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Could the professional debut of Zou Shiming this evening see China emerge as a new superpower in world boxing? The Olympic darling, who won the nation's first ever boxing gold as a light-flyweight at the 2008 Beijing Games, then repeated the trick at London 2012, has copped a whopping $300,000 purse to square off against a Mexican novice over four rounds at the Venetian hotel and casino resort on the island of Macau, the former Portuguese colony frequented by China's biggest high rollers.
The 15,000 capacity venue is likely to be rammed to bursting point and with HBO broadcasting in the US plus an anticipated TV audience exceeding 200 million on mainland China, it seems the sport has chanced upon an untapped but ridiculously lucrative new market.
Initially it will be dependent upon Zou delivering between the ropes. In addition to his Olympic brace, he bagged three world amateur titles with his success based upon laser speed and feline agility. With Hall of Famer Bob Arum pulling the promotional strings, he is primed to hit the outside lane to a world title challenge as early as 2014.
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The 15,000 capacity venue is likely to be rammed to bursting point and with HBO broadcasting in the US plus an anticipated TV audience exceeding 200 million on mainland China, it seems the sport has chanced upon an untapped but ridiculously lucrative new market.
Initially it will be dependent upon Zou delivering between the ropes. In addition to his Olympic brace, he bagged three world amateur titles with his success based upon laser speed and feline agility. With Hall of Famer Bob Arum pulling the promotional strings, he is primed to hit the outside lane to a world title challenge as early as 2014.
[Click Here To Read More]
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