Some fights leave you wondering just why they were made and one such case was today's first world title fight which saw Xiong Zhao Zhong (22-4-1, 12) defend his WBC Minimumweight title.
Zhong, defending his belt for the second time, made very light work of Thailand's Lookrak Kiatmungmee (7-5, 4) a fighter who in normal circumstances wouldn't not have been a world title challenger. This was evident from round 1 and was just as obvious in round 5, the round in which Zhong stopped him with a body shot.
Fortunately however this one bout had easy explanation, Lookrak Kiatmungmee was a very late replacement for Omari Kimweri. The bout which was effectively a home coming for Zhong and with it being televised on CCTV 5 in China it was a massive televised show. With out a fight the Chinese public would have been rightfully pissed off and although they got a mismatch they at least got something.
The rumour now coming out is that Zhong may be in a unification bout in 2014 with IBF champion Katsunari Takayama, if Takayama is successful in his upcoming title defense next week. That would be a great fight and one I'm really hoping gets made.
Showing posts with label WBC Minimumweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBC Minimumweight. Show all posts
Saturday, 30 November 2013
Friday, 28 June 2013
Xiong Zhao Zhong v Denver Cuello
Those who follow the little guys in this sport will know that Filipino Denver Cuello (33-5-6, 21) has had his career plagued by misfortune, it appeared that misfortune struck again in the biggest fight of his caree. After waiting several years for his first world title fight Cuello took on China's Xiong Zhao Zhong (21-4-1, 11) and appeared to suffer an injury early in the bout.
The bout started perfectly for Cuello who dropped Zhong in the opening round and seemed to to be on his way to an early victory. The following round saw Cuello possibly opening up a 3 point lead on the card but from then on Zhong took over coming forward relentlessly and landing shots with both hands.
Zhong's onslaught was helped in two ways. Firstly Cuello seemed to suffer an injury very early in the bout to his right hand, or arm, effectively rendering him a 1-armed fight. Without a right arm Cuello was limited to just throwing left hooks and uppercuts which were becoming very easy for Zhong to predict and avoid between his own attacks. Secondly Cuello was feeling annoyed by the tactics of the Chinese fighter who was using head and elbows.
Cuello managed to get a break of sorts in round 9 when Zhong was deducted a point for an accidental head clash (following the rules of the WBC) though Cuello himself was left bloodied by it and it seemed likely that the bout was going to be taken to the scorecards early.
After the Dr twice looked at the cut (and had also looked at the shoulder of Cuello) the bout was allowed to continue and suddenly Cuello seemed to refocus and box well, despite being one handed arguably claiming the final 2 rounds.
Despite what looked to have been a pretty easy so score bout the judges all had close cards (113-113, 115-112, 113-110) as Zhong managed to do, just enough their cards, to retain his title by majority decision, despite the announcer calling it a split.
I hope Cuello a quick recovery from his injuries. Unfortunately however it could be a case of several injuries. He certainly had a damaged shoulder late in the bout, possibly a occurrence of one suffered last year against Ivan Meneses, but I think there was also a hand injury as well. For Zhong, his physical strength could help him retain his title if matched well, in all honesty however I can't help but think he got lucky with the injury to Cuello, despite the scorecards not being as reflective of the result as they should have been.
The bout started perfectly for Cuello who dropped Zhong in the opening round and seemed to to be on his way to an early victory. The following round saw Cuello possibly opening up a 3 point lead on the card but from then on Zhong took over coming forward relentlessly and landing shots with both hands.
Zhong's onslaught was helped in two ways. Firstly Cuello seemed to suffer an injury very early in the bout to his right hand, or arm, effectively rendering him a 1-armed fight. Without a right arm Cuello was limited to just throwing left hooks and uppercuts which were becoming very easy for Zhong to predict and avoid between his own attacks. Secondly Cuello was feeling annoyed by the tactics of the Chinese fighter who was using head and elbows.
Cuello managed to get a break of sorts in round 9 when Zhong was deducted a point for an accidental head clash (following the rules of the WBC) though Cuello himself was left bloodied by it and it seemed likely that the bout was going to be taken to the scorecards early.
After the Dr twice looked at the cut (and had also looked at the shoulder of Cuello) the bout was allowed to continue and suddenly Cuello seemed to refocus and box well, despite being one handed arguably claiming the final 2 rounds.
Despite what looked to have been a pretty easy so score bout the judges all had close cards (113-113, 115-112, 113-110) as Zhong managed to do, just enough their cards, to retain his title by majority decision, despite the announcer calling it a split.
I hope Cuello a quick recovery from his injuries. Unfortunately however it could be a case of several injuries. He certainly had a damaged shoulder late in the bout, possibly a occurrence of one suffered last year against Ivan Meneses, but I think there was also a hand injury as well. For Zhong, his physical strength could help him retain his title if matched well, in all honesty however I can't help but think he got lucky with the injury to Cuello, despite the scorecards not being as reflective of the result as they should have been.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Xiong Zhao Zhong v Javier Martinez Resendiz
Today saw a new age in professional boxing as Chinese fighter Xiong Zhao Zhong (20-4-1, 11) became the first Chinese man, in the history of the sport to become a world champion as he out pointed game Mexican Javier Martinez Resendiz (13-4-2, 6) in a bout for the WBC Minimumweight title.
The early stages were give and take as Martinez brought the pressure looking to land hurtful hooks against Zhong who was boxing well and using range and his straighter shots. Although Martinez was the man making the fight, it was Zhong who was looking like the classier fighter.
Zhong's clean work started to pay off in second half of the fight as he marked up and seemed to stun Resendiz in round 8 before taking control of the bout in the later rounds as the Mexican started to look progressively tired. The Mexican, who had looked powerful, if wild early on, was starting to show little more than arm punches in the later rounds as Zhong's right hand bounced off his head and it showed as Zhong really ran away with the last few rounds.
Although Zhong looked impressive in taking a clear decision here, it's fair to admit that this was a set up of sorts as the WBC look to attack the untapped Chinese market. If Zhong can't be "protected" I can't see his reign lasting long. Interesting Denver Cuello is a name thrown around as Zhong's likely next opponent and that will likely see Zhong getting beaten in a painful way.
The early stages were give and take as Martinez brought the pressure looking to land hurtful hooks against Zhong who was boxing well and using range and his straighter shots. Although Martinez was the man making the fight, it was Zhong who was looking like the classier fighter.
Zhong's clean work started to pay off in second half of the fight as he marked up and seemed to stun Resendiz in round 8 before taking control of the bout in the later rounds as the Mexican started to look progressively tired. The Mexican, who had looked powerful, if wild early on, was starting to show little more than arm punches in the later rounds as Zhong's right hand bounced off his head and it showed as Zhong really ran away with the last few rounds.
Although Zhong looked impressive in taking a clear decision here, it's fair to admit that this was a set up of sorts as the WBC look to attack the untapped Chinese market. If Zhong can't be "protected" I can't see his reign lasting long. Interesting Denver Cuello is a name thrown around as Zhong's likely next opponent and that will likely see Zhong getting beaten in a painful way.
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