SHIMING: ?I WANT TO PRESENT FREDDIE WITH A PERFECT BIRTHDAY GIFT?
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 05 Mar 2015
MACAU ? Chinese two time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming, who challenges IBF world champion Amnat Ruengroeng of Thailand this Saturday at the Venetian Macao CotaiArena here, promised his trainer Freddie Roach, who celebrated his 55th birthday today, a ?perfect birthday gift? by giving him a world title on Saturday.
?This is a very important fight for me,? Shiming told the full-packed media during Thursday's press conference held at the Venetian. ?This is a historical fight for me and I would like to thank all the people who supported me especially Mr Ed Tracy [of the Venetian] and my opponent for giving me this opportunity,? Shiming added.
And turning to Roach, Shiming said, ?I will give you a perfect [birthday] gift on March 7.?
Shiming also thanked Roach for coming to Macau to be in his corner on Saturday even as Roach has a very important fight coming with his prized boxer Manny Pacquiao who will face Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 2.
Shiming, 33, a national hero to China and extremely popular to the hundreds of millions of Chinese, is the main anchor on why Macau has been placed in the world boxing map. Shiming fought in all but one of the seven events at the Venetian Macao. Now, in only in his 7th professional fight, he will try to etch another historical feat by giving China a new world boxing champion.
China's Zou Shiming (left, center) and Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng (right, center) pose during Thursday's press conference at The Venentian Macao.
Ik Yang, Zou Shiming and Glen Tapia join to greet birthday boy Freddie Roach a happy birthday in front of a Freddie's birthday cake.
Photos by Dong Secuya.
All these, however, will pass through the hands, and fists, of the reigning IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (14-0-0, 5KO) of Thailand who himself had risen from the ashes, so to speak, from being sentenced for 15 years at Bangkok's Thonburi prison for robbery and freed himself by becoming a Thai boxing champion under the prison's sports program for inmates. Ruenroeng went on to represent Thailand to the Asian Games and the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. Zou and Ruenroeng met thrice as an amateur with Zou winning twice and losing once.
"Zou will represent his country, but I will fight for my life, my family and for Thailand. I cannot lose. Zou will also be hoping for victory. A lot of money has been invested in him and Zou also feels he cannot lose, too. But there has to be a winner and loser. That winner will be me," Ruenroeng earlier told the South China Morning Post.
Ruenroeng captured the IBF vacant flyweight title in January last year against Rocky Fuentes of the Philippines and defended it twice against Kazuto Ioka of Japan in May in Osaka and against McWilliams Arroyo of Puerto Rico in September in Thailand, all of last year.
The fates of China's Zou Shiming and Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng, whose paths seemed to be intertwined in the boxing lore in this part of world, will be known this Saturday.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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