Chinese Boxing

**Chinese Boxing** is the nineth episode of the first season of the Cinemax original martial arts crime drama *Warrior*. It premiered on May 31, 2019. The series has since been acquired by Max.

## Synopsis

Chinatown gathers to witness a "prize fight" between elite warriors from the Hop Wei and Long Zii. Buckley plays a bluff in hopes of getting Mercer to lower his fee. Ah Sahm remembers his roots as a fighter, as Ah Toy warns him of the dangers that await. Bill and Lee question Wang Chao about the recent series of sword killings in San Francisco.

## Plot

Leary and Byron discuss the schedule for their Irish labor force as they begin work to lay the cable car tracks.

Jacob informs Penny that Ah Sahm will be fighting in a duel.

Bill and Lee walk the empty streets of Chinatown in wonder, questioning where everyone has gone. Eventually, they get their answer and find their way into a crowd surrounding the ring, scheduled for a one vs one duel between the Hop Wei and Long Zii.

Lao Ting stands in the center of the ring and welcomes those in attendance while explaining that tonight's fight is about settling a dispute between the tongs while maintaining peace within the region.

All three tongs are in attendance for the fight. Father Jun, Young Jun and the Hop Wei sit on one end whilst Mai Ling and Long Zii sit on the other, with the Fung Hai spectating from the crowd. Even Ah Toy seeks to witness the fight, accompanied by Lai.

Ah Sahm heads to the ring first, representing the Hop Wei, shortly followed by Li Yong, representing the Long Zii. The fight begins and the two combatants exchange blows. However, the fight turns in Ah Sahm's favor when he lands a single blow to Li Yong's chest and proceeds to knock him unconscious, but before he can take Li Yong's sash from around his waist and claim victory, Li Yong awakens and somehow manages to regain control of the fight. Li Yong delivers a heavy blow, breaking Ah Sahm's nose, as Penny watches terrified from the crowd. Barely anything left in him, Li Yong grabs Ah Sahm from behind and prepares to snap his neck when Mai Ling gives the signal. Penny screams out and Bill shoots into the sky, bringing the fight to an end and scaring off the crowd. However, before leaving, Li Yong manages to take the sash from around Ah Sahm's waist.

Bill escorts Penny out of the fight and suspects that her attendance at the fight wasn't a coincidence. Penny asks why Bill saved Ah Sahm, but Bill avoid the question and tells Penny that Chinatown isn't a safe place for her. Penny then tells Bill that she'd rather her husband not about tonight's events.

Young Jun partially blames his father for their loss, for ever agreeing to the duel to begin with. For now, they'll keep their word and allow the Long Zii into the molasses trade. As for Ah Sahm, who Young Jun vouches for, he's of no use to them as far as Father Jun is concerned.

Ah Toy has brought Ah Sahm home with her and tends to his wounds. He's so badly beaten that he can barely breathe or see.

Buckley pays Byron an unexpected visit and informs him that a late bidder is coming, and his pricing is hard to ignore. Byron argues that they can't pull the contract from up under him, but Buckley informs him that he was merely awarded the first purchase order, of which there will be many. Putting all of the city's business with a single vendor like Byron is a questionable move, and when a second vendor comes in a good 15% below him, it's hard to ignore. This mysterious second vendor must be cutting down on their cost by using Chinese labor, which Byron can't compete with.

Ah Sahm is delirious and has a vision of his sister in their earlier years. He recalls one evening after getting beaten up by a bigger kid, which his father blamed him for, as Ah Sahm was known to have a big mouth, plus that was his third fight that month. Mai Ling, or as she was known then, Xiaojing, came to his defense, but his father wasn't convinced. Ever since Ah Sahm's grandfather died, he'd been getting into trouble. He'd be ashamed of Ah Sahm.

Lai cleans Ah Sahm's wounds, but his delirium continues, as he momentarily mistakes Ah Toy for Mai Ling. Ah Toy and Lai then get on top of him and force his shoulder back into place.

Ah Sahm recalls the day that Xiaojing returned home with Sifu Li Qiang. He gifted Ah Sahm a jade necklace, which is said to have healing powers and help the flow of energy through one's body. Ah Sahm then asked if Sifu would teach him to fight, to which he replied that "you can't fight if you can't breathe." He then proceeded to train Ah Sahm moving forward. This would ultimately lead to Ah Sahm having to leave with him, much to Xiaojing's disapproval, however, Ah Sahm promised to return to visit every month and gave his sister his jade necklace to hold on to.

The leadership of the Long Zii is officially transferred to Mai Ling. However, Zhang voices his disapproval of her leadership, given the war she started with the Hop Wei, though Mai Ling argues war was inevitable. Still, Zhang accuses Mai Ling of manipulating Long Zii, as he lost his sense when she climbed into his bed, as well as Li Yong's. Mai Ling suspects that their hesitation of her leadership is due to the fact that she's a woman, so she provides a demonstration of strength and authority by shooting Zhang in the head. With Zhang dead, the council gives their full support.

Penny comes by Ah Toy's brothel to check in on Ah Sahm, who lies on the bed. She grabs his hand and tells him that she misses him. He pretends to be asleep, but he hears her word.

Mayor Blake confronts Buckley after hearing from Byron Mercer about a lower bid, but Buckley informs the mayor that such a bid doesn't exist. He simply imputed the savings of using Chinese labor and created a new bid. He did this because along with cleaning up the mayor's messes, he also keeps track of Blake's administrative budget, which is in arrears. His political capital is on the decline, and if this project comes in one dime over budget, the appropriations committee will be calling for his head. While Blake appreciates his zeal, in the future, he demands that Buckley tell him in advance.

Ah Sahm is finally back to where he can stand on his own two feet, but just barely, and he collapses to the floor, forcing Ah Toy to come in and help him to the bed. Ah Sahm admits that Li Yong was better than him, but Ah Toy corrects him and says that Li Yong was fighting for something he believed in. He had purpose. There are 25,000 Chinese in San Francisco, with more coming every day, only to be treated like dogs. Someone has to start fighting back. While it's a fight they personally can't win, they can at least inspire others. They live in a country of foreigners, and there's no reason they should be treated differently for it. Ah Toy has a dream that one day land will even be owned by Chinese citizens. Ah Sahm scoffs at the notion, leading Ah Toy to question why he's even still in the city. Realizing that he stayed because of Mai Ling, Ah Toy informs him that the tongs were at peace for a long time before she came. She was also prepared to let him die. Ah Sahm needs to accept that she's no longer his sister that needs saving and that she's not safe for Chinatown.

Bill and Lee look to Chao in their samurai/swordsman case, but Chao doesn't sell swords, as they're worthless and old-fashioned. Bill pleads with Chao for some kind of information, if only a simple clue. If they don't catch someone soon, things are going to get ugly in Chinatown. And so, Chao offers to look around.

Young Jun visits Ah Sahm during his recovery. Young Jun doesn't know what to say. He didn't see things going this way. Unfortunately for Ah Sahm, Father Jun wants nothing to do with him, essentially kicking him out of the Hop Wei. And if he goes to work for another tong, there will be a price on his head. Young Jun has been thinking about when they went out to Grass Valley a lot. He's starting to think they never should've come back.

In retaliation for Bill refusing to pay his debt, the Fung Hai target Lee. They ambush him on his way home and beat him in the streets of Chinatown. Lee charges after Zing, but he's an experienced fighter and takes Lee down with little difficulty, beating him to the point of unconsciousness.

## Cast

* Olivia Cheng as Ah Toy
* Jason Tobin as Young Jun
* Dianne Doan as Mai Ling
* Kieran Bew as Bill O'Hara
* Dean Jagger as Dylan Leary
* Joanna Vanderham as Penelope Blake
* Tom Weston-Jones as Richard Lee
* Hoon Lee as Wang Chao
* Langley Kirkwood as Walter Buckley
* Christian McKay as Samuel Blake
* Perry Yung as Father Jun
* Joe Taslim as Li Yong
* Henry Kwok as Lao Ting
* Kenneth Fok as Jacob
* Dustin Nguyen as Zing
* Jenny Umbhau as Lai
* Robert Hobbs as Stone
* Jacques Bessenger as McLeod
* Nicholas Pauling as Harrison
* Steve Park as Tu
* Ash Lee as Zhang
* Kieran Tamondong as Young Ah Sahm
* Nicole Law as Young Xiaojing
* Russell Yuen as Hoi Cheun
* James Lew as Sifu Li Qiang

## Trivia

* The episode title refers to the battle between Ah Sahm and Li Yong.