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China's Zou Shiming hits out at Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng during their IBF flyweight world title bout in Macau last night. Photo: AP

Zou Shiming's world title dream in tatters after shock defeat by Amnat Ruenroeng

Thai fighter Amnat retains his crown as China's golden boy puts on a lacklustre show

Zou Shiming

Zou Shiming's aura of invincibility was shattered last night when he was defeated for the first time as a professional, blowing his hopes of a world title as he lost to Thai rival Amnat Ruenroeng.

Zou and Amnat met for the fourth time in their careers, with Zou leading 2-1 in amateur bouts, but the Thai champion levelled the score in the best possible way as he retained his International Boxing Federation (IBF) world flyweight title at the Macao Venetian Cotai Arena in the Showdown at Sands bill.

This is just awesome, just awesome. We beat the Chinese boxer on his own doorstep
Trainer Stanley Beard

"This is just awesome, just awesome. We beat the Chinese boxer on his own doorstep," said Stanley Beard, one of Amnat's trainers after the fight. "We thought we would win by a bigger margin. He fought a great fight."

In an uneventful, anti-climactic main event, Zou failed to fire despite the urgings of a capacity crowd and was ultimately a huge disappointment. The two-time Olympic champion fought a cautious fight and, at times, appeared not to want to engage Amnat, who remained undefeated with his 15th straight professional victory. Judges scored it an identical 116-111 in favour of Amnat, who hugged Zou at the end.
Zou Shiming is flipped by Amnat Ruenroeng. Photo: AP

Earlier, Hong Kong star Rex Tso Sing-yu described his less-than-convincing unanimous points victory against Filipino surprise package Michael Enriquez as the most exhausting of his life as he earned a world title fight on the undercard.

It almost went pear-shaped for the Wonder Kid, who had to endure a ferocious onslaught from the diminutive Filipino towards the end of the 10-round contest for the World Boxing Association (WBA) international super flyweight title.
Zou Shiming struggles to land a blow on Amnat Ruenroeng. Photo: AP

The Tso camp breathed a collected sigh of relief when the announcement came that he had won before a sell-out crowd of 8,000. The 23-year-old Filipino brought a tremendous fight to Tso, who despite being given his toughest fight, improved his record to 16-0-0 with nine KOs. The Filipino youngster dropped to 10-3-1, six KOs.

The fight was much closer than the scorecard suggested. Judges had it 95-94, 95-94, 96-93 in favour of Tso, giving the undefeated southpaw his 16th straight professional victory and guaranteeing him a world title shot for the WBA (World Boxing Association) title held by Japan's Kohei Kono. That fight will take place at the same venue in July.

Tso admitted he was lured into a brawl with the 23-year-old Enriquez, who was knocked flat on the canvas by a huge Tso left hook, but still came back for more.
Zou Shiming is tied up in the ropes. Photo: AP

"I didn't expect to be lured into a brawl. I couldn't land my usual punches because it was hard to get underneath him. It was the most exhausting fight I had to endure," said the 27-year-old Tso, who could now become Hong Kong's first world boxing champion.

"I hope people from overseas can see that there's not only Bruce Lee, but Rex Tso as well," he added.

"I'm really excited I got the win and now I can go for the world title fight. I promise to train even harder for it. We have to make adjustments for the fight."
Hong Kong's Rex Tso punches Michael Enriquez of the Philippines. Photo: Reuters

China's Yang Lianhua, who is known as Ik Yang, gave a much more convincing display as he won his IBF lightweight title eliminator against Thailand's Patomsuk Pathompothong. The crowd-pleasing Yang, who hails from Dalian, scored a brilliant sixth-round TKO after a barrage of punches proved too much for his Thai opponent.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Zou Shiming's world title dream hit by shock defeat
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