MACAO: Flyweight Zou Shiming’s win in a gritty 10-round bout over Colombia’s Luis De La Rosa yesterday night has boosted the Chinese boxer’s determination to go for a shot at the world title.
Zou, who claimed the vacant World Boxing Organisation international flyweight title with the win, fought all rounds of his first ever 10-round match against Colombian veteran De La Rosa, in a show of increasing confidence and competance.
The bout was evenly matched until Zou discovered some extra aggression against veteran De La Rosa who sustained an injury to his left eyebrow at Macau’s glittering Venetian Casino Resort.
Both fighters unleashed punches on each other for the all-out final round.
But Zou came out on top when the match went to the score cards where all three judges unanimously declared him the winner.
The victory improved the undefeated 33-year-old’s record to 5-0 with one knockout further allaying his critics following some unconvincing performances after making the leap from amateur bouts.
“I’m very confident, I’m ready for the world title,” the two-time Olympic champion replied in response to a question over whether he now felt prepared to go for the top spot. Earlier in the evening, Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeux remained undefeated after knocking out Thailand’s Sod Looknongyangtoy in just one minute and 44 seconds of the opening round with a flurry of punches.
The victory means Rigondeux has successfully retained his World Boxing Association and WBO super bantamweight titles.
The 33-year-old Rigondeux, also an Olympic gold medalist, now boasts 14-0 with nine knockouts Mexico’s unbeaten southpaw Gilberto Ramirez retained total control of his fight and knocked out Australia’s Junior Talipeau in the opening round.AFP
