The Winter Olympics is in full swing, and the failure on the field is often unacceptable, such as Yi Zhu and Liu Xiang. In fact, it is often the athletes themselves that are more difficult to accept. Boxer Xu Can was once the sole owner of the world champion's gold belt in China. A defeat in 202 1 August made him fall from the peak. The king with a strong desire to win fell into doubt and internal friction and struggled to recover from failure.
Lost in the jungle
Xu Can saw himself fall.
"Bang", the sound is crisp and short-in the playback picture, his chin was punched by the right hand of British boxer Leigh Wood, and his body lost its center of gravity, wobbled and finally fell to the ring.
Two and a half months after losing the world champion's gold belt, after the National Day holiday last year, accompanied by China's shooting master Mark Rui, Xu Cancai dared to watch the video replay of boxing match. Strictly speaking, it was the first time he looked back at the boxing match and the picture of himself being knocked down.
Figure | Xu Can (left) vs. Englishman Leigh Wood
Every time I step into the ring to fight, I walk into a jungle. Xu Can said that the boxing ring is very soft, just like the sand in the jungle. And this soft touch like sand will make boxers feel insecure.
What is in the jungle? The trees are flourishing, and the sunlight penetrates through the cracks in the branches and leaves and the mist in the forest. There is no road in the forest, but you can hear the sound of streams flowing. The beast is fierce and may pounce at any time. "I must find my own way out." Xu Can went on talking about what he understood as the jungle world in boxing.
Suddenly, a leopard jumped up and threw him down. The wound is bleeding, so he has to run quickly and can't stay where he is. This leopard is Leigh Wood.
Being knocked down by a punch, Xu Can's tired body was propped up by a soft sponge, and his swollen eyes were closed, leaving only his mouth wide open to breathe. There is a noisy crowd under the ring. They clap their hands, stomp their feet and growl because of what happened in the ring. For just a few seconds, Xu Can just wanted to have a rest. This is the first time in his life that he was knocked down by his opponent. Referee MacDonald knelt down and started for a few seconds. "One, two, three ..."
At that time, the boxing match had reached 12 round, and both of them were almost exhausted. Xu Can lags behind his opponent Leigh Wood in scoring. "The pendulum is not heavy. I got more than a dozen uppercuts in the whole game, which caused a lot of cumulative injuries, "he analyzed with the video of the game." "I fell down at that time, and I didn't feel anything when I got up. I was quite calm at the time. "
During the game before he fell, both he and Leigh Wood were injured, and blood flowed from the corners of eyes, corners of mouth and nostrils, with a foul smell, and splashed on the ring. Within the square inch rope circle, everything is spoken by fists. Xu Can knew when he was very young, "The champion is standing, not falling."
In the video playback, Xu Can propped himself up and stood up, the referee retreated to the periphery, and Leigh Wood waited for an opportunity to make a combination attack. He held the defense and backed off, failing to seize the opportunity to fight back. In this case, unfortunately, in order to protect the boxer, the referee announced the end of the game.
202 1 August1day, brentwood, England, Xu Can tasted defeat in the gold belt defending battle of the third world champion in his career. He lost his gold belt, and China lost the active world champion.
These are the reasons why boxing champion Xu Can is depressed this time. The day after the boxing match, he flew back to China from England, moved to Xi and Shanghai for isolation, and finally returned to Beijing on August 24th.
After returning home from defeat, Xu Can tried to get out of the jungle. But it's too difficult. He tripped. The hardest step is that he dare not look back at failure: "failure is the last thing I want to face." My heart is contradictory and I don't want to admit it. "
Figure | After the failure, Xu Can's world was once gloomy
"For two whole months, the jungle lost its sunshine and fell into darkness." Xu Can said that wild animals have been chasing him, trying to throw him down and bite him. He has no mind to think about how to define or understand boxing. Fear, self-blame, disappointment and self-doubt beset Xu Can. He suffered alone and refused to share his pain with others.
He is resting, but he feels much more tired than during training. Inside and outside the body, multiple pressures, emotional struggles. During that time, his temperament also became different from before. Xu Can admitted that there was a grumpy self who was often angry and opposed everything around him. He will lose his temper with his friends and family for no reason, and then he will regret it, apologize, multiply his pressure and fall into self-exhaustion. Xu Can, who didn't know how to get into the ring, said, "Confidence has been lost." .
"That's the last thing I want to see. I live to be the person I hate the most. I'm bad, I'm modest ... "Xu Can said. The background of modesty is self-confidence. Mentally and physically, I fell into a downturn and slowly failed to digest.
Face failure
Liu Gang, a boxing agent in Xu Can, knows that only Xu Can can really lead Xu Can out of the jungle.
As soon as the game was over, Liu Gang, who was in China, sent a message to Xu Can: "Never mind, study hard and pay attention to safety on the way back to China." In the spring of 20 10, Xu Can, a boy from Zixi, Jiangxi Province, was taken by his parents and rushed to Kunming from his hometown to go to Zhongwei Boxing Hall founded by Liu Gang. 12 years have passed, and the two are already deeply attached to each other.
"I know that his heart is very complicated, and I feel embarrassed about the supporters, boxing fans and the team. I advised him not to think too much, have a good rest and relax. " Liu Gang said that when the child grows up, he will discuss everything with him.
Figure | Liu Gang (middle) brings out the bear (left) and.
Liu Gang is a famous professional boxing promoter in China. He once represented China Boxing Team in 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. He was very handsome in those days, and he was known as a "beautiful boy" in boxing. At that time, Liu Gang met a coach of the Australian national team. On the recommendation of the other party, he bought a one-way ticket to Australia for $300.
300 yuan is only enough to live for a month. Liu Gang found a Chinese restaurant as a dishwasher. Every morning, he runs and exercises, changes clothes and washes dishes. After work, he went to the boxing gym by train and rushed back to the restaurant after training. The gap is too big. Liu Gang said with emotion: "In China, I am a member of the national team, and I am regarded as a' panda'. My food, clothing, housing and transportation are all arranged; Abroad, I am nothing, and everything starts from scratch. "
Boxing is a violent aesthetics and a philosophy of life. Liu Gang realized the joy of struggle from it. "Adversity and failure can promote human growth." Liu Gang's personal experience and boxing concept impressed many boxers who followed him to practice boxing in Yunnan Zhongwei. Many people he trained have the shadow of his youth, and Xu Can is no exception.
However, adversity and failure have never done so much harm to Xu Can. Because Xu Can's career began with a beautiful victory.
2013165438+1in mid-October, Yuhang, Zhejiang, Xu Can took the stage and started the first official boxing match. At that time, he was playing a cushion game for Qiu Xiaojun, the brother of Zhongwei Boxing Hall.
Zhou Chao asked Xu Can how to practice this style of play, but Xu Can didn't tell her why. Xu Can likes to think, thinking about only one thing-boxing. According to the empirical analysis, Zhou Chao was slowly figured out by Xu Can after watching many boxing videos and combining his own conditions.
Figure | Well-known coach Pedro Training Competition
Xu Can is a boxing champion who grew up eating hundreds of meals. Jin Bao, the old coach of the central defender, was his first coach. In Zhou Chao's view, it was Pacquiao's early target teacher Ellen who helped him form a professional style. His current coaches are Franklin from the Philippines and Macaulay from China. Pedro, a famous coach, helped him adjust his game when preparing for the war in the United States. He often rubs bears and trains them as sparring partners ... this is the barbaric growth of a grassroots boxer. He absorbs nutrients from all directions like a sponge.
There is no such thing as a champion. Boxers attack the title of champion, starting with the ranking match in the boxing gym. Only when you stand out from the crowd can you get a chance to compete. For professional boxers, training and survival depend on their own fists. Only by playing games, earning appearance fees, winning, getting higher appearance fees and gaining the favor of more sponsors can we hire better coaches, targeted teachers and nutritionists, and establish a perfect training system and operation team.
With his fists, Xu Can gradually won the position of central defender. When he works hard in the gym every day, he is eager to go out and compete, eager to meet one victory after another in the outside world.
However, when the opportunity came, Xu Can lost. September 20 14, lost to Dongbao, an amateur boxer who played professional boxing for the first time and ranked fifth in the National Games.
In that boxing match, Xu Can's physical advantage was obvious, and he chased his opponent all over the field. But the problem is also obvious. He is not suitable for the flexibility of amateur boxers. Dongbao has a long arm span and a tall figure. He strikes back accurately through Xu Can's defense and directly hits the face. In addition, Xu Can always hopes to wait until he stands firm before he punches, which gives his opponent time to breathe and prepare.
-In the past, Xu Can often gained experience, lessons and fighting spirit in the face of failure.
On the second day after losing to Dongbao, Xu Can cut her hair and cut off the pigtails that she had left for several years. Failure made him reflect more on his skills and play.
Mark Rui, the target teacher who is now following Xu Can, entered Zhongwei Boxing that year. He remembers that after losing the boxing match, Xu Can didn't show depression, but became more focused. He talks less. He stood in front of the mirror and skipped rope silently, hitting in the air and swinging from side to side. No one pays attention to losers, and Xu Can doesn't care about others. The imaginary enemy in front of him became clearer and he wanted to knock him down.
In his early twenties, Xu Can became the most obsessed person in the team. He comes to the gym to play every day without rest. Even now, in Beijing M23 Boxing Hall, he often works hard until his legs tremble, so the team strictly requires him to take a day off on Sunday.
That failure gave Xu Can the impetus to move forward. The following year, from 2065438 to June 2005, Liu Gang took Xu Can to Australia to upgrade to 140 lbs (63KG), which was very difficult. He resisted and conquered the referee with excellent defensive skills and won the WBA Oceania gold belt away from home. Hard training, coupled with rising good grades, started from 20 16, and Xu Can became the core training object of the team.
A winning heart, tempered repeatedly, becomes stronger and stronger. He understands the truth, "If you win, you can go on." 20 19 was the year of Xu Can outbreak. In the New Year, Liu Gang changed the head of WeChat into a training photo of Xu Can. 65438+When Xu Can defeated Rojas in Houston on June 27th, Liu Gang changed his avatar, which was a poster of boxing champion Xu Can. The names of the three sponsors are listed below the poster.
At that time, he was 25 years old and succeeded, which also changed the fate of himself and his family. Father Xu Xiaolong doesn't need to ride a bike anymore, so he goes to the entrance of Kunman Bar to collect bottles after midnight.
It's time to stand up.
After losing the gold belt of the world champion, another person silently waiting for Xu Can to cheer up is his father Xu Xiaolong.
"My father used to be very strict with me," Xu Can said, but after losing his gold belt last year, he obviously felt that his father had become gentle. For a long time, his father didn't talk about boxing or training with him, but shared his daily life. He went out and took a picture of the cloudy sky in Kunming in autumn and sent it to him. Stir-fry a few dishes, take a photo and send it to him; After running more than ten kilometers in the morning and doing a lot of push-ups, I will tell Xu Can ... men are not good at expressing emotions, so it is even more euphemistic between father and son. Xu Xiaolong has to find a reason to send a message every day, even if his son doesn't answer sometimes.
It wasn't until last year's National Day that Xu Xiaolong and Xu Cancai formally telephoned: "It's time to stand up and accept defeat. There is nothing wrong with this road. You can't stop because of one failure. "
Xu Can has always been glad that professional boxing is the most correct way in his life. With the support of his parents and the help of the company team, he won the world championship before the outbreak and easily won the first two defending battles ... Among the boxers of similar age in Zhongwei Boxing Hall, only he was still fighting. At that time, his teammates had retired one after another, opened boxing halls or changed careers.
His father Xu Xiaolong took him to a boxing match. My father, whose original name was Xu, was renamed "Xu Xiaolong" because he loved martial arts and worshipped Bruce Lee. When Xu Can was a teenager, his father took him to climb mountains, practice boxing and dance with a gun to get a stick. At that time, his physical strength laid the foundation. One day, Xu Xiaolong solemnly told his son, "You will definitely become a world champion in the future." Xu Can was ignorant, but he trusted his father and planted a boxing champion in his heart.
At that time, there was no world champion in China. At that time, I was reading a boxing magazine, and I saw an article saying that Kunming Zhongwei Boxing Hall trained China's first Asian boxing champion Xu (former WBA Asia-Pacific boxing champion), so in April of 20 10, just after 16, the head of the family made a decision and moved his family to Kunming.
Before, Xu Xiaolong owned a bakery, and the three of them lived a pretty good life. Put all your eggs in one basket. After going to Kunming, in order to make a living and learn boxing for his son, Xu Xiaolong rode his bike to the door of the bar every night to pick up bottles. The small bottle can sell for 20 cents, and the larger one can earn 30 cents, so he can't make much at the end of the day, and his health is also out of order. Xu Can's mother sells clothes in a shopping mall in Kunming. Even after he became a world champion, her mother still did the job.
The past emerges. Xu Can never cried in front of people, even if he was knocked down in the ring and his cheeks were bleeding, he never cried. But Xu Can said that when he recalled his father's hardships, he could not help crying, which made him take off his hat with one hand and stroke his hair with the other hand to hide his excitement.
"This is my biggest motivation," Xu Can said. "My parents are in the way and have suffered all the hardships for me. I just ate the pain of flesh and blood, which is nothing. "
Figure | Xu Can of Kunzhongwei Boxing Hall
With the efforts of his parents, the boy Xu Can entered the Zhongwei Boxing Hall. Mature and sensible when he was young, he helped Liu Gang manage the boxing hall after practicing boxing. Someone came to consult, and he walked around; Some students find a place to live, and he introduces houses in nearby villages; Someone is training cramps, and he stretches and massages. Boxers sweat a lot and sweat on the ground. He wiped it again and again with a mop.
At that time, my parents took Xu Can to rent in a village called "Yunshan Village". It takes 10 minutes to walk from the village to the boxing gym. After waking up every day, Xu can goes to the boxing gym to practice boxing. When he was exhausted and the stars were shining, he went home to sleep. He is glad that his parents are around to fully support him, and he doesn't have to go out to find a job like some boxers, so he can move forward in one breath. For the sake of his parents, for the sake of the boxing champion dream planted in his heart, he must fight.
The facilities of Zhongwei Boxing Hall are old, the roof is covered with iron sheets, there are many boxers, the indoor heat is unbearable, the sweat is flowing freely, and the hormone generate of young men pours out the primitive wildness of boxing.
Humble environment can't stop hot-blooded teenagers. The corridor outside the door is crowded with people, who will meet before and after punching in. Most of them come from poor grassroots, and they come from all over the world. On 20 12, Zhongwei won China's first world champion bear, and he won the WBC world champion gold belt. Bear used to be a miner. In his hometown of Maguan County, Yunnan Province, he pushed or transported metal ore out of the mine. Finally, his salary was 10 yuan. His parents stood by the roadside and picked up the ore that fell out of the basket.
The story of the miner's counterattack as a boxing champion really happened and inspired too many people. Behind the bear, a group of outstanding young central defenders have grown up. Qiu Xiaojun, Wang Xinghua, Yang Xingxin, Xianqian Wei and others work as security guards or street vendors on weekdays and come to practice boxing at night. These "strugglers" outside the system have the same goal-to play professional games, become champions and get rid of the glittering.
When Xiong Zhongchao put on the gold belt, Xu Canlai learned boxing for two and a half years, and he was still a younger brother in front of all the senior brothers. However, Liu Gang was optimistic about him at that time. "A talented boxer, with good body proportion, light weight and good physical fitness."
Life is like a fist.
Five and a half months after losing the gold belt of the world champion, in the middle of June 5438+ 10, 2022, in the comprehensive physical training room of M23 Boxing Hall in Beijing, Xu Can recalled the dark days, with his head down, his words still weak, and sometimes he rubbed his fingers like a child who had done something wrong.
Failure has not been digested. But since he forced himself to watch boxing videos in June 5438+10 last year, when he faced defeat, his forward inertia and temper were gradually returning to his body.
One day in the middle of 65438 10, Xu Can wore black sweatpants, a black hoodie and a black hat. When he first started talking, his cheeks turned slightly red. Over the years, he has always had short hair, a round face and a slim figure, but there is less murderous look in his eyes, which more reflects the tempering of years and the calmness of a man.
After Xiong and Zou Shiming, China's third world professional champion will celebrate his 28th birthday in March. There is not much time left for him to get his gold belt back. While waiting, he struggled anxiously with the consumption of time.
Figure | 20 19, Xu Can won the gold belt of the world champion.
If professional boxers want to improve their grades and days, they must have boxing matches to play. However, from the outbreak of the epidemic in early 2020 to being knocked down by Leigh Woodtko (technical knockout), in the past year and a half, due to the prevention and control of the epidemic, many events were cancelled or postponed, and Xu Can never played a game.
There is no champion to fight, let alone other boxers. In 20 19, there were more than 400 registered professional boxers in China, but now there are only about 200. Some people are older and choose to retire; Some people have no competition, no appearance fees, training can not be maintained, and they can only give up; There are people waiting.
Previously, Xu Can's trip to defend the golden belt was also difficult to advance in the process of waiting and obstruction. 202/kloc-before playing against Leigh wood in England in August, he stayed in the United States for half a year, training and waiting for the game.
The first boxing match was not held because of contract problems; In the second game, the opponent near the start of the game got his hands on COVID-19; In the third game, the drag and drop ended without results, and the other party did not say why. Leigh Wood is the fourth opponent, and the game ended in early July, leaving only four weeks for Xu Can to prepare.
Originally, he was going to return to China at the end of June, but the game with Leigh Wood was also finalized. He felt that he had to fight after going out for so long. "But to be honest, I'm not in good shape." I have been abroad for a long time, and I don't have a friend to talk to. Xu Can said that he has psychological problems, loneliness, difficulty in easing emotions, repeated delays in the game, psychological anxiety and exhaustion of will. "I often have insomnia, poor rest, poor physical fitness, and my state is slowly declining."
Some people use the word "depression" to evaluate the performance of Xu Can's defending champion. He agreed, "My heart is not strong enough to resist this pressure." After the National Day last year, accompanied by Mark Rui, Xu Can went back to watch the boxing match for the first time. He stopped running away, accepted failure, and faced up to shortcomings and deficiencies. "As soon as I got in touch with Leigh Wood, I felt a little uncomfortable. He has a lot of forehands, but I can't hit them. By the fifth and sixth round, I began to be impatient and restless, and realized that I might lose. Later, the more I played, the more anxious I was, and I was suppressed by my opponent. "
In recent years, Xu Can's coach is Franklin, a Filipino. The two men work well together. Xu Can trusted him, and he was proud of training the world champion. Unfortunately, Franklin went home to visit relatives in the Spring Festival of 2020, because the epidemic never came back. He sends Xu Canfa a training plan every week, which is implemented by China target teacher Mark Rui.
"We made a summary together, and his state recovered well. I feed the target to him, and I can feel the penetration of his swing. Now let him move more. He uses more cross steps than before. Don't be too advanced, let him play forehand more often, and the frequency should be improved. " Mark Rui stressed, "Xu Can is not the kind of player who can't stand up once he fails. Failure will give him experience, he will make progress and become stronger and stronger. "
Boxing fans have been judging Xu Can's failure. Some people say that he wants to win and is afraid of losing, which is too stable. Some people say that he lacks research on his opponents before the game and lacks changes during the game; Others said he wanted to step up the crackdown. ...
"In the past six months, have you increased your boxing efforts?"
He smiled. "Two years ago, I listened to too many outside voices and didn't control myself. They said I didn't punch enough, so I stepped up my punches. This actually has advantages and disadvantages. Instead, it ignores flexibility training. "
Failure made Xu Can really realize what he should stick to. No boxer is perfect. In the current training, he tries his best to find his former spirit, focusing on physical fitness and punching combo.
Liu Gang didn't find Xu Can to talk about games and the future until June 65438+ 10 last year. As a boxer, Liu Gang knows that it takes a lot of courage and a lot of heart to get out of the shadow of failure, but he is not overly worried. "I believe him. Xu Can is Xu Can. He is different from others. "
Now, as long as he is engaged in training, Xu Can won't think too much. Those feelings of fear, denial, doubt and anger gradually weaken and disappear with the "snapping" sound of the target. He is trying to find himself, the powerful, confident and fierce-eyed boxer.
He began to itch to try, constantly asking the company to arrange boxing matches. Liu Gang is contacting his competitors for him. Due to the epidemic prevention policy, foreign boxers are not allowed to compete in China, so they have to be eliminated. Liu Gang revealed that according to the agreement, after Xu Can lost his gold belt, there will be a World War II with Leigh Wood, but the details should be finalized within 90 days, 120 days. However, due to the epidemic control, the boxing match dragged on and on.
Professional boxing is a highly commercialized operation. In Xu Can's next game, he must play a qualifying match and get a high score before he can hit the gold belt. "We are already very passive," said Liu Gang.
Liu Gang and his Boxers have been fighting against "passivity". Professional boxing is an exotic product. Without a champion and a successful result, there is no right to speak in the world boxing. In 2003, Liu Gangzai obtained a professional boxing broker's license and returned to China to establish Zhongwei Boxing Hall. He is determined to train a world champion in ten years. At the end of 20 12, Xiong Zhongchao was born, which made Liu Gang's dream come true.
Seven years later, disciple Xu Can won the gold belt again, which made Liu Gang more confident and planned to launch more champions. "At that time in the bear, China was a professional boxing bystander, watching the excitement. In Xu Can, we are already participants, with champions, high-level boxers and an operation team that is in line with international standards. "
However, the outbreak of the epidemic, the cancellation and suspension of boxing matches, and the increase in the complexity of communication at home and abroad have cooled the enthusiasm of boxers, just like getting a heavy punch from nowhere and slowing it down for a long time.
Boxing is like life, and life is like boxing.
Xu Can was knocked down and suffered all kinds of disappointments in life. He thought about giving up. It's easy to say "give up", but in the end, Xu Can found that he would only stare at his clenched fist and ask himself, "Can you let go?"
-End-
Author | Zhang Xinming
Edit | Wen Lihong
(Excerpted from the official account of WeChat WeChat)