White collar boxing: a girl's fight

Starcy Chen (in red) and her opponent, Fiona Shang, are the only female players in this year's Brawl on The Wall, a white collar boxing event held at the Park Hyatt in Beijing, Sept 5, 2014. [Photo by Jiang Wanjuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Beijinger Starcy Chen works as a marketing director on weekdays and radio host on the weekends. The 30-year-old, busy white collar worker watched the first live boxing of her life last year at Brawl on The Wall, a white collar boxing event held in Beijing by China Sports Promotions (CSP).

Chen not only immediately fell in love with the sport, but also made the decision to participant as a fighter, instead of as part of the audience, in the next event.

"I was fascinated by the sport," she said. "And what attracted me more was the fact that even ordinary white collar person, like me, can participate."

When we met her last Friday evening, the confident young woman was ready to go into the ring for this year's white collar boxing event held at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Beijing.

Among the 22 fighters in 11 clashes, Chen and her opponent, Fiona Shang of Shanghai, were the only female players.