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September 18th 2015-Yageer Gymnasium Ningbo, China Xiong Zhao Zhong (25-6-1, 14) Vs Crison Omayao (17-9-3, 5) China's Xiong Zhao Zhong recently took part in his first OPBF title bout as he faced Filipino fighter Crison Omayao, a man best known for being the debut opponent for Naoya Inoue.
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February 22nd 2015-Wenshan, China Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-6-1, 14) Vs Hiroya Yamamoto (8-2, 3) Chinese boxing boxing has, in the last few years, been dominated by Zou Shiming, Rex Tso and Ik Yang. It's worth noting however that they have all followed in the footsteps of Xiong Zhao Zhong, Chinese's first, and so far only, man to have won a world title. In this bout Zhong battles against Japans Hiroya Yamamoto in a bout for the WBC International Minimumweight title. The Minimumweight division is quick becoming one of our favourite divisions in the sport. In the last year it has featured a little bit of everything with wars, such as the sensational bout between Francisco Rodriguez Jr and Katsunari Takayama, the lightning quick rise through the ranks of Kosei Tanaka and the shock upset of Xiong Zhao Zhong when he was blasted out by Oswaldo Novoa. Despite the loss to Novoa we've seen Zhong remain as top Minimumweight and he proved he belong there as he took on South Africa's high skilled Hekkie Budler and proved that he was competitive against one of the best in the division. If you missed this one we suggest you give it a watch as it showed the toughness and tenacity of Zhong and the fighting spirit that we suspect will be at the heart of the Chinese boxing revolution. (Video courtesy of boxingfan3334) Chinese fighter Xiong Zhao Zhong became the first Chinese man in history to win a world title when, in late 2012 he defeated Javier Martinez Resendiz to claim the WBC Minimumweight title. The bout was a controversial one however as Zhong got his chance ahead of Filipino fighter Denver Cuello who was the top contender and was paid a step aside fee to allow Zhong to fight in his title fight. The WBC allowed Zhong his title fight on the grounds that he would defend against Cuello which he did in 2013 in a major event in the World Trade Centre in Dubai. We won't ruin how the fight went, as we know some haven't seen it before, but we will say that the bout showed the difference between a 1-armed fighter and a 2-armed fighter and that injuries in a fight can seriously change the way a fight goes. Not many lower weight fighters split public opinion but China's Xiong Zhao Zhong certainly has managed split fans. Some think he's a man who has been offered opportunities in an attempt to raise the professional boxing scene in China other think he's little more than a fraud who has been given more chances and opportunities than more deserving fighters. At the end of the day however anything that raises the profile of boxing is a good thing in our eyes. Zhong's most recent fight came against Indonesia's Jack Amisa with Zhong taking a relatively easy win as Amisa was forced to pull out after round 9. Soon after the bout Zhong's promoter, Zovi Boxing, announced that Zhong would be fighting Hekkie Budler for the WBA Minimumweight title. That bout will take place this coming September and will see Zhong attempting to become China's first ever 2-time world champion. November 24th 2012 will go down as an historic day in world boxing. It was the day that boxing saw it's first ever man from China winning a world title, the WBC Minimumweight title.
That man was Xiong Zhao Zhong who over-came Mexico's Javier Martinez Resendiz for the previously vacant belt. The bout was a controversial one in many ways with people feeling Zhong had been given his opportunity ahead of Denver Cuello just so that the WBC could crown the first Chinese champion though in reality the WBC did keep Cuello as the mandatory to face the winner and allowed Chinese boxing to have a rare moment in the sun. Zhong, in all honesty, looked much like he has always looked. Bullish. He didn't show off great technical boxing but did land the better shots on his game Mexican foe who wasn't there just to make up the numbers and actually gave a very good account himself. We'd suggest that if you've not seen this fight before it's well worth watching even if it's not one of the most amazing of recent times. Of course whilst Zhong became the first Chinese world champion he was also the first Chinese fighter to lose a world title, some thing he did in early 2014 when he was shocked by Oswaldo Novoa. It's interesting to note that prior to Novoa/Zhong Mexican fans had had the chance to see Novoa stopping Resendiz in 4 rounds, that result probably should have run alarm bells ahead of Novoa/Zhong. For history fans it's interesting to note that this wasn't the first world title bout held in China. It actually came 29 years after Leeonzer Barber defended the WBO Light Heavyweight title Mike Sedillo, we believe that bout, in 1993, was the first. (Video courtesy of Ryan Bivins) When we think of fighters who are disliked by the boxing public at large we think of fighters who do something out of the ring to make us hate them or people who do something in the ring to frustrate us or even turn us against them. It's rare however for a man to turn the boxing community against him by trying to help his country get a foot hold in the boxing world. Sadly for Xiong Zhao Zhong he seems to be an exception to the rule and is genuinely disliked by vast swathes of the boxing community who don't tend to usually pay any interest in the division that he competes in. It seems that the hatred of Zhong can actually make people care about the Minimumweight division. We know a a lot of the hatred aimed at Zhong surrounds the way he won his title with the WBC delaying the opportunity that Denver Cuello had rightfully earned. We understand that for many that was a reason to hate Zhong though at the end of the day it was political decision by the WBC who make decisions we dislike regular, we rarely however turn our anger on the fighter. We know it was a move to help crown the first Chinese world champion but that alone is an achievement and a move towards further globalising our great sport, something we surely want to see happen. What few seem to know about Zhong is that before his world title fight he was actually an established fighter himself. He wasn't some novice getting a title fight to gift wrap China a world title but was a fighter who had been a professional for over 6 years and had taken part in over 20 contests, including the one featured below which saw Zhong travel to Japan and fight against Shin Ono. Ono, although the more correct boxer, was given a very tough test by Zhong who showed a number of the traits that make him more difficult to beat than people think and in fact a case could be made for Zhong to have gotten at very least a draw against Ono who later went on to claim the OPBF Light Flyweight title and fought for the IBF Minimumweight title giving Katsunari Takayama a tricky fight. We know it sounds like we are Zhong apologists but we're not, we just tend to feel he gets a lot more hate than he is due when we have numerous other fighters getting undeserved opportunities almost weekly. And of course those who hate Zhong would have loved his fight with Oswaldo Novoa. For a country of over 1 billion people China hasn't really emerged as a boxing power, though we believe that we are on the verge of a Chinese boxer revolution, no not that one! At the forefront of Chinese professional boxing is Xiong Zhao Zhong the first, and so far only, Chinese man to win a world title. Sadly he's also the first Chinese male fighter to lose a world title which he did earlier this year in a huge upset loss to Mexico's previously unheralded Oswaldo Novoa. Going in to bout it appeared nailed on for Zhong to defend his title. He was a massive betting favourite, he was fighting at home in China and he was the champion. What few expected was that Novoa would actually be a badly picked opponent and wasn't the patsy many thought he was. In fact Novoa looked some 2 or 3 divisions bigger than Zhong, his shots had so much more on them than the punches from the Chinese fighter and everything Zhong landed seemed to just bounce off the Mexican. It wasn't so much an upset as a complete shock and Novoa didn't just win but he battered Zhong in one of most one sided and brutal Minimumweight title bouts in recent years. For Zhong the dreams of becoming a 2-time world champion look a long way from happening but to claim he was the first man from China to hold a world title is still an incredible claim to fame and he is still at the forefront of Zovi Boxing's drive to making boxing a mainstream sport on the Chinese mainland. The success Zovi have may not match the same success that Top Rank have in Macau but it's still helping the growth of boxing in China and that is worth celebrating even if Zhong's reign as a champion was short lived. |
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