Diminutive Xiong aiming even higher

WBC strawweight champion wants to unify titles and then battle compatriot

Xiong Chaozhong is small in stature, but on Wednesday night in Haikou, Hainan province, he will try to solidify his standing as the biggest man in Chinese boxing.

With a potential television audience of several hundred million watching live on CCTV-5, the stakes will be high for Xiong (22-4-1, 12 KOs) when he enters the ring at Haikou City Hall to defend his World Boxing Council strawweight title in a 12-rounder against Mexico's Oswaldo Novoa (12-4-1, 7 KOs).