Several brawny Chinese coaches immediately reined in their usual gruffness and bowed respectfully to Li Wei.
"How's Chen Haisheng doing?" Li Wei asked casually after sitting down.
"Not good," one of the coaches said, his expression grim. "His opponent is a local Black boxer from Brooklyn, Marcos. He's much better at cutting weight than we are, so he has a huge size advantage."
Li Wei nodded.
Boxing is divided into weight classes. Generally, when skill levels are comparable, the closer a fighter is to the upper limit of their division, the greater the disparity in strength.
For example, in the middleweight division (154-160 lbs) where Chen Haisheng fought, the difference could be a full 6 pounds of muscle, and—
"Is this fucking middleweight?" Li Wei pointed at one of the Black men in the ring. "He's got to be 175 pounds, right?"
He pointed at Chen Haisheng's opponent. In front of him, the 155-pound Chen Haisheng looked like a middle schooler.
