LEAGUE OF FISTS CROWNS FIRST TWO WBO GREATER CHINA CHAMPS
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 27 Jun 2016
SHANGHAI, CHINA ? Xu Que entered the ring wearing a Manny Pacquiao T-shirt and exited as the WBO Greater China featherweight champion.
Xu emerged victorious in his tense see-saw battle against Cheng Bingbing that had the crowd cheering from start to finish. They had a cautious start but it was Cheng who stalked Xu, who counterpunched effectively to the body and head.
But Cheng remained aggressive even when he was at the receiving end of sharp rights. Cheng compensated with volume and had his best round in the fifth, landing with left hook right cross combos. Heavy exchanges followed in the subsequent rounds. Tactics and adjustments were crucial, with Xu?s accuracy giving him the edge.
The League of Fists featherweight final bout for season one was set for eight rounds and the competitiveness of the fight was highlighted by the fact that Xu took the last two rounds on all three judges? cards and got 77-75 on the scores of Salven Lagumbay, Mekin Sumon and Sungworn Klungboonkrung.
The last round brought the fans to their feet when the protagonists threw caution to winds and threw everything they had left.
Xu was awarded his WBO belt by WBO VP for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo, WBO Executive member and PBC,Intl. consultant Danny Leigh and Promoter Sheng Li of SECA.
The second finals bout for the evening was also a close one. Niu Zhongjie earned a hard fought split verdict over Weng Tao and acquired the WBO Greater China championship belt in the junior welterweight division.
Niu relied on his hand speed, mobility and reach while Weng employed grit and aggressiveness. Weng tried to cut the ring off while Niu danced and poked.
Niu?s best round was in the sixth when he landed at will while Weng seemed to slow down and was befuddled by Niu?s combos. Weng continued his effort to wear down Niu but it was Niu who finished strong.
The scores ? Edward Ligas and Surat Soikrachang had it 78-74 for Niu while Sungworn Klungboonkrung scored it 77-75 for Weng.
For the undercard matches:
Hali (Sagidolla Muhamethali) got a split decision win over Zhu Yijun in their six round super middleweight battle. Yang Hong (58-56) had it for Zhu with Yin Haiyang (59-55) and Yan Wengyong (58-56) for Hali.
The rest of the preliminary matches featured boxers from the second season of the League of Fists tournament in four round matches.
Zhoubin beat Yeerlan by unanimous decision. (40-36 from Edward Ligas, Surat Soikrachang, Salven Lagumbay)
Wang Bo stopped Huang Juxiang in the first round after shocking Huang with a series of unanswered punches trapping him in the neutral corner. Referee Han Hongxiang stopped it at 1:24.
Kuerbanjiang got a majority decision victory Wang Yuchao. (Tao Zhendong and Han Hongxiang ? 39-37, Yan Wenyong ? 38-38)
Wang Jianjing prevailed by unanimous decision over Yirexiati. (Yin Haiyang and Han Hongxiang ? 40-36, Zhao Yubin ? 39-37)
In the opening bout of the evening, Fu Kaisheng continued his unbeaten run in the tournament by beating Bayinmandufu by unanimous decision. (Tao Zhendong and Salven Lagumbay ? 40-36, Yang Hong ? 39-37)
The Sunday night fight card was held in Yun Space, Elite Valley in Shanghai. The League of Fists professional boxing tournament was launched last September 2015 and is promoted by SECA and Top Rank. The League is wrapping up its first season with a series of final bouts where the winners in their respective weight divisions are awarded the WBO Greater China championship belt.
The next batch of final matches are set in Beijing next month.
The second season of the League of Fists is also in the midst of competition which highlights the success of the tournament geared towards developing pro boxing talent in Mainland China.
Photo: WBO Greater China 126lb division champ Xu Que (left) wearing his belt and Manny Pacquiao shirt and WBO Greater China 140lb division champ Niu Zhongjie celebrate in the dressing room area.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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