Published on 2025/04/24
ROBOT BOXINGChinese robotics company Unitree just dropped the announcement for what they claim will be the first ever boxing match between humanoid robots. The event is called “Iron Fist King: Awakening!” —which, let’s be honest, sounds more like an arcade game from the early 2000s than an actual tech showcase. But apparently, it's happening. In about a month. And yes, they’re promising punches. Between robots. For real.
They’ve already released a teaser video showing two of their machines squaring off in what looks like a training session. The bots throw punches, move around with a certain flow, and even stumble a bit —as if the video’s trying extra hard to look real because not everything looks polished. Still, it’s hard to buy it completely.
The movements feel… off. Too smooth to be robotic, too clunky to be cutting-edge animation. It sits in that uncanny valley where your brain goes: “Nice try, but I’m not sold.” It smells more like well-done CGI packaged as “look what we can already do,” rather than something truly happening in real time.
Are we getting closer to actual robot sports? Maybe. Are we seeing a real one here? Yeah, not likely.
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