One Championship: Xiong ‘The Panda’ Jingnan huffs and puffs but fails to bring the house down in Macau title defence

Xiong (15-1) began in a blur of fury attempting to blow Balin (10-3) out of the ring swiftly. That didn’t work. Then she took the Argentine to the mat hoping to overpower her with a superior ground game. That didn’t work. At other times there was a cursory attempt at laying on a submissive manoeuvre, a road notably less travelled by the concussive striker. All failed and in the end, she simply stayed busy enough to secure a deserved if slightly unconvincing first defence of her strawweight crown.

The judges seeming to concur with the adage that it is the effort that counts.

Eventually, it was her incredible conditioning – still up on the balls of her feet after 24 minutes – that saw her past the stubborn Argentine, but the Chinese knew she had been far from her best.

“I’ve been trying to do the best I could to find my style,” Xiong offered almost apologetically. “I’m trying to pick up new styles, improve and find my rhythm.”

That endeavour, at least, was in evidence.