Laureus award nominee from China chases boxing dream

When he became frustrated with the sport, in which he had difficulty standing out, he happened to see the 2008 Beijing Olympics live on TV and heard the rags-to-riches story of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. That inspired him to pursue a new dream. Zhang left the wrestling team at age 17 to pursue a boxing career.

For more than 10 years after that, Zhang has lived a double life, boxing and doing menial jobs — kitchen porter, security guard,street vendor and food deliveryman — in Xi'an, Kunming and Beijing to keep his boxing dream alive.

In China, boxing is a niche sport, and few professionals can earn a living in the ring.

In 2015, Zhang worked as a food deliveryman to make ends meet while training in a boxing club in Kunming. And that's where he began to shine. He won the WBA Youth China Bantamweight Championship in 2017, China's first WBA champion in this weight category. According to Boxrec.com, the 27-year-old bantamweight is has a 15-4-1 boxing record.