Mr. Zou proved them right, winning gold for China in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
In an interview, Mr. Zou was humble but focused as he talked about his ambitions.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
"There are no Chinese people here, " Mr. Zou correctly observed, according to Mr. Arum.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
Mr. Zou's professional debut has been a cultural exchange for both the boxer and his promoter.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
In men's floor competition, China's Zou Kai edged out Japanese rival and Olympic all-around champion Kohei Uchimura for gold.
Roach had high praise for Mr. Zou's speed, timing, and sense of distance.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
"Shaq is a larger-than-life hero with Chinese basketball fans, " says Terry Rhoads, founder of Zou Marketing, a sports consultancy in Shanghai.
But all eyes in China will be on Mr. Zou, who fights in the flyweight class, which is between 108-112 pounds.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
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.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
China's dominance was such that the last gymnast to perform on high bar, Zou Kai, needed only 8.725 to clinch the gold.
In 1996 Mr. Zou became a member of Guizhou province boxing team.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
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.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
When asked what kind of boxer nickname he might adopt, Mr. Zou said he hoped fans would decide for themselves after seeing him fight.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
To persuade the prevention-minded person to take a risk, recent research by psychologists Abigail Scholer, Xi Zou, Ken Fujita, Steve Stroessner, and E.
FORBES: Getting Your Boss, Colleagues, or Clients to Embrace Risk
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.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
Using an ingenious genetic tracing technique, in 2001 two members of Buck's research team, Zhihua Zou and Lisa Horowitz , did something that had seemed impossible: They discovered a map in the olfactory cortex.
"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.
WSJ: 'Fists of Gold' Zou Shiming Boxing Match Fires Up China
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