I’m not ready to quit the ring ... boxing is an old friend, says recovering Chinese star Zou Shiming
Two-time Olympic champion, who held the WBO world flyweight title, says he wants to continue fighting but career in jeopardy as he tries to recover from left eye injury
Recovering Chinese boxing star Zou Shiming says he’s not ready to throw in the towel and retire from the ring and if he was forced to quit, it would be like saying “goodbye to an old friend”.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist was asked by Sina Sports in Shanghai this week whether he would hang up his gloves after sustaining optic nerve and bone socket injuries to his left eye in December.
Zou was rushed to hospital after attending the Laureus China sports awards in Beijing after suddenly losing sight in his eye on the flight home to Shanghai.
The Zunyi-born boxer, who turns 37 in May, said the odds of returning are stacked against him but he refused to give up.
“It will be a very difficult [decision to make] and it would be like bidding farewell to an old friend whom you have known for more than 20 years. To be honest, I don’t have the courage to do this [quit the ring] at the moment,” he said. “But if I am really forced to do so, I think there are a lot of other roles I can play in boxing such as working with the China Boxing Association or training the young Chinese boxers so that they can fulfil their dreams just like I’ve fulfilled my dreams.”
