场上的最强王者，场下的无名之辈：外卖拳王的逐梦人生 | Parallel Lives

"Every day, I feel like a caged beast," says Zhang Fangyong, a 25-year-old deliveryman. "But once I jump into the ring, I am free." In 2017, he became China's first WBA youth bantamweight champion.

“平时的生活中，我就像一只困兽困在笼子里，”今年25岁的外卖小哥张方勇说，“但上了拳台，我就是挣脱出来的野兽。”2017年，他获得WBA（世界拳击协会）中国雏量级青年拳王金腰带。

Zhang Fangyong (courtesy of. Zhang).

Zhang was born in Yunyang County in Chongqing Municipality, which is known as "the land of noodles." It should, therefore, be no surprise that most local residents are experts in handmade noodles. After primary school, Zhang's parents began to run their own diner in another area. Because they didn't have enough money to hire staff, Zhang helped out at the business for three years until he turned 15 when he went to junior high school in his hometown.

张方勇出生于重庆市云阳县。这个县城被称作“面工之乡”，家家户户都做面。12岁小学毕业之后，父母好不容易接下一家店。因为人手不够，张方勇没有继续读书，而是去店里给父母帮忙，直到15岁才回老家上初中。

"As a big boy, I felt guilty spending my parents' money," he says. "So, I thought of making a living by doing something."

“那时候我自己年龄也大了，觉得一直上学的话给家里的压力也挺大，我就想能不能让自己在其他方面有所出息。”

Zhang said he got interested in boxing after watching a documentary of Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino great who rose from poverty to become the only eight-division world champion in the history of the sport.

“我那段时间经常上网，关注拳击，然后就看到帕奎奥的纪录片。”这个出身贫苦、睡过桥洞的菲律宾人，凭借自己多年的努力，拿到了8个级别的世界拳王。

Inspired, Zhang started looking for boxing training. With 3,000 yuan wired by his parents, the 17-year-old took an 18-hour bus ride and joined his first club in Xi'an, capital of northwestern China's Shaanxi Province. "I thought the accommodation was covered in the tuition fee," Zhang says. "But the staff suggested that I get a part-time job to support myself. That was a shock."

受此激励，张方勇四处打听在国内哪里有职业拳击训练。17岁时，他带着父母寄的3000元钱，坐18个小时汽车到西安，加入了第一家拳击俱乐部。“我本来以为俱乐部交了学费之后就管吃管住，结果，到那边，他们告诉我，如果你条件差，就得找份工作，不然生活很难维持。”张方勇回忆道，“我当时就懵了。”

CGTN Photo

Zhang had to turn to a relative who was in the flour business. "As a skinny boy, I wasn't welcome there. A bag of flour weighs 25 kg. At first, I could only carry one at a time. Gradually, I could carry two, and then four. I became robust and strong during that period." Eventually, he excelled at the club and needed more chances to polish his skills.

张方勇只好去做面粉生意的亲戚家帮忙扛面粉：“那时候他不愿意我在那里工作，嫌我小。50斤一袋的面粉，一开始我一袋一袋搬，后来就是两袋扛，再后来就是四袋四袋的扛。所以那段时间，我把身体练的更加硬朗，力量也大了很多。”在西安的俱乐部，他渐渐没有对手，而且没有什么比赛可以打。

At the time, the family's business went south. In order to pay the debt for his parents, he had to turn professional quickly. "I was expecting considerable appearance fees," he recalls.

就在此时，父母经营的面店出现亏损。为了帮父母还债，他决定换一家俱乐部，尽快开始打比赛。“我当时心里想着，打比赛就能有很高的出场费，就想尽快挣钱。”

He used his savings to transfer to a boxing club in Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan Province.

于是，他果断带着自己的积蓄来到昆明的一家拳击俱乐部。

Zhang worked as a security guard, a street vendor, and a day laborer at construction sites to make ends meet. "What I was concerned about was only rent and food," he says. "The rest was the least important, as long as I had time for training." 

在昆明，张方勇当过保安，摆过地摊，还在工地做临时工，拿着按天结算的工资。“我那个时候就是愁房租和吃的。只要能抽出时间训练，其他生活能维持就行。”

He helped out in a restaurant kitchen and in 2016, learned about food delivery. "The job is as simple and steady with a payment of nearly 300 yuan a day." He pooled some money with his friends to buy an electric motorcycle and became a deliveryman.

2016年，在饭店后厨帮忙的时候，张方勇接触到了外卖。“这对我们来说已经是很轻松的工作了，每天都能挣二、三百块，很稳定。”于是，他找朋友凑钱买了辆电动车，正式成为了一名外卖配送员。

Photo courtesy of sports.eastday

CGTN Photo

After two or so weeks, the motorcycle was stolen in front of his very eyes. "I chased for over 2 kilometers before I was exhausted and panting heavily," he says. "Then I sat on the ground for half an hour, holding the customer's food in my hands. Only a few days before that, I told my parents on the phone that I was about to get paid and I could wire them a lot of money. But it's gone. No motorcycle, no more delivery, no more salary. I felt that it was totally unfair. I fought so hard, yet things were getting harder."

仅仅半个月后，张方勇的电动车就在他眼前被偷了。“我追了两三公里，追到我跑不动了，在地上喘，手里还拿着一份餐。后来我就在马路上，拿着那份餐，坐了三四十分钟。”他说，“车被偷前几天我还在电话里跟父母说，这个月月底就要发工资，能给他们打好几千。结果这个想法就破灭了。车被偷了，没有工资了，外卖也没法送了。我当时就觉得命运对自己很不公平，我已经够拼命了，但生活还是太艰难了。”

Rather than mope around, Zhang thought of Xiong Chaozhong, a grass-roots boxer who held the WBC minimumweight title from 2012 to 2014. He used to be a miner and in the same club with Zhang. "He's gone through the same; fighting for years before he could challenge a world champion. I hoped I could be like him."

张方勇想到了和他一起训练的、三次卫冕WBC亚洲区迷你轻量级金腰带的矿工拳击手熊朝忠：“他也是这么过来的，熬了好几年才有机会挑战世界拳王。我希望我能和他一样。”

Zhang Fangyong is put through training exercises.; /Photo courtesy of sports.eastday.

Zhang then bought another motorcycle on borrowed money and started over with his double life as a deliveryman and boxer. "I have a steamed bun for breakfast and deliver food until 1 p.m. We have a two-hour lunch break. I finish my lunch in 10 minutes, rush home to grab my bag and head off to the club. After the training, I get changed, ready the delivery box, turn on my mobile and take orders again." Busy though he was, he set a company record of delivering 69 orders in one day.

他只能重振旗鼓，又借钱买了电动车，继续边送外卖边练拳击的生活。“我每天早上就吃一个馒头，送外卖送到下午1点，然后花10分钟吃午饭。配送员中午有两个小时休息时间，我回家把外卖服一脱，拿着包就冲去训练，训练完了把箱子装车上，衣服一换，手机打开就又要开始接单了。”在这种情况下，他曾经创下一天接69单的单人记录。

Zhang once had a crushing defeat in a match in Thailand. "Those international boxers were far better than us. My opponent's punch was hard and precise. No matter what I did, I always got hit. There was the gap between me and the world's first-class boxers. I was like a punching bag in the ring." The referee stopped the fight, seeing it was an unequal contest. Zhang stayed home and recuperated for over two weeks.

然而，在一次泰国的比赛中，张方勇遭遇惨败。“海外拳击成绩水平真的比我们高出很多。对手的拳非常的重，而且打得很准。我出拳还是不出拳，他都能打到我。这就是跟世界顶级水平的技术差距。我在上面完全就成了一个移动沙包。”因为实力悬殊，裁判终止了比赛，张方勇则回家养了半个月的伤。

CGTN Photo

Coming back with no reward but medical bills, Zhang thought about giving up. "My father also loved sports. He could see that deep down I didn't want to quit. He said that 'what matters is not exactly being a world champion, but that you tried. Just follow your heart,'" says Zhang. "My grandfather didn't know much about boxing. Before he passed away, however, he told everyone in the hospital that his grandson was a boxer, and he wished me success."

不仅没挣到钱，还要花医药费，张方勇想过就此认命。“但我爸也很喜欢体育。他看得出来我心里其实不愿意放弃。他说，你尽力就够了，不一定要冲击世界拳王，而是要看看你能走多远。”他说，“我外公也不懂拳击。但是他去世之前，在病房里还一直在跟别人说，我外孙喜欢做这个，祝他早点成功。”

"Dream" is a luxury among the poor folks in Zhang's hometown. Nonetheless, he's determined to get up whenever he falls.

在张方勇的老家，谈梦想是一件很奢侈的事情。他只希望，自己跌倒了，还能重新爬起来。

He seems vigorous in the ring. All the stress and unfairness he feels are released with his punches. "While other boxers are there to win a game, I fight for life. I don't really care how my rival plays. Once in the ring, I'm all out without mercy. I punch over 200 times in a round, making him feel overwhelmed."

在拳台上，张方勇的拳风非常拼。各方面的压力和生活的不公，全都由拳头在拳台上释放。“别人出拳是为了打赢，我出拳是为了拼命。我不太会考虑对手的拳头，一般只要上了台，我都会碾压式地进攻，追着打，一回合能出200拳，对手受不了。”

Photo courtesy of Zhang Fangyong.

In 2017, Zhang finally won his first championship. "It's so hard for a grass-roots boxer like me, but I did it," he says. Always preparing for Asian and world championships, Zhang tries to rearrange his life and stay safe at work. "I need a steady income. I can't quit my job to prepare for the matches."

2017年，张方勇终于得到了自己的第一条金腰带。“作为草根拳手，我有这个机会本身就很难，我做到了。”为了未来能继续挑战亚洲拳王，甚至世界拳王，张方勇尽量减少生活压力，提醒自己不要拼过头，送外卖的时候上下楼梯也更加小心。“毕竟我需要稳定的收入，不能因为比赛就辞掉工作。”

In fact, the title didn't bring Zhang much financial reward but he is at peace with it. "Having switched between boxing and working for so many years, I'm truly confident now," he says. "Anyone who asks me how much I earn as a professional boxer, I tell them directly that boxing doesn't bring me money. I just feel like doing it, and I'll keep on doing it. Be there great success or not, I'll give it my all in every match."

很多人不相信，这条金腰带没有给张方勇带来多少经济回报。但现在的他对此非常坦然：“练拳击这么多年，自己在外面工作这么多年，一直闯，我已经很自信了。现在任何人问，你是职业拳手，你收入怎么样？我可以很直白地告诉他：我打拳没有钱，我就是喜欢这个，我依然会坚持这个。不管能不能成功，每一场比赛，每一拳，都是我对命运的反抗。”

Director: Lei Rong, Yu Yaqing

Editor: Jiao Yixi, Yu Yaqing, Gao Xingzi

Filmed by: Zhang Han

Designer: Qu Bo, Li Wenyi

Online writer: Zhu Siqi

Producer：Wen Yaru

Supervisor：Pang Xinhua

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