--- title: "We Must Admit That This Video of Two Small Robots Punching Each Other With Boxing Gloves Is Pretty Awesome" description: "Two pint-sized robots were seen boxing at an AI conference in Shanghai, and we've gotta say, they're pretty cool." date: "2025-08-02" modified: "2025-08-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/unitree-robots-boxing" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "boxing" - "Humanoid Robots" - "OpenAI" - "robots" --- # We Must Admit That This Video of Two Small Robots Punching Each Other With Boxing Gloves Is Pretty Awesome ![Two pint-sized robots were seen boxing at an AI conference in Shanghai, and we've gotta say, they're pretty cool.]() *\Image: Unitree / Futurism\* These days, robots with [varying degrees of impressiveness]() can [manage all kinds of tasks](). But two diminutive humanoids seen boxing with outsize gloves at the recent World AI Conference in Shanghai may take the cake. In a [video posted to X](), AI security researcher Helen Toner — who was, it should be noted, a [driving force]() behind the ultimately failed coup against CEO Sam Altman back in November 2023 — showed off the boxing ring prowess of two short-statured robots from the Chinese company Unitree. https://www.twitter.com/hlntnr/status/1950740637944320079 Known as the "[Iron Fist King]()," this new robot model has indeed made waves since [Unitree unveiled it]() in a splashy boxing tournament in May. As Toner alludes in her post, these boxing bots aren't quite autonomous just yet. The robots are, for now, [remote-controlled by human operators]() who choreograph their ducks and punches. Even so, the AI researcher was impressed with the robots' balance and stabilization mechanisms, which she noted in her tweet "must be automatic." Along with that first match and the Shanghai demo, Unitree showed off the Iron Fist Kings to students at Hangzhou Qian Xuesen School in Hangzhou, China during yet another match between bots in May. Naturally, the kids ate it up. "It's incredible," remarked one of the tykes when [interviewed by the Hong Kong newspaper *Bastille Post*](). "Now I really want to know how these robots can fight with each other." It appears that same school, which is located in the town where Unitree is headquartered, has become something of a test market for the company's wares. Back in February, its better-known G1 humanoid robot was [filmed dancing]() with — and perhaps overshadowing — two people there. https://www.twitter.com/Neuzenai23/status/1894364224018915462 At the AI conference in Shanghai, Toner didn't get a glimpse of G1, but she did see other companies' robots engaged in everything from [playing tic-tac-toe]() to [cheerleading]() with real pom-poms. Still, she said that the boxing little robots were the "most impressive" of the bunch — and having seen footage them in three very different arenas, we have to agree. **More on robots:** [*Scientists Create Prototype of Robot Designed to Cannibalize Parts of Other Robots and Build Them Into Itself*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()