If asked, nobody in China wouldn't know either Liu Xiang or Yao Ming. Well, in China's boxing society, Zou Shiming, a 27-year-old Guizhou guy, is also a household name.
As a leading figure of the Chinese boxing regiment to fight for gold during the Beijing Olympics, Zou has many auras to his belt: runner-up in the 2003 World Boxing Championship, bronze-medalist in the 2004 Athens Olympics, winner in the 2005 World Boxing Championship and the 2007 Chicago World Boxing Championship.
In the 48kg category, he looks like a king with few opponents in the world. Yet he still needs an Olympic gold to justify, the first Olympic boxing gold medal that China has been vying for in decades.
When he was little, no one, including himself and his parents, would dream that he could go so far in boxing. Little Zou was actually little in size when he was a kid, short, thin, timid, girly-looking. His parents even raised him like a girl for quite a few years. And he was often bullied by his buddies, even girls, for being weak and shy.
"See the scar on my face? Scratched by a girl when I was little!" said Zou. "I was always bullied by my pals when I was a kid, by boys, by girls. And I was so thin and small, I couldn't fight them."
It was from the bullies and the strict control from his parents that pushed Zou to start learning Chinese martial art Wushu when he was 13, because he needed something to abreact and to become stronger. He also dreamed of being a kungfu hero someday, to save the good and punish the bad.
However, his attention was quickly drawn to a more "violent" and straight-forward sport: boxing. He found it more intense and challenging. "When you stand on the stage, you'll immediately feel like a warrior. That feeling is awesome!" he said.
In 1997, Zou was picked into the Guizhou boxing team, and was chosen to the national team in 1999 after winning a national youth boxing championship.
Upon his first arrival, the coaches and his fellow boxers didn't think very high of Zou -- he was short and thin, didn't have much punching power, and was weak to stand punches from his opponents. However, his experienced coach, Zhang Chuanliang, saw merits in this little guy: thanks to his Wushu practice and a light weight, Zou can move and punch fast. Speed, becomes Zou's stunt.
From everyday practice, the master and the student gradually combined Zou's Wushu skills into his boxing, and created a distinctive way for him to avoid attack and launch attack.
"It's kinda simple to say," said Zou with a smile, "It's just that I move fast to avoid the heavy punches from my opponent, keep moving during the fight, and seek the moments to punch fast and heavy."
Using this unique "Kungfu boxing", Zou stunned the world during the 2003 Bangkok World Boxing Championship by winning a silver medal in the 48kg light flyweight category. Foreign coaches, boxers and media called him the biggest "dark horse" of the tournament.
In the 2005 Mianyang World Boxing Championship, Zou beat his old rivalry Cuban Yan Bhartelemy and won a gold medal. This time foreign media started to call him "the pirate", dazed by his fast movement and quick attack.
In 2007, Zou became "Fox Zou" after successfully holding to his champion throne in the Chicago World Boxing Championship, and his boxing skill was vividly called "foxy boxing". The British newspaper Guardian said Zou "fights like a sparrow and acts like Ali (the boxing legend)". Zou has become the actual king in his realm.
Yet the Chinese boxing king still has one regret, which is also the regret of the Chinese boxing community: China hasn't got hold of one Olympic boxing gold medal yet.
Zou made history by earning a bronze during the Athens Olympics in 2004, but that's simply not enough.
With this time's Olympics at his door step, Zou without doubt becomes the icebreaker for China's first gold. He feels both the honor and the pressure, yet he is full of confidence, because he knows his competence.
"This time I'll bring home a gold medal from the Olympics, which belongs to China," said he, "and I'll fight for it!"
(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2008)