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Referee asked tai chi master Ma Baoguo to show mercy before embarrassing 30-second KO
- Pre-fight footage emerges on Chinese social media showing referee expected tai chi master to deliver a one-sided beat down
- Referee appeals to 69-year-old to show mercy to his opponent – ‘when I say stop, you can’t continue to hit him’
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The knockout of 69-year-old tai chi master Ma Baoguo by a former martial arts coach 20 years his junior in Shandong has been watched around the world, with fans in China and overseas ridiculing the older man for taking on the challenge.
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Ma was knocked down twice before being knocked out within 30 seconds and taken to hospital, where he recovered and has since left.
However, footage from before the fight that shows a conversation between Ma and the fight referee shared on Chinese social media seems to indicate that they were expecting the fight to be one-sided the other way.
The referee apparently appeals to Ma to show mercy to his opponent, telling him three times: “I have just one requirement, when I say stop you have to stop, you can’t continue to hit him.”
Ma for his part warned the referee ahead of the fight, “I am afraid of my [tai chi] routine hurting you” to which the referee replied, “I am not afraid”.
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