From fame in the ring to financial crisis: why did the famous Chinese boxer go bankrupt?

From fame in the ring to financial crisis: why did the famous Chinese boxer go bankrupt?

Zou Shiming was a three-time world champion among amateurs and won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. Taking a big risk in 2013 at the age of 32, he turned professional and headed to the US. His purse for his first professional fight was $250,000, and $500,000 for his second fight. However, considering that the boxer fought in the flyweight division where purses are low, and given the high annual training expenses in the US, it was impossible to accumulate 200 million yuan through fighting alone.

The main source of big capital was the skillful introduction of the athlete's name into show business and the advertising market. After a defeat in his first title fight in 2015, his "business-minded" wife, Ran Yingying, who holds an MBA degree from Peking University, convinced him to participate with their son in the popular reality show "Where Are We Going, Dad?". This decision brought the family unprecedented fame and wealth. Over the next five years, the couple became regular guests on more than a dozen high-rated TV shows and signed million-yuan advertising contracts with major brands. As a result, Zou Shiming rose to sixth place in the ranking of China's richest athletes, and the family purchased expensive real estate in Beijing, Shanghai, Guiyang, and the US.

In 2014, Zou Shiming's left retina was severely damaged. Doctors warned him: another heavy blow in the ring could completely deprive him of his sight. Despite this, he continued boxing. However, after suffering a heavy knockout in a fight against Japan's Sho Kimura in July 2017 and losing his WBO title belt, he ended his professional career.

At that moment, Zou had the opportunity to choose a quiet path in life: deposit his accumulated 200 million yuan in the bank and start working in one of the prestigious positions at the Sports Committee. But two factors prompted the boxer to give up a quiet life and enter business. First, Shiming saw his former teammates left in a difficult situation after leaving sports. Therefore, he intended to build a huge boxing center that would provide jobs for retired boxers. Second, his wife, Ran Yingying, a graduate of a prestigious university in business administration, urged him to start entrepreneurial activity. Thus, Zou set out to build a large business empire.

The biggest mistake was the opening of an 18,000-square-meter boxing center—equivalent to the area of two and a half football stadiums—on the banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai in 2018. Although Ran Yingying suggested building it in a crowded area, Zou chose a location with very low traffic, emphasizing that Western boxing entered China precisely through the ports of Shanghai. As a result, the boxer was even forced to build an access road to the complex, which was not reached by the subway, at his own expense.

The annual rent of the complex was 50 million yuan, or more than $7.5 million. Large sums were also spent on equipping it: a huge crystal chandelier worth 3 million yuan was installed inside the center, and German-made treadmills costing 200,000 yuan each were purchased. The problems were not limited to excessive luxury. Awarding management and supply contracts to relatives sharply increased expenses. The staff, which initially consisted of 15 people, was expanded to 300.

Due to the high expenses, prices for clients were set quite high. An annual gym membership cost from 38,000 to 88,000 yuan, or 5 times more expensive than the average price in Shanghai. As a result, the number of clients in the huge gym did not reach even 30 people at its peak, and the center operated at a profit for only one month in 7 years.

Instead of learning lessons in time, the couple opened more than 20 companies and continued to invest money in sectors they did not understand. The "Ran Wei" restaurant, where the average check per person exceeded 300 yuan, as well as fashion clothing, esports, and teahouse chains went bankrupt one after another. Quarantine measures during the pandemic completely paralyzed offline business. In the hope of recovering losses faster, 80 million yuan invested in P2P financial pyramids and 40 million yuan directed into cryptocurrency were also completely lost. Worst of all, the couple did not set up trust funds to protect family assets from business risks. On the contrary, by providing personal guarantees for the boxing center, they also assumed liability for the company's debts. As a result, the debts of the business turned into personal financial obligations of the family.

Financial distress deprived the family of everything they had. The couple sold their homes in Beijing, Guiyang, the US, and Shanghai—specifically including an 82 million yuan mansion on the Shanghai waterfront—and moved into a rented apartment. Ran Yingying even sold her 72 luxury Hermes handbags and more than 200 pairs of unopened designer shoes on the secondary market.

Due to the pressure that arose against the backdrop of debt, relations between the couple deteriorated. They even filed for divorce three times, but this was impossible due to the presence of three children and joint debts. After the business went bankrupt, Zou Shiming fell into depression. During this time, his wife started selling products via live broadcasts for 14 hours a day to remedy the situation as much as possible. Later, Zou also pulled himself together and returned to exhibition fights and commercial events.

Relentless work and the sale of real estate yielded results. By the spring of 2026, the couple announced that the main loans in three major banks were fully paid off and the debt pressure was reduced by 80 percent. However, the family's 40 million yuan debt to close friends remains. Despite this, instead of declaring bankruptcy and escaping liability, the former champion and his wife are recognized by the public for courageously admitting their mistakes and working to pay off their debts.