A few days ago, a wave of "Haoheng Ptu Contest" was set off on the Internet, and the first Chinese boxing team m23 also released their elaborate "Haoheng" poster. During the zhongwei boxing period, the predecessor of m23, the propaganda template they had been using was the "Five Tiger Generals", namely Xiong Chaozhong, Qiu Xiaojun, Xu Can, Wei Xianqian, and Yang Xingxin. Now, with the establishment and development of the m23 team, as well as the transformation and departure of some veteran boxers, m23 has launched a new "seven heroes" lineup, namely Xiong Chaozhong, Xu Can, Kimura Xiang, Bai Shanbo, Wu Lan, Li Xiang, Zhang Fangyong.
M23's latest "Heroic Boy Band" lineup, Xu Can is the only active world boxing champion in China, Kimura Xiang is the former world boxing champion in the year of fighting, Wulan is the former world boxing champion challenger, Li Xiang, Bai Shanbo, Zhang Fangyong are holding intercontinental or regional boxing king gold belts, and are also in the ascendant period, the only one who looks a little abrupt is the 37-year-old boxing king Xiong Chaozhong.
As we all know, Xiong Chaozhong did not play another match after losing the 2018 challenge to Thailand's wba mini lightweight world boxing champion Niyong Tokuei points, and is already in a semi-retired state. Xiong Chaozhong has been opening a boxing gym in his hometown of Wenshan, Yunnan, rarely appearing in public, and living the life of an ordinary person who teaches his husband and son. Last year, it was reported that Xiong Chaozhong would conduct his own retirement and boxing battle in November 2019, but the match did not take place as scheduled. Nowadays, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic in China, sports events have been completely suspended, and it is still unknown when it will resume, and Xiong Chaozhong may not be able to play in the short term.
What is more noteworthy is that the M23 team is currently training in Thailand, and the main Chinese team members have all arrived, but only Xiong Chaozhong is missing. According to the latest news, m23 will soon participate in a charity competition in Thailand, and the players accompanying the team such as Bai Shanbo and Wulan will appear on the stage, but they have not arranged a match for Xiong Chaozhong. All indications show that the 2018 challenge to Ni Yong Derong is likely to become a farewell battle for Xiong Chaozhong, except that Xiong Chaozhong's retirement has not yet been officially announced, just like his old friend Zou Shiming.
The latest poster released by M23, Xiong Chaozhong is not only listed with many active teachers and disciples, but also placed in the "c position" of the center, pushing Xu Can, the highest ranking in the world of Chinese boxing today, to the side. Whether Xu Can's influence is not enough, or out of respect for Xiong Chaozhong, a legendary veteran, we as bystanders can only speculate. In short, the lack of boxing talents in China, and even the fact that there is no successor, are indisputable realities, at least the posters of Li Xiang and Zhang Fangyongyuan have not yet reached the height of Qiu Xiaojun, Wei Xianqian, Yang Xingxin and others.
The meaning of m23 is "mission 2023 (mission 2023)", that is, by 2023, the team will cultivate 5 world boxing champions, and foreign boxers and female boxing kings are not counted. However, at present, only Xu Can has completed one-fifth of the mission, no wonder some boxing fans joke that there is not much time left for M23. This year, in addition to Meng Fanlong has decided to challenge the light heavyweight double world boxing champion Bertbiev, WBO's number one mini lightweight boxer Xiang Jing is also expected to challenge Puerto Rican world boxing champion Mendez, but they are not M23 players. As for who the next player in the m23 team to challenge the world boxing king is, Chinese boxing fans can only wait patiently.