Warriors of a feminine persuasion

Hilary Fan, 21, the youngest boxer at the Shanghai Fight Night. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

Forget the lipstick, the mascara and that lovely new dress, but do bring those gloveswith you-we're off to the gymfor a fewrounds of boxing.

As white-collar boxing becomes popular in China, women seem to be just as willing as men to dish out jabs, hooks and undercuts-and, of course, to be on the receiving end錛峚s a way of becoming or staying lean and fit.

Unlike the unsanctioned, subterranean brawls between men depicted in the 1999 cult Hollywood filmFight Club, these fights are out in the open for all to see, and indeed for the promoters the more people who see themthe better.

One of these promoters is China Sport Promotions (CSP), which stages fights in big mainland cities and in Macao and Taipei.

It was founded in 2012, and the first fight was held in Hyatt on the Bund in Shanghai, drawing 320 spectators who donated more than 80,000 yuan to charity. CSP's most recent event, Shanghai Fight Night 2015, in December, drew more than 800 spectators.

As the crowdswatching these bouts grow, so does the number of boxers, manywomen among them.