Category: Raymond Poon KaiChing

The 2019 Treasure Trove - The Highlight in Hong Kong

3/25/2020

The Treasure Trove has had some great fights shared in it, and we dig back into it today for another, less well known, fight from 2019 that's well worthy of a watch. This time we go to Hong Kong of all places in a bout that was thrilling and also rather sad, as it essentially put boxing in Hong Kong on the back burner, at least for the short term

Raymond Poon KaiChing (7-1, 4) vs Xiang Li (6-2-1, 2)
In one corner was Raymong Poon, the rising star of boxing of Hong Kong, the man to fill the void left by Rex Tso. He was exciting, young, fresh faced and talented. Although Poon didn't exude the natural charisma of Tso or the skills of the "Wonder Boy" he was another good looking kid with potential, power, high out put and the tools to make a mark on the sport. Aged 24 at this point he was riding a 5 fight winning running, after starting 2-1, and had scored a decent win in summer 2018 over Ryo Narizuka.

In the opposite corner was Chinese 20 year old Xiang Li, a genuinely unheralded fighter who didn't have much of a name at all at this point. Li had made his debut in April 2017 and had struggled to make a mark of any kind, and had lost his only other outside of the Chinese mainland. On paper he had little to threaten Poon. He lacked power, he lacked momentum and he was fighting in Poon's home of Hong Kong. On paper he was expected to just put up an exciting performance but clearly lose to the local.

What no one did, was tell Li he was there to lose.

From the opening round it was clear Li was much better than his record suggested. It turned out he could could box, he knew what he was doing and was able to match Poon for output. This immediately made the action a lot more exciting than anyone thought it had any right to be. Poon seemed the heavier handed, and the more aggressive, but Li showed he could hold his own, with smart counters, making Poon pay for his misses.

Poon's pressure, especially early on, made the fight fun to watch, and several times he went low taking the wind out of Li's sails. It was Poon's pressure making the fight, but it was Li's counters that were adding to the excitement. Li wasn't running away, but was counting in combinations, with eye catching exchanges and thrilling back and forth action.

For those who haven't seen this it's a fun little hidden from last May. Don't get us wrong, it's not an incredibly high level fight, but it's a real fun one all the same between two energetic young men each willing to let their hands go in an attempt to impress the judges.

Genuinely a fun low level fight, where the man who was supposed to lose really does surprise us all and does more than just plays his part in a great little bout.

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A look at fighters from "non boxing countries" part 1

11/29/2018

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One of the things that has always interested me about boxing was just far scoping it was around the world. We all know there's some "boxing countries" and some "non-boxing" countries, with places like Japan, Philippines and Thailand being dominant places for boxing in Asia. At the moment however we do feel like boxing in traditionally non-boxing countries is about to come alive, and that there are seeds being planted for other countries to develop notable professional scenes.

With that in mind we've decided to do a list of interesting "active" fighters from non-boxing countries. By that we mean countries with no real professional scene, though they may have a small handful of fighters. We've tried to keep to fighters where we've managed to get some footage, but for some fighters that turned out to be impossible, despite our best efforts. Still we felt even those without videos to show deserved a mention as they certainly have some sort of an interesting story to tell, even if we're not totally sure of their story.

This is part 1 of this series, with part 2 to be posted in the coming days.

Raymond Poon KaiChing (6-1, 3) - Hong Kong
When we think of boxing in Hong Kong we immediately think of Rex Tso, the exciting Super Flyweight contender who's career has fallen off the map in the last 12 months or so. Despite Tso being away from the ring, to recover from an eye injury, the sport isn't dead in the country and instead it's come down to his "brother" Raymond Poon KaiChing, to carry the flag. He's not the talent that Tso is but he's getting a fair bit of media attention at home and looks to be the best they have, in Tso's absence.

The 22 year old Light Flyweight made his debut back in May 2016 and won his first 2 bouts before suffering a loss to Tat Fai Yu, in what is Yu's only bout so far. Since then he has rolled off 4 straight wins, taking the unbeaten record of Frengky Rohi and claiming the a pair of regional titles. He ceiling doesn't appear to be as high as that of Tso, but for now he's the one beacon of boxing hope in Hong Kong, at least until Tso's return.

KaiChing is set to be part of the December 31st card in Macau, in a scheduled 10 round bout to defend his regional titles. At the moment his opponent hasn't been announced though we're not expecting anyone too testing for the youngster, with a limited regional foe seeming highly likely.

Lap Cheong Cheong (4-0, 3) - Macau
Another fighter scheduled for the New Year's Eve Macau card is Macau local Lap Cheong Cheong. Lap is a 22 year old Flyweight who looks likely to fill the void left by Kuok Kun Ng, who was once tipped to be the local face of the Macau boxing scene. Lap made his professional debut just over a year ago in Macau, beating fellow debutant Zhenwu Xie with a 4 round decision, and since then has racked up 3 stoppages, including 2 in Thailand. Given his local support, young age and style there is actually real potential here for Lap to develop into someone significant to the region.

The youngster has shown an exciting and aggressive style. He's still certainly raw around the edges, offensively flawed, but very exciting, with a lot of self belief good power and a natural aggression that does make him someone we want to follow. Sadly however without a good trainer to make the most of his skills his flaws, and limitations, may well hold him back.

Fingers crossed than Lap does get the chance to develop, and maybe even spends prolonged stints in Japan, Thailand and the Philippines to develop his skills.

Tsendbaatar Erdenebat (1-0) - Mongolian - Olympian
The most recognisable name on this list, we think, is former Mongolian Olympian Tsendbaatar Erdenebat, who is really one of 3 Mongolian's worthy of any attention right now. He's not the "stand alone" fighter like some on this list but he is certainly someone worth knowing about, just like the more well known Tugstsogt Nyambayar and exciting but limited Korean based Mongolian Batzorig Batjargal.

Although some way behind Nyambayar in terms of potential, power and skill Erdenbat is a talent himself and is a very exciting fighter who only made his debut earlier this year but impressed, defeating Chinese based Filipino Joseph Omana over 6 rounds. Given his amateur pedigree there is a lot to be excited about, though Mongolian fighters have typically found it hard to make a mark on the professional scene, with only a small number of notable fighters coming from the country.

If Erdenbat can either fight out of China, Korea or Japan on a regular basis there is a real chance that the 22 year old Lightweight could make a mark on the professional ranks, though the fear is that his career ends up in unfortunate obscurity.

Nak Roeum (1-0) - Cambodia
Cambodia is yet to really develop a fighter that has ever made a name in the professional ranks, in fact they also lack in terms of notable amateurs unlike Mongolia who have developed strong amateurs even if they professional success. With that in mind we're really interested in Nak Roeum, a Cambodian fighter who made his professional boxing debut earlier this year, defeating Fahpetch Singmanassak over 6 rounds in Thailand. It's hard to read much into that result, but maybe Roeum could be the guy to put Cambodia on the boxing map.

Sadly Roeum's debut was in May and he's not yet returned to the ring as a boxer, suggesting this could just have been a 1-off bout for him. We think that may be the case as he's actually better known for his Muay Thai fights, and has since returned to other combat sports, rather than professional boxing. It's a shame, but not a surprise to see him not committing to professional boxing.

On his debut Roeum looked exciting, confident and like someone who could be a strong fighter, with some training. He showed traits not associated with fighters from a strong amateur backgrounds, which is a concern, often leaning over his front foot, over-stretching, and leaving himself open to counters, but he could certainly work on those flaws.

Kwang Myong Kim (1-0) - North Korean
To us North Korea has been a morbid curiosity, and North Korean boxing has always been something to have an interest in, in the hope that a professional fighter breaks through and begins to carve out a career. We know that seems unlikely to happen any time soon, but with the rise of Hyun Mi Choi it certainly seems like it COULD happen for a refugee from the country.

The 29 year old Kwang Myong Kim is one of only 2 North Korean men to have had a professional bout this year, along with Chung IL Hong (0-1), with both fighting on the same obscure Chinese card in October. He would go on to win his debut, a 6 round bout with 20 year old Chinese debutant Runyu Liu, and potentially leave the door open to another bout in China in the future.

We've always been curious as to what Chol Su Choi COULD have done had he been committed and allowed to fully pursue a career so we're hoping that Kwang will get the opportunities and will be allowed to develop as a fighter. Unfortunately at 29 years old, and without much in terms of an amateur background, that we could find at least, it doesn't seem like he's going to be more than just a curiosity.

Sadly footage of Kim's debut doesn't appear to exist, which is a real shame, but we certainly would love to see him back in the ring and see what he can do.

For those interested in Cho Su Choi we did an article on him in 2016 which can be read here Choi Chul Su, the North Korean enigma

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The 2019 Treasure Trove - The Highlight in Hong Kong

A look at fighters from "non boxing countries" part 1

Takahiro Onaga

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