matches and won 16. She won a national championship and two runner-ups, as well as an international championship runner-up. You must know that many of her opponents have the skills. A veteran with more than ten years of boxing experience.
Before coming to China to pursue her dream, Ellie had already made a name for herself in the UK.
A British girl who formally trained in boxing in China accidentally became famous in her hometown in the UK. Her potential also attracted many professional coaches, hoping to promote She entered professional boxing.
Ellie didn't have much hesitation about engaging in professional boxing, but she always missed China thousands of miles away, the place where her dream began, and she wondered where her professional boxing career should go.
"I fell in love with boxing in China, and started real boxing training in China. I trust my coach Ricky (Liang Guanghuo), and he understands me better."
During the days of competing in the UK, Ellie and Liang Guanghuo always kept in touch. Even if he felt uneasy before the competition, he would call Liang Guanghuo. Liang Guanghuo would patiently teach his disciple and give her technical guidance and psychological counseling.
When she needed to make another important choice in her life, Ellie found Liang Guanghuo again. She made a plan to go to China for a two-week vacation so that she could discuss with her mentor face to face. During the meeting, Liang Guanghuo brought her good news - if If you want to play professional boxing in China, you can sign with the m23 team.
"I feel that I am so lucky. I have known m23 for a long time when I was in China. This is the best professional boxing team in China. This is the team of world boxing champion Xu Can..." When professional and considerate coaches and top teams open their arms, Ellie doesn't want to do what he wants anymore, even if her hometown is the country with the most developed professional boxing at the moment.
Of course, Ellie’s decision shocked the British boxing circle and friends around her. A coach asked her in surprise, "Are you going to the Shaolin Temple? Do you want to learn Kung Fu?"
This reaction was not disappointing. Surprisingly, the UK is the country with the best development of professional boxing in the world. Boxing has been integrated into British culture and is known locally as the "smoke-free industry". The most famous boxers in today's boxing world, such as Tyson Fury and Joshua, are British.
At that time, Ellie patiently explained to them, but most of them still didn't understand why. When Ellie said Xu Can's name, the British boxing coach finally reacted, "Oh, the one who fought with Leigh Wood for the gold belt." Chinese boxer. "
Leigh Wood's hometown is Nottingham. In July 2021, Leigh Wood won the WBA world boxing championship after defeating Xu Can. Even if Xu Can did not become the winner of the game, an excellent Chinese boxer would still make his British counterpart Remember, also give them some respect for the team Ally is joining.
"As a coach, I want to push her to become the world champion."
After signing with m23 in October last year, Ellie's career path went extremely "fast". In less than half a year, Ellie played three games, and her performance was visible to the naked eye every time. She is also very excited about the progress and admits that joining m23 was the right choice.
"In the UK, arranging matches is usually very slow because there are too many boxers and promoters' promises are often not fulfilled. I'm lucky that my team does what they say." Regarding training, Ally also pointed out China It’s different from the UK. “In the UK we play more actual games, but the coaches are actually not that meticulous about technique. In China, in my team, they are all coaches from professional teams (within the system). Their The level is better and the quality of my training in China is obviously higher than when I returned to the UK."In the conversation between
and Aili, we can clearly feel the difference between Chinese and British boxing training. In a word, Aili believes that she has taken a path that suits her best. In the m23 team, Liang Guanghuo only led Aili. A professional boxer, in addition, there is an experienced Filipino coach to guide her. There can be more than ten team members surrounding Ellie on the eve of the game. Ellie admitted: "In the UK, I cannot enjoy such conditions. "
After ending Australian player Turner's unbeaten record, Ellie has allowed people to see more possibilities. Along the way, coach Liang Guanghuo has seen all of Ellie's dedication and growth.
"In fact, When she first contacted me through my junior brother at Shengque, I didn't want to take her with me. At that time, she came to Shanghai to live with friends and had no job. I thought, she might not have money, so how could she take care of her one-on-one?
Liang Guanghuo was very frank, but gradually he was moved by Ellie, "On the one hand, I saw her advantages. Because of powerlifting, she has better strength than players of the same level. No boxer is perfect. We all need to emphasize a player's strengths so that her other deficiencies can be covered. "
" On the other hand, and the most important point, I can feel her love for boxing. She is very focused and devotes herself to doing one thing well. This reminds me of when I was a player. state. "
A player who was once rejected has now planted a seed in Liang Guanghuo's heart, "The competition has to be played one by one and requires constant accumulation, but as a coach, I want to push her to become a world champion. Location. "
According to Liang Guanghuo, Ellie can now enter the top three at the same level in China. With her growth rate and the comparison between Chinese women's boxing and the world level, everything is worth looking forward to.
"Use boxing to bring positive energy to everyone. "
In addition to Liang Guanghuo, Huang Chen, the person in charge of m23 Shanghai Boxing Gym, is another talent. When Liang Guanghuo recommended Ai Li to Huang Chen in March last year, Huang Chen had all-round considerations on whether to sign a foreign female boxer.
m23 Shanghai Boxing Gym person in charge Huang Chen (right) is another of Ellie’s top talents.
“How far can she go in the future, how can she help the Chinese boxing market, and how many people can she inspire to participate in boxing, including her personal fondness for China and love for Chinese culture. I took it all into consideration. I hope to use her as a testing ground. Now it seems that I am on the right track and it is a win-win situation between us. "
As a practitioner, Huang Chen has always emphasized that the boxing industry is not just about holding professional competitions, but also requires a large number of people who are willing to appreciate and participate in boxing, as well as a complete system surrounding them, such as boxing training and related service consumption. "Only by Only when the market gets bigger and a healthy industrial chain is formed will professional boxing have a future in China. With more people boxing, we can also find good seeds from it. "
Huang Chen bluntly said that Ellie is undoubtedly a good role model for many boxing fans, especially women. According to reports, women currently account for more than 60% of the students at the m23 boxing gym.
Today While thinking about competing professionally, Ellie also works as a coach at the m23 boxing gym, because she has a lot of people coming to the boxing gym to learn boxing. Ellie also manages her own social account and interacts with fans on weekdays, "I'm not I don’t want everyone to see how awesome I am, but I hope my story can encourage everyone and bring some positive energy to everyone. In my opinion, the biggest charm of boxing is that it allows you to overcome your fears, discover through this sport that you are not so vulnerable, and can face it bravely in life. "
Ellie is now preparing to fight professional boxing while teaching boxing in China.
years of experience in studying and living in China have enabled Ellie to speak fluent Chinese and communicate with everyone without any barriers.
Not only that, she also She especially likes the idiom "show". During the interview, she often hears words like "endless learning, putting the cart before the horse, and going in the opposite direction" from her mouth. When talking about her career in professional boxing in China, Ellie said excitedly, "This is Be different'.
Huang Chen, who was shocked this time, quickly corrected him, "You should say 'find another way'." "
It is obvious that Ellie likes Chinese culture and enjoys her current life. Many mornings, she will run from her residence to the Bund and practice aerial attack on the square in the morning light of Shanghai. Passers-by will greet her affectionately along the way. Say hello.
Ellie said frankly that she has fallen deeply in love with this city and decided to settle down. "Shanghai is an international metropolis. I have a circle of friends and can fly directly to the UK. The most important thing is , here is the big family of m23, where I can look forward to my future. "
Source: Shanghai Sports
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