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Hundreds of people packed into the ballroom of Shanghai's Hyatt on the Bund on Friday night to watch a boxing event like no other. The 18 fighters Cheap Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys , Chinese and foreigners alike, were all amateurs and "white-collar" workers with no previous boxing experience. Just three months before they had been like you and I, but on Friday night they climbed into the ring to duke it out under the Marquess of Queensberry rules and for three two-minute rounds under the heat of the lights those competitors felt like the great pugilists who have given the sweet science its salubrious sobriquet.


This was an event eight years in the making. The organizer, White Collar Boxing International's Shane Benis, launched China's first white-collar boxing event in Shanghai in 2008 with the Brawl on the Bund. Since then the promotions have expanded to include the nation's capital Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys , Macao and Taipei.


The middle-class version of the sport has its origins in New York City, with Gleason's Gym credited with starting the craze in the 1980s. And the deal is quite simple. Those who have signed up with hopes of steeping into the ring in front of their peers have to attend 12 weeks of boxing and fitness training three times a week, put in the hard yards on the road outside the gym and lay off the regular vices of the Oasis-penned theme tune of the sedentary office worker - cigarettes and alcohol.


Even if you manage that, it's no guarantee of a chance you'll be dishing out hits in the glamour and glitz of the main event. Not everyone makes the cut - and that could be for the fact that they are too good, juts not good enough Zach Randolph Grizzlies Jersey , unfit or there is no one else in their weight class. This happens because the organizers don't want anyone getting hurt.


This is not a straightener in the back of a pub car park. It's a fully refereed affair that is scored in the same way as boxing in the Olympics and just like -every Games until Rio this summer, headguards are mandatory.


The attention to detail in regards to the safety of the competitors is matched by the event's production values. It's a black-tie affair that is sponsored to the hilt and it gives a lot of professional boxing shows a run for their money, from the Grammy award-winning entertainment to the inestimable announcers.


The other difference is that much of the money raised at these events goes to support local charities in China - which is some solace after you've taken a good licking in the ring. And I can confirm that after coming second (of two) in my own white collar boxing debut at the inaugural Brawl on the Wall in 2013.


In a world where participation in traditional grass-roots sport seems to keep going down, this is a TKO, putting ordinary ladies and gents in touch with the sacrifice it takes to be a top class athlete - even if it is just for 12 weeks. If you like the sound of it Shelvin Mack Grizzlies Jersey , you can throw more than your hat into the ring in December.


by Matthew Rusling


WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- All eyes were on Australia Monday after a gunman took hostages at a Sydney cafe, begging the question of whether Islamist radicals, particularly the Islamic State, could strike the United States. But while the majority of Americans believe an Islamic State attack on the U.S. is possible Shareef Abdur-Rahim Grizzlies Jersey , some experts said it's unlikely.


The militant group has in recent months been on the rampage in the Middle East. Its fighters have overrun vast swaths of Syria and Iraq in a bid to establish a caliphate based on the group's twisted version of Islam, while threatening to "fly the flag of Allah in the White House." Another attack similar to the Sept. 11, 2001 strikes on New York and the Pentagon is Washington's worst nightmare, and that has led to a U.S. bombing campaign against the Islamic State positions.


On Monday, what seemed to be a radical Islamist gunman took hostages at a cafe in Sydney Omri Casspi Grizzlies Jersey , forcing individuals to display the flag of a radical Islamist group, although it remains unknown whether the gunman is connected to any group or acted alone. Australia has been on high alert against radicalized Australians returning from fighting in the Middle East with groups such as the Islamic State, and Australia has been a close ally of the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.


More than 80 percent of Americans expect the Islamic State to strike the U.S. in the near future, and 48 percent think it is " very" likely, according to a Fox News poll released last week Mike Conley Grizzlies Jersey , but some experts believe such fears may be exaggerated.


"There is a difference between 'possible' and 'likely.' I think it's certainly possible that ISIS could attack the United States...but to say it is 'likely' might be a stretch," RAND Corporation associate political scientist Colin P. Clarke told Xinhua, using an acronym of the Islamic State.


Clarke said it is more likely that either al-Qaida splinter groups Jabhat al-Nusra or the Khorasan group would attempt to strike the U.S., since both of those organizations have made attacking the U.S. an explicit objective. However, the Islamic State's calculus could change if the U.S.-led campaign against it Mike Bibby Grizzlies Jersey , which includes airstrikes and training the Iraqi military, continues well into the future, which is likely, he said.


At the moment the Islamic State is so focused on attempting to build it's own Islamist state, in addition to fighting on multiple fronts against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's forces Mario Chalmers Grizzlies Jersey , rebel group the Free Syrian Army, the Kurds, the Iraqi security forces and others. But the real danger comes from the group's sanctuary and ability to hold territory. When a terrorist or insurgent group is able to effectively control territory, this makes it easier for the group to train, plot Marc Gasol Grizzlies Jersey , plan and organize attacks, Clarke said.


Indeed, the 911 attacks on the U.S. were planned in Afghanistan at a time when the Taliban hosted al-Qaida and allowed the radicals to build terrorist training cam. Cheap Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Cheap Sports Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Free Shipping Cheap Hockey Jerseys From China Cheap Authentic Football Jerseys Cheap NBA Basketball Jerseys