《外国人眼中的中国小康（英）》：
According to Martinovic, he couldn't abandon the Chinese girl, and his business could wait, but she couldn't.
Therefore, he donated his startup capital. "I swore to myself and promised the girl that I would do all I could to save her." "Keeping my word" is his lifetime motto.
After the first boxing event, many white-collar workers who watched it came to Martinovic to study boxing. Back in 2015, few institutions could provide boxing training in Suzhou. Olympic-style boxing in which Martinovic excelled has an even smaller base of learners.
A time-honored sport originating in the West, boxing is categorized into professional boxing and Olympic boxing. Professional boxers wear no protective gears and usually fight for money. Originating in the UK, Olympic boxing is an event adapted for the Olympic Games. In matches, Olympic boxing athletes are required to wear protective gear and forbidden to kick the opponent with the legs, hit with the head, or bite with the teeth to reduce the risks of injury while maintaining the sport's fitness function and competitive, adventurous spirit.
According to his original plan, Martinovic would stay in China for only three months, but he eventually decided to settle down in the Eastern country for much longer. Unfortunately, the owner of the gym that Martinovic was renting went bankrupt, leaving Martinovic without enough money to make a down payment on another venue.
By that time, some students had begun to study boxing under Martinovic. He bought 20 portable spotlights, charged them in his apartment, and then used them to light up the venue where electricity and water had been cut off. He sometimes taught in open fields. Impressed by his persistence, his students insisted on training despite the harsh conditions.
In the early days after he settled in Suzhou, Martinovic could barely speak English. When instructing students on "left hook" and "right hook" practices, he could simply say "left" or "right." After months of experience instructing students who spoke English, Martinovic saw his English skills improve greatly.
"I learned English from my Chinese students," he laughed. "It's true！ I could converse with them in either Chinese or English after six months."
However, his brother decided to leave Suzhou because of a job change. "After he left, I had no one to rely on in the country far away from my hometown and nobody to guide me when I felt confused." Martinovic felt helpless and pessimistic about his future.
So he returned to Croatia to mull over the future. "The first year is usually the hardest for a startup, but you'll succeed if you survive the first year," he said to himself. "Don't give up." Three months later, he was back in Suzhou continuing his boxing business. "Suzhou is an extraordinary city for starting a business. It opens its arms wide to talent from around the world. The city is where dreams come true."
After returning to Suzhou, Martinovic dove headfirst into organizing the second "Suzhou Slowdown" boxing event.
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