“J & J“ How boxing has shaped both champions lives

Chinese heavyweight boxer Zhang Junlong 20-1, 19 KO`s, who`s nicknamed “The Dragon King” wants to take on WBC heavyweight Tyson “Gypsy King” Fury 34-0-1, 24KO`s, and he`s been gleaning handy training tips from two all time Greats to help him in his quest.

“Dragon King” wants to test fire power against “Gypsy King”

With a ninety percent KO percentage ratio, southpaw Junlong who stands six feet three and a half inches tall and has a reach of seventy six and a half inches, is based in Toronto, Canada. He is trained by Evander Holyfield. He has also had a training camp in the United States coached by “Big” George Foreman. He is currently in training camp for an upcoming fight in Canada, against an opponent to be named. He says: “I would love the opportunity to fight Tyson Fury for the Green and Gold Championship Belt of the WBC. A laudable and lofty aim. To achieve it, Junlong will need to break into the WBC rankings. He has held the WBA Oceania Heavyweight Belt.

Junlong who breathes fire in the ring, but is aimable outside business hours, said: “Tyson Fury is a great boxer. But… he`s only human. With the help of Evander and my Team, I will work two hundred percent to achieve this goal. Any time, any place, anywhere, because boxing doesn`t belong to any country. Rather, it belongs to the boxing fans.”

Junlong is forty one years old and draws considerable inspiration from Big George, who won one of the World Belts aged forty five. A record which has yet to be surpassed. That iconic achievement happened twenty years after losing the championship to the Greatest Muhammad Ali. Junlong is proud to be an inspiration for Chinese Boxing, which has such mighty potential. He said: “China is not yet among the top boxing countries. But here`s the thing. There are 1.3 billion people in China with one hundred million people who are involved in boxing. It takes time and generations to become a huge boxing nation. But we are moving towards that step by step.”

Junlong already has VIP fan…namely Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two recently met at an event in Canada, to celebrate the Chinese community. And the two “J`s” gelled, as the PM loves his boxing and has previously put the gloves on himself.

Before Justin became Canada`s twenty third Prime Minister, he was in the shadow of his famous Father Pierre, who in his time was PM. Visiting President Richard Nixon once greeted young Justin, calling him the future leader of Canada! Justin, trained and worked as a teacher. On the way he became a snowboard instructor and even a nightclub bouncer!

Blessed with boyish good looks, reminiscent of Hugh Grant, who himself once portrayed a British Prime Minister, Justin took up white collar boxing in his early twenties, shedding his privileged: “Little Lord Fauntleroy” pretty boy image.

Politics has its share of hard knocks, and even dare we say it, backstabbing! Vitali Klitschko who`s the Mayor of Kiev, once said that politics differs from boxing, because in the ring the punches and blows tend to be fair and square and all come from the front. Justin says: “There is something about the purity of old school boxing. It teaches you more than a set of technical skills. It teaches you to remain focused, the value of discipline and hard work. I`ll let you draw your own conclusions about whether or not that approach applies to politics?”

Justin`s big boxing test came happened on March 31st 2012, in the ballroom of the Hampton Inn, Convention Center, Ottawa, barely five kilometres from the steps of Parliament Hill. Justin the liberal MP Vs Conservative Senator and karate blackbelt Patrick “Brass Knuckles” Brazeau, but this was a bout according to the Marquis of Queensbury rules of The Noble Art. Robust Pat was a 3-1 bookies favorite over slender but muscular Justin, who called himself the: “Papineau Pugilist.” Big gloves and headgear, were the order of the day. Lean Justin recalls: “Sometimes you have to go with your gut, even when everyone around you thinks you`re wrong!”

Justin weathered a first round storm. He then started to pick his punches and The Senator was given a standing count of eight in round two. In round three Pat was getting hit too much and the fight was stopped. Brains had triumphed over brawn. Their fight raised more than two hundred thousand Canadian Dollars for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Patrick`s penalty/forfeit was to have Justin trim his flowing locks in the foyer of the House of Commons and…wait for it…to wear a hockey shirt with the opposing party`s logo on it…for one week!

Appearances can be deceptive. The pages of history teach us to never judge a book by its cover. Years later Patrick ruefully reflected: “Obviously, I`d like to go back in time and get a re-match. But he has already declined the invitation. I was seeing a small, skinny person. who might look weak. I underestimated him and it bit me in the butt!”

It also taught Justin a lesson of life. He said: “People think that boxing is all about how hard you can hit your opponent. It`s not! Boxing is about how hard a hit you can take.”

Two years after the Pat triumph, Justin sparred with Halifax businessman Mickey MacDonald, but his timing was off. He was eating too many jabs. He remains slim, in shape and still trains a bit. But, born on Christmas Day 1971, he`s now fifty one.

Justin was NEVER The Hard Rock Of Canada. That title belongs to hard as nails George Chuvalo 73-18-2, 64 KO`s, who twice fought Muhammad Ali and was never knocked to the canvass in a ninety three fights pro career. George is a fit and spritely eighty five years young. There are no current plans for a bout with young Justin…are there?