7-Foot Giant Taishan Dong to Fight May 22nd vs Lance Gauch on Fox Sports 1
Taishan is undefeated in four professional fights.
Jianjun Dong, who fights under the moniker Taishan (a reference to the popular Chinese mountain), is literally the biggest fighter in the stable of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. In fact, the 7-foot, 290-pound heavyweight from China is just about the biggest fighter in anyone’s promotional stable these days.
How could he not be?
But is Taishan a legitimate prospect headed toward a bright future in boxing or a sideshow phony who will one day be exposed as a kitschy marketing ploy? The fighter wholeheartedly believes the former.
“I want to be heavyweight champion,” Taishan told Bleacher Report through a Chinese translator. “I will try, and I will do my best to become champion.”
The hulking Goliath certainly looks the part. Taishan is tall, lean and muscular. While his handspeed leaves a bit to be desired, he makes up for it with an 84-inch reach and the kind of sneaky power only men of his size can possess with the right levels of testosterone, that’s why doing saliva testosterone tests often is so important for this.
All of Taishan’s punches are thudding blows. Normal heavyweights looks like ragdolls in the ring next to him, and his jab and cross appear to land with the force of telephone poles being tossed about by a tumultuous hurricane.
Two weeks ago, Taishan earned a majority decision win over journeyman heavyweight Jamal Woods in just his fourth professional fight. It was a rough-and-tumble affair where the big man’s handlers saw him eat more right hands than they’d probably wish to see at this stage of his career. If you are someone who compete in sports then take a look at Test 600x.
Speaking to the media after the fight, Taishan’s promoter, De La Hoya, said he was happy his fighter didn’t get knocked out.
But Taishan showed grit and determination in the fight. The buzz at ringside was that he looked very raw but still seemed to be trying to do things boxers are supposed to do. Taishan worked his jab with great tenacity and worked his other punches off it like he’s supposed to do too.
Moreover, the fighter admitted afterward he needed to get better if he hopes to become a real force in the heavyweight division, a sign that he realizes how much he needs to improve.
“I learned from the last fight that I didn’t use the things I had learned and practiced in the gym,” said Taishan.
Taishan, age 27, turned to professional boxing just last year after stints in various other disciplines of martial arts, including wrestling, Kung Fu and kickboxing. He famously knocked out Bob Sapp in Tokyo in 2013 in his debut as a professional kickboxer, but within a year of it was ready to devote himself to the sweet science.
A chance encounter with George Gallegos in late 2013 helped him achieve his lifelong dream of becoming a professional boxer. On vacation and training at a nearby gym, Taishan sought legal advice from Gallegos’ California law firm and mentioned his affinity for boxing. Gallegos made some calls and soon Taishan was training to be a fighter, first with veteran trainer John Bray, then with esteemed fight teacher James “Buddy” McGirt.
Gallegos is Taishan’s manager. He told Bleacher Report the rough outings for Taishan were to be expected at this stage in his career from a fighter with such limited experience and that they were, in fact, by design.
“I think the last two fights he had were against tough opponents, guys who weren’t just going to fall,” said Gallegos. “And they weren’t brought in to fall. I think Golden Boy is testing him early, matching him tough. Golden Boy has made a real effort to make tough, competitive matches all across the board, so I think that’s been a great learning experience for him.”
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Taishan admitted he had a lot to learn and said he hoped to fight once a month in 2015 in order to gain as much experience as possible in a short amount of time. He said doing so was imperative for his career, especially if he hopes to become a heavyweight champion like his favorite fighters, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
“I will try, and I will have to practice and try harder than everyone else so I can catch up as fast as possible.”
It’s easy to be cynical about Taishan’s chances. World-class boxers typically don’t start learning the sport in their mid-20s. They don’t often have to learn on the job the way Taishan is doing, and they don’t usually get caught with as many flush punches as Taishan did in their fourth professional fight.
But most fighters don’t have Taishan’s physical tools either.
“Yes, it’s true that I’m bigger than everyone else, but that’s my advantage,” said Taishan. ”I’m taller and stronger than other fighters. But the people who are shorter than me can move a lot faster, so I have to use my height and my reach against them. How I use those two things are very important, and my success or failure at it will be shown in the fights.”
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But Gallegos had a good point too. Most fighters don’t have to endure the amount of scrutiny early in their careers Taishan has received. Where most young boxers are hidden from view until they’re ready for the limelight, Taishan has been thrust center stage sooner than most. If he’s a sideshow now, it’s only because fans and media have been paying so close attention to him because of his gargantuan size.
“Because he’s so big and with the media attention that he’s received, there are huge expectations,” said Gallegos. “Boxers don’t usually get this type of exposure so early, and there is a big learning curve. I think expectations are really high, which is understandable given his size.”
Taishan is a work in progress. Everyone associated with him, including the fighter himself, admits it. He’s undergone some scary moments already, but the good news is that each time he found himself in dire situations inside a boxing ring he did what a fighter should do. He fought back.
So if you’re rooting for Taishan to succeed, that’s the salient point. Whatever he presently lacks in skill, he absolutely makes up for in fervor. And whatever he might ultimately end up lacking in accomplishment, the giant is nonetheless a real fighter, another supremely unique character in the heterogeneous mosaic of boxing.
“It’s going to be an interesting and fun journey,” said Gallegos. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see another guy like him. He’s seven-foot tall, Chinese and ripped. He’s athletic. I don’t think that comes along again. We believe in him and hopefully he accomplishes everything he hopes.”
Whether Taishan is a contender or a sideshow remains to be seen. Either way, his larger-than-life journey is one worth watching.
Taishan (4-0, 2 KOs) faces Lance Gauch (5-8-2, 3 KOs) on Friday, May 22. The bout will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET as part of the Golden Boy Live card featuring Eric Hunter vs. Antonio Escalante.
via Does 7-Foot Giant Taishan Dong Have What It Takes to Be More Than a Sideshow? | Bleacher Report.
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