Chinese Boxer Gives New Fans a Reason to Cheer
BEIJING — You know that boxing has arrived in China when Don King is in the house. He turned up at the Workers’ Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon for preliminary bouts in the flyweight and heavyweight divisions, and was immediately spotted by the Chinese fans, who recognized his electrified mane.
“He was mobbed,” said Richard Baker, communications manager for the International Amateur Boxing Association.
Boxing is a relatively new sport in China, but quickly gaining in popularity. The government banned it for years, because it was too brutal and capitalist, and changed its mind only in 1986, when the Chinese medal-counters realized that boxing, with 11 weight classes, is one of those sports, like rowing or canoeing, that offer multiple opportunities for trips to the victor’s stand.
The national program still has a way to go. On Wednesday, the Chinese heavyweight Nijiati Yushan, who won the bronze at the 2007 world championship, got thumped, 23-4, by the Russian Oleksandr Usyk. But the Chinese team has a serious medal contender in the flyweight Zou Shiming, and on Wednesday his countrymen showed up in force to support him.
Unlike most of the other Olympic venues, which were built for the Games, the Workers’ Gym, a big circular building, has been around for a half-century. It has a pleasingly proletarian feel — perfect for boxing — and old-fashioned echoing acoustics.
The stands at many Olympic contests so far have been packed with claques of Chinese wearing matching T-shirts and brandishing cheer sticks; they sometimes applaud at inappropriate moments, or shout over and over again, “Go China!”
But many of the fans on Wednesday were knowledgeable and spontaneous, and sounded like a genuine fight crowd, complete with shouts and catcalls.
In a Vegasy touch, the fighters for each bout were led to the ring by tall young women in minidresses, wearing white gloves and white boots, and carrying placards announcing the boxer’s home country. Zou came out wearing a hooded robe, bouncing and shadowboxing and every now and then doing the Ali stomp.
“I was a little nervous before the fight,” he said. “But when I got into the ring, I heard all the spectators cheering for me and then I forgot about the pressure. I really love this feeling. I felt like a man in the ring.”
Zou is from the southwestern province of Guizhou and grew up watching martial-arts movies and studying wushu, Chinese martial arts. But at some point he must have come across a stash of Ali tapes, for he has learned all the master’s mannerisms: he drops his hands while backpedaling, daring his opponent to hit him; effortlessly slips a punch just by leaning backward and letting it zip past his ear; and every now and then gives a little shoulder juke.
Zou is tiny— 5-foot-5 and 106 pounds — but has a rippling upper back. And because he is so small, he is also quicker than Ali. Darting and bouncing, he wore out his opponent, Eduard Bermudez Salas of Venezuela, an aggressive, straight-ahead boxer, and won easily, 11-2.
Between the third and fourth rounds, Zou was so fresh he stood in his corner, twitching his shoulders, as Salas sat and tried to grab a breath.
“He’s not weak,” Zou said of his opponent. “In South Africa, he beat the Cubans to qualify for the Olympic Games. He has the power, but this time he did not fight to his advantage.”
The fight was really over in the second round, when Zou stung Salas with an uppercut and a right-left combination to go up, 6-0. Then, circling away from Salas, who kept putting his head down and charging, Zou cruised to the end.
“It was just normal and relatively easy,” Zou said. “I did everything my coach told me. He had everything very well prepared.”
He added: “These two years, I’ve built up some experience. This is my dream, to be on the stage in Beijing and perform well.”
Many Chinese fans left the gym as soon as the Zou bout was over, but a number stayed for the heavyweights and were treated with the most exciting bout of the card.
Deontay Wilder’s victory over Abdelaziz Touilbini of Algeria was so convincing it lifted the hopes of the American team, which had been sadly deflated by the collapse of the bantamweight Gary Russell Jr. and the unexpected defeat of Rau’shee Warren, the current world flyweight champion who was thought to be America’s best hope for a boxing medal.
Wilder, who is 6-foot-7 with an enormous wingspan, got off to a tentative start, then fell behind by 2-0 in the first round. Wilder said he was trying to get a feel for how Touilbini moved. In the second round, Wilder picked up a point with a jab, and in the third he went ahead by 3-2, only to have the referee award Touilbini a penalty point.
But in the fourth round, probably the most impressive by any American so far, Wilder staggered Touilbini with repeated flurries, including a thunderous right-left. He won six straight points and took the bout, 10-2.
Explaining his comeback, a still pumped-up Wilder said: “In the gym we have an expression: bringing the dogs out. Sometimes I even bark.”
He added: “I love the atmosphere here. The people in China, they were all behind me as well. I’m from Alabama, but I’m not shy. I’m a performer. I like to give a good show.”
Wilder said he was looking forward “to carrying the same spirit through the next three rounds.”
“I have goals set for myself, and I can see myself on that gold-medal pedestal, so I’m not going to stop,” he said.
Referring to his teammates, he added, “I hope I can show them we still have a chance, lift up their hope.”
Jacques Demarthon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Zou Shiming wore out his opponent, Eduard Bermudez Salas of Venezuela Wednesday and won easily, 11-2.
By CHARLES MCGRATH
Published: August 13, 2008
