Bangkok--23 Dec--Jigsaw Communications
The upcoming Chinese New Year will begin on Feb. 19, 2015 –the Year of the Goat. But Chinese boxing fans from around the world are hoping it will also usher in the beginning of the Shi ming Dynasty. After winning three World Championships and two Olympic gold medals as an amateur, ZOU SHI MIING,in only his seventh professional fight and 23 months removed from his professional debut,will be challenging undefeated International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight world champion AMNAT RUENROENG. Zou’s first world title attempt is the headline bout of The Showdown at Sands: Zou Shi mingvs. Amnat Ruenroeng,an exciting all-action world championship boxing event promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with Tecate. The showdown happensSaturday, March 7, 2015,at The Venetian® Macao'sCotai Arena, and was announced at a press conference in Shanghai Wednesday.
Making the fight even more intriguing is the history these two warriors already have with each other. Their amateur trilogy began with Ruenroeng winning their first battle – as a late substitute called up by the Thailand amateur team – at the 2007 King's Cup, which was also Ruenroeng's first international competition. Zou won the next two times they fought, including a reverse in their semi-final of the 2010 Asian Games that could have gone either way – and did. Now that they are professionals, the stakes are much higher and their simmering rivalry is set to become a rolling boil.
“When we were fighting as amateur boxers, I think we were at the samelevel, in terms of strength,”said Zou matter-of-factly of his opponent, in a tone neither modest nor arrogant. “Now that he’s a world champion, he’s definitely getting stronger, but I’m improving as well. One thing for sure is that the fight will be absolutely captivating.”
“Sports fans have witnessed the debut and meteoric rise of Zou Shiming’s professional career at the Cotai Arena and through live international broadcasts,” said Ciarán Carruthers, Senior Vice President and Director of Venetian and Plaza Operationsfor Sands China Ltd.“In event after event, we’ve shown the world that The Venetian Macao is an outstanding destination for superstar entertainment. Sands China is pleased to continue raising Macao’s profile as a world centre of tourism and leisure through our successful collaboration with Top Rank, as we provide our visitors the outstanding business and leisure offerings of our integrated resorts.”
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said: “Beloved in the People’s Republic of China and an incredible talent, Zou has earned his right to fight for a professional world championship belt. It is fitting that the Zou vs. Ruenroeng world flyweight title fight take place at The Venetian Macao, which has become one of the great boxing capitals of the world.”
Zou (6-0, 1 KO), from Gui zhou, China, and trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, returns to the ring fresh from his most impressive professional victory – a 12-round unanimous decision victory over undefeated No. 3 contender Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym in a world flyweight title elimination bout. Their fight was the co-main event to the Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri world welterweight championship on Nov.23 at the Cotai Arena. Zou scored three knockdowns en route to a 119-106, 119-106 and 120-103 victory over his vastly more experienced opponent. He showed his mettle by fighting through numerous head butts that swelledhis left eye shut,as well as weathering numerous low blows. But Zou kept his composure throughout the fight, showing the world he was ready for a world title shot.Earlier this year, on July 19, he stepped up to his first 10-round fight, where he captured the vacant WBO international flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Top-10 contender Luis De La Rosa, proving to the world that he had developed into a world title contender. Zou is currently world-rated No. 4 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and No. 7 by the World Boxing Council (WBC). He won his professional debut April 6, 2013, at Fists of Gold, via a dominant four-round unanimous decision over gritty Eleazar Valenzuela. He followed that up with six-round unanimous decision victories last year over Jesus Ortega and Juan Toscano, July 27 at Fists of Gold II and Nov.24 at The Clash in Cotai, respectively, and celebrated his 2014 debut with his first professional knockout,Feb.22, at Ring of Gold, stopping YokthongKokietgym in the seventh round. All of Zou's professional bouts have taken place at the Cotai Arena. One of the most popular Olympic athletes in China, Zou was the world's greatest amateur light flyweight, capturing gold medals in the World Amateur Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2011, along with gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He also owns an Olympic bronze medal from the 2004 games, making him his nation's first Olympic medallist in boxing as well as its first boxing gold medallist in the World Amateur Championships and the Olympics.
Ruenroeng (14-0, 5 KOs), of Si Racha, Thailand, overcame a troubled past to reach the pinnacle of his division. Beating a severe drug addiction and enduring three prison terms, Ruenroeng found his salvation through a prison boxing program that saw him become a national amateur champion, while still an inmate, as a member of the Thai Corrections Department team. A bronze medallist at the 2007 World Amateur Championships in Chicago and a member of Thailand's 2008 Olympic team, Ruenroeng made his professional debut in 2012 when he didn't make the 2012 Olympic team. He made his presence known to his division in his second year as a professional, winning the IBF/Asia and successfully defending it three times. He captured the vacant IBF flyweight title Jan. 22 of this year, scoring a unanimous decision over Rocky Fuentes. He has successfully defended the title twice since winning it.His first title defence was against unbeaten two-division world champion Kazuto Ioka, in Ioka's homeland of Osaka, Japan, May 7. Ruenroengdemonstrated his strength throughout the fight, winning by unanimous decision after 12 rounds – not an easy featto accomplish in front of an audience of Iokafans.In his last title defence, Sept. 10, Ruenroeng survived a sixth-round knockdown en routeto a very-close split decision victory over mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo, narrowly winning with a final scorecard of 114-113,113-114, 114-113.
Additional information aboutThe Showdown at Sands: Zou Shi ming vs. Amnat Ruenroeng will be announced in due course.