Ultimate Extreme Fight Hong Kong 2023: Rex Tso in local team to face European Asian Powers

Former unbeaten professional will be back in a Hong Kong ring for first time in four years, as international boxing returns to the city

‘As a professional boxer, we fight for ourselves, so it is special to box under the name of the Hong Kong team,’ teammate Raymond Poon says

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The poster for UEF 2023, featuring Rex Tso. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:56pm, 28 Dec 2022

Rex Tso Sing-yu will take top billing when international boxing makes its long-awaited return to Hong Kong next week in the shape of a team event between local and overseas fighters.

Ultimate Extreme Fight (UEF) Hong Kong 2023, which will be held at Wan Chai’s Southorn Stadium on January 6, will see the city’s best taking on a European Asian Powers team, with three-round bouts contested by eight boxers – seven men and one woman – from each side.

Joining Tso, who blazed a trail as the city’s first professional boxer, will be Raymond Poon Kai-ching, Kenneth Tam Chun-hin and five more who have yet to be announced. Boxers from Cambodia, Mongolia and North Macedonia will be among those making up the opposing team.

Now training in Mongolia, “Wonder Kid” Tso will feature in the UEF’s final bout, a lightweight clash with Vanna Liheang, of Cambodia.

Rex Tso is training in Mongolia in preparation for UEF 2023. Photo: Hong Kong Boxing Association

The 35-year-old’s most recent outing in Hong Kong was his winning comeback as an amateur in December 2018, having previously retired with an unbeaten professional record of 22-0-0. His only action this year was the IBA International Boxing Championships in Kuwait, where he won a bronze medal.

“This is our first time hosting an international event [since the pandemic began],” said Yeung Ho, sports executive of the Hong Kong Boxing Association. “We are pleased that we will be able to hold one early in 2023 – it will be a good test for our Asian Games boxers.”