Taishan Dong
Taishan Dong 董建军 | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dong Jianjun 18 May 1988 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Other names | The Great Wall |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 7 ft (2.1 m)[1] |
| Reach | 84 in (2.1 m) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 6 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Wins by KO | 3 |
| Losses | 0 |
Dong Jianjun (Chinese: 董建军; pinyin: Dǒng Jiànjūn; born 18 May 1988), known by his ring name Taishan Dong, is a Chinese professional boxer who fights at heavyweight.
Amateur career
Dong initially started out in basketball and kickboxing, taking the ring name Taishan after the mountain of the same name.[2] In February 2013, he floored Bob Sapp in a kickboxing fight held in Tokyo.[3] Dong met with boxing promotor Liu Gang who persuaded him to take up professional boxing.[4]
Professional career
After arriving in America at the start of 2014 with ambitions to become a professional boxer, Dong met with attorney George Gallegos. Gallegos, who would later become his manager, introduced him to boxing trainer John Bray.[5] Dong did not understand English at the time and Bray was unable to speak Chinese but the pair bonded over their shared interest in boxing.[2] In July, Dong fought his professional debut against Alex Rozman (2-6-0), which Dong won in a second-round technical knockout.[6] His next fight came in November, knocking out Tommy Washington Jr. (3-6-0) in just over two and a half first round minutes.[4] In February 2015, Dong defeated Rory McCrary (3-2-0) in a unanimous decision over four rounds.[7] Judges scored the fight 40-34, 40-34 and 39-35 in Dong's favor.[8] His next fight came on the Canelo vs Kirkland undercard where he faced Jamal woods, Dong won the contest over 4 rounds in a majority decision win with the judges scoring the bout 40-36, 39-37 and one judge scoring it even at 38-38.
Dong's height has seen him being promoted as the "Yao Ming of boxing".[6][9] He is currently signed to Golden Boy Promotions and trains with Buddy McGirt.[10] Dong was offered a contract with Top Rank, who wanted to focus on expanding his reputation in Asia, but chose to sign with Golden Boy because they offered to develop him first in America.[11]
Professional boxing record
References
- ^ a b "Taishan Dong". Boxrec. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ a b Rott, Nathan (26 August 2014). "China's 'Great Wall' Takes A Hit At U.S. Heavyweight Boxing". NPR. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Martin, Brian (16 July 2014). "Taishan Dong, a 6-11 Chinese heavyweight, could be boxing's next big thing". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ a b Yue, Chuan (19 November 2014). "2米13中国巨人KO美国壮汉 获封"拳坛姚明"" (in Chinese). China News Service. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ O'Sulivan, Mike (17 July 2014). "Chinese Heavyweight Boxers Make US Debut". Voice of America. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ a b Lian, Zi (21 July 2014). "The 'Yao Ming' of boxing debuts with KO". China Daily. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Furlan, Marcelo (23 February 2015). "Taishan Dong: Perks of being the Great Wall of China". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ Zucker, Joseph (27 February 2015). "Taishan Dong vs. Roy McCrary: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Matuszak, Sascha (3 September 2014). "The Yao Ming of Boxing". VICE. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Campbell, Brian (17 February 2015). "The sky is the limit for Taishan". ESPN. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Ginn, Leighton (13 November 2014). "At 6-foot-11, boxer Taishan Dong has people looking up". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
External links
- Boxing record for Taishan Dong from BoxRec (registration required)