AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY
'Sports is our Business'
  • Home
  • NEWS
  • Radio
  • TV

APB local stars shine in China as Light Flyweight top seeds suffer

11/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Lausanne, Switzerland, November 1, 2014 - Lingnan Pearl in Foshan, China played host today to the Week One Pre-ranking AIBA Pro Boxing event for the Light Flyweights (46-49kg), with some incredible performances mixed in with breath-taking upsets.

The top seeded boxer in the category, Russia’s 31-year-old southpaw David Ayrapetyan won the bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, has two World Championships medals, and a European gold.

Highly decorated, the Russian faced Ecuador’s Carlos Quipo in week one of the competition, with the Ecuadorian having won two tough Cuban events in succession earlier this year.

Ayrapetyan started the fight better, using his ramrod job effectively, and he applied the pressure on his South American opponent. However, from round three onwards, Quipo dropped just one round on a single scorecard, as his slick movement frustrated his Russian opponent massively.



Although Ayrapetyan maintained pressure throughout the entire fight, it was the combination of punching and agility of the Ecuadorian which impressed the judges, and he eventually won the contest, and the scalp of the number one seed with 58:56 twice, and 59:55.

Argentina’s Leandro Jose Blanc came into his APB debut against Filipino Mark Anthony Barriga, having lost to his Asian opponent last season in the World Series of Boxing.

Unhappily for the South American, it was déjà-vu, as he was comprehensively outboxed by Barriga, who is emerging as one of the best light flyweights in the world.

Barriga’s speed was the key difference between the two fighters, and though Blanc’s aggressive nature shone through, the quickness of the jab from Barriga was frightening, and his movement and footwork consistently bamboozled Blanc.

Blanc took advantage of Barriga’s lack of punches in round five, winning the round on all of the cards, but that was the only round he won in the fight, as Barriga took the victory 59:55 three times over.

Wu Zhonglin is one of China’s emerging stars, and the ovation was deafening in Foshan’s Lingnan Pearl as he made his way to the ring for his fight against Brazil’s Patrick Lourenco, who is at number two in the AIBA light flyweight rankings.

The Chinese National Champion won the silver medal in the World Combat Games in 2013 in Russia, and needed every inch of his experience in the first round when he was knocked down hard by Lourenco. Zhonglin showed tremendous heart in getting up from the shot, and stormed back well in the second round, as he attempted to make the Brazilian tire himself out.

Cheered on by the partisan crowd, the Chinese star worked his way into the fight, his guard gradually dropping as the rounds progressed, and though Lourenco’s punches were harder, the eye-catching shots were being delivered by Zhonglin.

Going into the last round, both men were tired, and yet still gave it their all. A very close fight went to the scorecards, where China’s new hero won via split decision the last round being all important. Two judges scored it 58:56 for Zhonglin, while one judge gave the same score for Lourenco.

Number two seed Birzhan Zhakypov is the current AIBA World Champion, and the two-time Olympian faced another home favourite in the last fight of the night, as 20-year-old Bin LV came to the ring to the sound of Queen’s We Are The Champions.

Seen as possibly the future star of the sport in his homeland, Bin LV won the gold medal at the 2012 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships, and he achieved perhaps his finest result in boxing against Zhakypov, as he shocked the World champion.

The Chinese star excelled from the very beginning of the fight, refusing to be overawed by the occasion, despite the magnitude of what he was facing.

Zhakypov was unable to get into his usual blissful rhythm, as he was harried and harassed by Bin throughout the course of the entire fight, as both men traded shots at an intense level, with the quality work coming more from the Chinese corner.

The judges agreed with that assessment, with all three scoring it 58:56 for the home favourite, and on a night of supreme boxing action, both of the top seeds were defeated, while homeland stars were born.

By: Editor
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Menu

    All
    2014 FIFA World Cup
    Athletics
    Basketball
    Boxing
    Commonwealth Games
    Cricket
    Golf
    Hockey
    Marathons
    News
    Olympics
    Rugby
    Soccer
    Spotlight
    Tennis
    Track And Field
    Volleyball
    Women Soccer
    Wrestling


    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Tweets by ASMONTHLY

Tweet to @ASMONTHLY

Contact Us

    Contact Us

Submit

Donate & Support Our Efforts at African Sports Media Network