Top Rank Motivated To Continue Staging Events in China

by Steve Kim

On January 30th at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center,  two-time gold medalist Zou Shiming scored an eighth round stoppage of Natan Santana Coutinho. In the past, Shiming headlined in Macao but with the downturn in the casino business over there, the focus of Top Rank's Asian boxing program has shifted.

"We put on the show in Shanghai, which was a success - a monster success - 50 million watched it (on television), 12,000 were in attendance, huge sponsorships. So we made money on the show and we already booked Hong Kong for May 14th. So we're really rolling in China, really rolling," said the chairman of Top Rank, Bob Arum.

He added,"Will we go back to Macao? Sure, but they've got to really want it. So this was a blessing in disguise because now we have big sponsors backing these shows. We're probably going to be going four times a year with a major show in mainland China."

One thing that really gratified Arum was how well Japanese middleweight, Ryota Murata, was received from the Chinese audience, despite the two countries past.

"He got a tremendous reception, he was a big hit. Murata scored a second round knockout and the Chinese people cheered him."

So it's clear, Top Rank is here to stay in China for the time being.

"Yeah, absolutely,"confirmed Arum,"and we've never been as enthusiastic as we are now."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.