Hong Kong's Rex Tso devastates Ring of Gold opponent as Zou wins fourth fight

Hong Kong's Rex Tso Sing-yu continued his meteoric rise up the super flyweight division, winning two belts on the same night in Ring of Gold to move a step closer to a shot at a world title.

The 26-year-old "Wonder Kid" bloodied and battered Japanese warrior fighter Mako Matsuyama with a devastating eighth-round knockout to retain his WBC Asian Continental super flyweight title and snatch the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific junior bantamweight title.

China's two-time Olympic gold medallist Zou Shiming also had a successful night as he scored his fourth straight professional win, knocking out Thailand's Yokthong Kokietgym in the seventh round of a scheduled eight-round bout, but the night really belonged to the "Wonder Kid".

Tso, who extended his unbeaten record to 12-0 (8 KOs), floored 24-year-old Matsuyama in the second round for a standing eight count before knocking out his opponent - only the second time he has scored a straight knockout in his professional career - in the eighth. 

Tso always had Matsuyama in his pocket as he threw solid right and left hands and it was only a matter of time before the resilient Japanese would fall to the canvas for good.

And he did fall after Tso threw leather at the helpless Matsuyama, sending the Tokyo-based fighter flat on his back one minute, 27 seconds into the eighth round before a cheering capacity crowd of 7,000.

Tso opened a gaping cut in Matsuyama's right eye in the sixth round and he was clearly distressed being attended by his medical team seconds after his knockout. Matsuyama's record dropped to 7-8-1 (3 KOs) after the scheduled 10-round contest.