The face of a new sporting phenomenon in China

Shane Benis, 31, who was raised in Uganda and educated in England, has done a lot to promote boxing in China. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

In a country whose athletes are better known for excelling in individual sports than in team sports, boxing is still in its infancy in China, having never taken off compared with athletics, swimming and table tennis.

However, the sport's profile has grown in recent years following the gold-medal exploits of the Chinese boxer Zou Shiming in the light flyweight division of the Olympic Games in in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012.

Another person who has done a lot to promote the sport in China is Shane Benis, 31, who was raised in Uganda and educated in England.

He arrived in Shanghai in 2008, tired of helping out with his father's business and needing a new challenge. Determined to run his own venture, he set up a company in Shanghai that exported heavy machinery and other construction equipment to Africa.

In Shanghai, Benis, who boxed in his university days, was presented with the opportunity to train several boxers and help organize a white-collar boxing event. A company from Singapore approached him seeking help in training boxers for the event but it eventually pulled out of the project.

Benis, with the help of the boxers and friends, managed to stage the event, taking just three weeks to complete what would have normally required months of preparation. Benis thought little of it and he moved to Dubai a year later to help out with his father's new venture in petrochemicals and oil trading.

However, Dubai merely reminded of how much he needed a big change in career.

"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."

In 2012 he decided to combine his passion for boxing with events management by setting up China Sports Promotions.

"Boxing was non-existent as a marketing tool in Shanghai and Beijing when we started. Our main source of revenue was from sponsorships, and not many companies believed boxing could provide a suitable avenue to promote their businesses. Today we've proven everyone wrong. Our events are arguably the most exciting and rewarding biannual events for all parties involved-our boxers, our sponsors and our staff."

Few in the know would argue that Benis now runs the most successful boxing business in China that spans from operating boxing gyms to organizing white-collar fights in many Chinese cities, and he has organized one in Seoul in May. Since the company's inception Benis has organized 22 white-collar boxing events which in turn has encouraged thousands of people to take up training.

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