China's boxers ready to give the world a run in the ring
China is suddenly a contender for Olympic boxing gold after years of being a pugilistic afterthought in international competitions, boxing officials are saying.
On the sidelines of the ongoing Good Luck Beijing International Boxing Invitational Tournament on Monday, a number of boxers and officials said China was finally ready to start punching its weight.
"Since the Sydney Games in 2000, the development of boxing in China has been nothing short of amazing," said Terry Smith, chairman of the Amateur International Boxing Association Referee and Judge Commission, and a technical delegate for the invitational.
Smith said there were many reasons for China's "remarkable" development, chief among them the administrative changes the sport has made since 2000.
What he called "a structured development plan" has allowed much of China's boxing talent from the country's poor and remote provinces access to the main boxing centers in Beijing, where they have better training and conditioning and more international exposure.
Chinese light-flyweight and world champion, Zou Shiming, is one of the beneficiaries of this system. The 26-year-old, who hails from remote Guizhou Province, got more exposure by fighting away from home where foreign coaches, eager to share their expertise, noticed him and helped him develop into a world champion.
The rest of Zou's story can be read in the history books - he became the first Chinese boxer to earn a medal in Olympic competition, with a bronze in the 48kg division at the 2004 Athens Games, and the first to claim gold medals at the World Boxing Championship. Chinese officials hope he can lead its team of boxers to even more international glory next summer in Beijing.
Zou's performance at the recently concluded World Boxing Championship in Chicago, where he also won gold, was not the only thing that impressed Smith about China's performance in the Olympic-qualifying event. Smith said China became the first host country in Olympic history not to settle for the six guaranteed boxing berths the host country is allowed.
Instead, China chose to win outright each of its seven qualification berths on its own, and plans to send 11 boxers to the Olympics to compete in every weight class.
"That is terrific. To their credit," Smith said. "They'll end up with a team of 11, I'm quite certain of that, and that is indicative of the improvement of China over the last seven years. Amazing."
The foreign boxers who descended upon Beijing for the invitational tournament had similar praise for the rapid development of Chinese boxing.
Lightweight South African Owethu Mbira, after a narrow victory over his Chinese challenger, Li Sijia, in Monday's quarterfinal, was impressed with Li's performance.
"He's a good boxer. He gave me a good fight," said a sweaty and swollen Mbira, who had never fought a Chinese boxer before.
Briton Daniel Anthony Price, who had an easier time seeing off his quarterfinal opponent, Zhang Shuai, after Zhang's coach threw in the towel in the third round, said he expects China to be a boxing force in the future.
"They're definitely coming on," said Price, a self-described veteran boxer. "The last few years they've been getting toward the top. That's why I took this fight seriously."
(China Daily 11/21/2007 page22)
