Zou Shiming has had his first taste of professional boxing, and it went well as the Olympic Champion beat Mexico's Eleazar Valenzuela in a unanimous points decision in Macao. It was sufficient, though not really specatacular, with Zou showing only glimpses of his best stuff.
The 31-year old, one of the trailblazers of Chinese boxing, the first person to win a boxing medal at the Olympics from this country, but this was his debut on the professional scene. He made the step up well. There were a few racing hearts though, after a slip towards the end of the first round.
But if he is to go all the way to a title fight, which is the plan maybe even this year, then he will have to beat better guys than this. His opponent is only 18 and has been a professional for less than a year. Zou caught Valenzuela with a couple of big shots, but didn't manage to stop his opponent, but Zou defended well.
The match was only four rounds but all the judges decided it was Zou's fight. The judges scored it 40-36. There's plenty of media interest in China, and the match was beamed to nearly every home in the country. It's expected his next bout will be six rounds again in Macao, probably in August.
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