Displaying strength, speed, reflexes, endurance and determination, China’s most successful amateur boxer Zou Shiming not only beat his opponent, but also gave millions of viewers a thrilling night of boxing in his debut professional bout “Fists of Gold” at the Venetian Cotai Arena last month.
Zou, a two-time Olympic Gold Medallist and three-time World Amateur Champion, announced his arrival on the professional circuit with a solid victory, beating his opponent, Mexican fighter Eleazar Valenzuela, and passing his first test on his way to becoming a possible world champion.
“I’m pleased that I won. I have to thank everyone who was involved in my preparation,” Zou told reporters after the bout. “The training for the fight wasn’t easy. I still have a lot to learn. This was my first professional fight and it was completely different from my amateur days. I was pressured by my opponent from the beginning. He was quite powerful.”
The 31-year-old Chinese boxer dominated all four rounds, but failed to knock 18-year-old Valenzuela out, instead winning by unanimous decision on points. Zou arrived in Macau from the US two weeks before the contest in order to prepare for the big night.
“I’m already used to the climate and diet here. I’m in optimal condition,” Zou told CLOSER in an interview before the fight.
However he did feel that his fame and success put him at a certain disadvantage to his opponent.
“I don’t really know him very well, but he can study my profile carefully. That’s his advantage,” Zou said. “They have a lot of information about me and I don’t have much on him. What I have to prepare to do is to concentrate and use the flexibility of punches, and have more variations in the way I attack. My previous experience helps me a lot.”
On the night however, it was not to be for the Mexican, as Zou successfully made the transition from the world’s greatest amateur flyweight to a possible professional title contender, in front of a full-house capacity crowd of 15,000 at the Cotai Arena, and millions more watching the action live on the mainland. Making the victory that much sweeter, Zou earned a reported US$300,000 on the night, a big sum for a rookie professional.
Zou’s promoter Bob Arum, and veteran trainer Freddie Roach, are hoping to put him in a title fight before the end of the year, and there are even talks about Zou headlining another bout at the Venetian in August.
Prior to the fight night, Zou met with one of his close friends, Jet Wu, a local boxing coach at the Fighting Art Club of Macau, who brought a group of his club’s students as well as boxing fans to visit the champion and learn some skills from him.
This was their first time to watch him practise in person and up close,” says Jet. “He has become stronger and fiercer than ever. He has knockout power in both his hands and each of his punches are powerful. My students and I learned a lot from him.”
Another reason for Jet’s visit was to show Zou some of his new art work. In 2010 Jet started a project combining his two passions – painting and boxing – producing a comic book that portrays the story of one of China’s most successful boxers. Jet took the chance to explain and discuss the plot with the champion.
“It’s very nice to see his paintings. He’s very hard working, running his advertising company in the daytime, coaching at night and painting the comic book in his free time,” complemented Zou.
“His work creates a good chance to promote Chinese boxing, witnessing my growth personally and professionally. It is of significance and I really like his paintings – very beautiful, vivid, and full of passion and memories. So far the comic tells how I became an amateur boxer in 2008, but there is still a lot more to tell.”
Looking at the comic book page by page, Zou felt like he was going back in time to when he was just starting his career. “It’s just like a photo album.”
The comic book was launched last year and can be downloaded for free and viewed online.
