China supports French Boxing Event in Paris

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The Chinese Federation for the martial art known as Savate Pro – once known as French Boxing – has thrown a huge event for the sport in the French capital.

Introduction of the sport

Savate Pro / CGTN Photo

Savate Pro is a martial art in which opponents can punch and kick one another but they are not allow to grab, throw, twist or strangle.

Discipline that takes time, patience, energy and concentration to master is considered a Kung Fu – and Savate Pro can be considered one of them along with martial arts like Karate.

At the event, 16 fighters competed in four different weight categories for world titles, with four coming from China to fight.

In each category there are four fighters per tournament who fight in a semi-final in three rounds of two minutes. The winners then fight in a five-round final with the prize for winning a world title and a 30,000 British pounds (35,000 US dollars) cash prize for each winner.

The final fight that really got the crowd going was in the M70 (70kg) category between the French former European Savate Pro champion Ludovic Nassibou and the Georgian world champion Davit Kiria.

Chinese fighters' performance

At the Championships in Paris, four Chinese fighters traveled to participate – one in each of the four weight categories contested.

None of the Chinese fighters managed to make it through to the finals – some losing at the end of their semi-final fights and one taken out by a kick to the chest which saw him leave the ring in a wheel chair.

Li Shaoqian, who traveled to Paris from Hebei, China to fight in the M60 (60kg) category – said the atmosphere at the Paris event was "very exciting because there are lots of amateurs watching the professionals who adore this sport."

Savate Pro's popularity in China

Fans watch the Savate Pro besides the ring. / CGTN Photo

The event was conducted in both French and Mandarin. Many Chinese fans traveled to watch their favorite fighters. The fights wouldn't have happened without the support of the Chinese Savate Pro Federation, which is promoting this martial art around the world.

Liu Xiaohong – President of the Chinese Savate Pro Federation attended the Paris event to hand out the prize money they had donated – told CGTN "We see a lot of synergy between Savate Pro and the more traditional Kung Fu styles in China. It's good for the health and is growing in popularity."

The Chinese Savate Pro Federation staged the event for the 7th year in a row to try to increase the visibility of the sport and encourage more people to get involved.

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