China's Zou Shiming arrives for his Men's Light Fly (49kg) gold medal boxing match against Thailand's Kaeo Pongprayoon at the London Olympics, Aug. 11, 2012. (Photo : Reuters)
In China, where athletes are better known to succeed in individual than team sports, boxing is still in its infancy, never having excelled like swimming, athletics and table tennis.
However, the profile boxing has grown in recent years after the gold-medal exploits of Chinese boxer Zou Shiming in the light flyweight division of the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012, according to China Sports Beat.
31-year-old Shane Benis, raised in Uganda and educated in England, is another person who has done much to promote boxing in China.
Benis arrived in Shanghai in 2008, bored about taking care of his father's business and looking for a new challenge. He was so dedicated to run his own business to the extent that he established a company in Shanghai to export heavy machinery and other construction material to Africa.
Benis had boxed in his university days, and therefore, he found an opportunity in Shanghai to train several boxers and help organize a white-collar boxing event. A firm from Singapore approached him seeking assistance in training boxers for the event but eventually pulled out of the project.
With the help of friends and boxers, Benis staged the event, taking just three weeks to complete what would have normally required months of preparation. He thought little of it and shifted to Dubai a year later to run his father's new business in petrochemicals and oil trading.
While in Dubai, Benis remembered how much he needed a big change in career.
Talking to China Daily, Benis said, "I didn't enjoy the environment I was in because it solely revolved around money, so I moved back to Shanghai and decided not to work for a year and figure out what I wanted to do."
As a result, he decided to combine his love for boxing with events management by establishing China Sports Promotions.
