Taishan Dong vs. Karinn Davis: Fight Time, Date and Predictions

Sports means a great many things to a great many people, but oftentimes it's best enjoyed as pure spectacle. Think of a powerful tomahawk dunk, a sublime double play or a well-executed uppercut. Sports are routinely visually impressive, but usually once bodies are in motion. Occasionally though, the mere sight of an athlete is a spectacle in and of itself.

Boxing has one such athlete, and his name is Taishan Dong.

Dong (3-0, 2 KOs), who stands at a chiseled 7'0", will take on Karinn Davis (2-4, 2 KOs) in a four-round heavyweight bout on Saturday, May 9, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, as part of the undercard for the highly anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez and hard-hitting James Kirkland. 

The televised portion of the card, featuring Alvarez-Kirkland and Frankie Gomez vs. Humberto Soto, begins at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. Dong will fight Davis beforehand, although his fight will not be televised.

Dong, a longtime athlete, is all sinewy muscle—like a jungle cat, but at prehistoric proportions—and (one would assume) packs power rarely seen in combat sports. His level of coordination and agility is impressive for a man his size. He has fists that look like they could knock down the walls of a city.

From a marketing standpoint, he's a promoters dream—and well aware of his potential to reach a vast audience.

"He told me he hoped to be the Yao Ming of boxing," said Dong's manager George Gallegos in February, via ESPN.com's Brian Campbell. "I think he can even be bigger."

The Chinese boxer's last bout came on Feb. 27, with a four-round, unanimous-decision win against the 42-year-old Roy McCrary. The fight drew plenty of attention for fairly obvious reasons, with videos such as this one from Bleacher Report showing off his mammoth physique:

Dong knocked McCrary down twice, in the second and third rounds, but was unable to finish off his battered opponent, leading to the first decision of his career.

While it may be entertaining just to see Dong throw battering-ram punches with his 84-inch reach, Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Sun wasn't impressed with the quality of pugilism on display:

Dong is an impressive sight, but he's still lacking as a boxer. One could imagine him having trouble against a quick opponent who can duck in for a 1-2 and then make him chase. His stamina could be an issue if he moves up to longer bouts.

Like McCrary, Davis is a middle-aged fighter with a short boxing resume comprised of low-level fights—these coming in small venues scattered across Michigan and Ohio, per BoxRec.

There's no book on Davis, but there doesn't really need to be one. Dong's promoters are surely hoping their gargantuan fighter can just gain some experience and pad his record before eventually taking on more-skilled opponents.

If anything, one might hope Davis gets into a slugfest with Dong. Both of Davis' wins have come by knockout, so if he does harbor hopes of winning this four-rounder, he may try to shock everyone by ending it early.

With his imposing stature and potential to be a premier slugger, it's difficult not to get excited about Dong. Admittedly, much of the excitement surrounding his in-ring fighting potential is wildly premature and undeserved. But when someone like Dong enters the world of sport, it seems silly to ignore him, until given reason otherwise.

It very well may be that the only thing that dwarfs the 26-year-old boxer is his own hype. Until Dong lines up a fight against a proper, more-experienced fighter, expect him to win ugly—this time by knockout—and keep the spectacle alive.

Prediction: Dong wins by knockout