China is coming up in the world of international amateur boxing, just as it is in most other sectors of world affairs. Still, just how far they have come is a serious question, and one that will be answered at this year’s London Olympics.
The Chinese boxing squad went from winning one bronze medal in Athens to scoring two golds, one silver and one bronze in Beijing. Given that some of China’s matches were marred by highly questionable, hometown scoring, it’s a safe guess that count would look different if the 2008 Summer Games had been held elsewhere.
Even so, the Chinese squad is set to win medals this year. The formidable Zhou Shiming is making his third Olympic bid this year, and the remainder of China’s large team has some strong, mid-ranking material in it. I would not be surprised to see China going home this year with one gold or silver, plus a bronze or two.
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Meng Fanglong (Light Heavyweight): Ranked #5 in the world by AIBA, the 23 year old Fanglong won gold at the 2010 Combat Games and silver at last year’s Asian Confederal Games. He replaces Zhang Xiaoping on the team, the gold medal winner from the Beijing Games.- Liu Qiang (Lightweight): Bearing a name straight from Mortal Combat, this Chinese lightweight will be 29 at the London Games. Qiang standing is revealing of how fierce competition in the lightweight division will be at the Olympics this summer. He won gold at the AIBA qualifier, and silver at the 2011 Asian Confederal Games. That suggests he is at the top of the lightweight division in East Asia, but that standing only places him #11 in AIBA’s rankings. Don’t expect Qiang to get very far.
- Miamiatituersun Qiong (Welterweight): Qiong is an Uyghur, part of a Muslim minority living on the Central Asian fringes of China, and the more Latinized spelling of his name is Mehmet Turson Chong. He fought at the Beijing Games at light welterweight, but lost early on to Russia’s Gennady Kovalev. Ranked #6 by AIBA, he is considered an outside contender to win a medal this year.
- Zhou Shiming (Light Flyweight): Shiming is one of the best known of China’s Olympic boxing squad, due partly to his gold medal win in 2008. The other part of his (in)famous reputation stems from his fight with Ireland’s Paddy Barnes on the way to the medal round, which saw Shiming receive points for punches that were landed by Barnes in one of the most scandalous miscarriages of judging on record. Even so, it would be a severe mistake to dismiss Shiming, as he is one of the toughest and most experienced competitors in his division. A strong competitor on the East Asian circuit, he ranks #3 according to AIBA, winning gold at the 2010 Combat Games and the 2010 Asian Games, and enters the contest as the reigning light flyweight world amateur champion. He also won bronze in the 2004 Athens Games. Look for him to bring a medal home again, and possibly even a second gold.
- Wang Xuanxuan (Heavyweight): Xuanxuan is the dark horse of this year’s Chinese squad. The 22 year old won a bronze at last year’s world championship, and a silver at the Asian Confederal Games. Only the most eagle-eyed of observers of the international amateur scene know anything about him, but despite that Xuanxuan is ranked #2 by AIBA. In a division with a lot of new faces this year, Xuanxuan could do very well indeed.
- Zhang Zhilei (Super Heavyweight): This gigantic southpaw is making his second trip to the Olympics, and won silver at the Beijing Games. Since then, his record has been mixed. He came away from the 2009 Milan world championship with only a bronze, didn’t even go to the 2011 championship, and scored bronze again at the 2011 Asian Confederal Games. Against that, he scored gold at the 2010 Asian Games and Combat Games, as well as last year’s AIBA Qualifier. These mixed results, especially on the larger international stage, go a long way to explaining why Zhilei is ranked a measly #22 right now. And keep in mind that Zhilei won silver by losing to Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle by knockout. The smart thinking says the hulking Zhilei was a flash in the pan, and will be eliminated early.
