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By KATE O'KEEFFE And GORDON MARINO
When the biggest names in boxing talk about the future of the sport, they point to a soft-spoken man who weighs only a little over 100 pounds and hails from one of China's poorest provinces.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur boxing champion Zou Shiming will make his professional debut on April 6 in a four-round flyweight bout against Eleazar Valenzuela of Mexico at the Venetian Macao Resort in Macau.
Saturday's fight featuring Zou Shiming—China's first Olympic gold medalist in boxing—will be the most-watched telecast in the professional sport's history, says his promoter, the octogenarian Bob Arum, who has represented boxers from Muhammad Ali to Manny Pacquiao.
"Such is the demographics of China," he said, predicting that more than 200 million homes in the world's most populous country will tune in to see Mr. Zou, who, at 31 years of age, is a gray beard in terms of a fighter making his pro debut.
The fight, which is taking place in the Chinese ******** enclave of Macau, will be broadcast free in China. But Mr. Arum hopes to ultimately be able to charge Chinese viewers for future boxing events, a la pay-per-view, as he does in the U.S., assuming Saturday's fight is a popular success.
It is an event that would have literally been impossible just a few decades ago and one that underscores the rising importance of China as a source of growth for many global industries, including sports.
Boxing was banned in China in the 1960s and '70s during late Communist dictator Mao Zedong's rule. The sport was considered too savage and too Western. It wasn't until 1986 that boxing was allowed again after authorities realized its many weight classes could aid the country's pursuit of Olympic medals.
Mr. Zou proved them right, winning gold for China in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. This weekend he will make his professional debut at the Venetian Macao, Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s LVS -0.56% flagship casino-resort in the world's largest ******** market.
Two world championship bouts will take place at the "Fists of Gold" event—so named for Mr. Zou's pair of Olympic medals. But all eyes in China will be on Mr. Zou, who fights in the flyweight class, which is between 108-112 pounds. He is favored to win over his opponent, Eleazar Valenzuela of Mexico.
"Every country in the world is patriotic to some degree but in China that support is kind of…feverish," said Michael Haskamp, co-founder of Hong Kong-based Legend Fighting Championship, an organizer of mixed martial arts contests. Legend isn't involved in "Fists of Gold."
In an interview, Mr. Zou was humble but focused as he talked about his ambitions. In addition to wanting to win championships, he said he hopes to inspire more of his countrymen to take an interest in the sport he loves.
When asked what kind of boxer nickname he might adopt, Mr. Zou said he hoped fans would decide for themselves after seeing him fight. "One thing without a doubt is that I'm a happy boxer," he said with a broad smile. "As long as I'm in the ring I'm happy."
The Venetian has been heavily promoting the fight with advertisements and VIP events. On site the casino has set up special photo booths so guests can get their pictures taken with a high-tech image of a hooded Mr. Zou in fighting stance.
The casino even commissioned a theme song for the event. Local pop star Stephanie Cheng sings about the fight in auto-tuned Mandarin, while rapper Kevin Chau, or "Gold Mountain," spits English verses such as: "I got 1.3 billion wishin' / Two fists of gold will elevate their position." At one point Mr. Chau references the Boxer Rebellion, an antiforeign movement in China at the turn of the 20th century.
As is often the case with a fighter's first big bout, the size of the purse hasn't been announced.
As a diminutive 12-year-old, a young Zou Shiming began studying martial arts, but after much pestering he convinced his parents and a local coach to let him take up boxing instead. In 1996 Mr. Zou became a member of Guizhou province boxing team. Twelve years later he would become China's first boxing gold medalist in the Olympics.
In preparation for this weekend's debut, Mr. Arum in February sent Mr. Zou to study in the U.S. with boxing maestro Freddie Roach.
"When I first began working with him, I was a little concerned about him coming to my gym…because the only sparring partner I had for him at 112 [pounds] was a world champion Brian Viloria," said Mr. Roach, a Hall of Fame trainer. "But when I put them together I was quite pleased. Shiming is a great student. He picks up things quickly."
Roach had high praise for Mr. Zou's speed, timing, and sense of distance. Trying to teach his student the power game, Mr. Roach is working on getting Shiming to engage and sit down on his punches. Right now, Mr. Roach said, "Shiming's best combination is a right uppercut to the body followed by a left hook to the head."
Mr. Zou's professional debut has been a cultural exchange for both the boxer and his promoter. While training in Hollywood, Calif., Mr. Zou learned his first few words of English. Mr. Arum said he took "the kid" to sleek Beverly Hills hot spot Mr. Chow for dinner for a taste of home. "There are no Chinese people here," Mr. Zou correctly observed, according to Mr. Arum.
While Mr. Arum was in Beijing in January to announce the fight, he experienced a cultural shock of his own: no one in the Chinese restaurant where he was dining had ever heard of Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley. (But they did know of rapper 50 Cent.)
Mr. Arum said he doesn't plan to teach Mr. Zou the trash-talking skills that some of his U.S. boxing counterparts have mastered. "First of all, it wouldn't work, and, secondly, it'd be counter-productive," he said. "We want him to be like he is: a decent, humble, family guy."
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