Lyu shows the heart of a lion

It wasn't close and it wasn't pretty, but in losing his world title challenge on Sunday, China's Lyu Bin won a legion of fans.

On the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur, the 24-year-old southpaw from Yongkang, Zhejiang province, was attempting to become the first male boxer to capture a major world title in just his second pro fight.

Lyu gave a gutsy account of himself against WBA light flyweight champ Carlos Canizales before being dropped and stopped in the dying seconds of a lopsided 12-rounder that saw the Venezuelan improve to 21-0 with his 17th KO.