Come Sunday, current world flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng might feel a little like the fabled Trojan sentry who told his pals: "Hey, that's a swell looking wooden horse! Sure, I'll sign for it ..."
Going into Saturday's 12-round title clash against Zou Shiming at the Venetian Resort in Macao, it appears the talented Thai and his handlers might have been manipulated into thinking it will be an easy night.
Ruenroeng has won 14 straight fights and knocked out five opponents since turning pro in 2012. He won the vacant IBF crown with a unanimous decision over Rocky Fuentes of the Philippines 15 months ago and has hammered out 12-round split-decisions in defenses over Japan's previously undefeated Kazuto Ioka last May and McWilliams Arroyo of Puerto Rico in September.
The champ has fought 108 pro rounds compared to just 45 for Zou, the poster boy for Chinese boxing who turned pro in 2013. And at 35 Ruenroeng is just two years older than the native of Zunyi, Guizhou province, who struck gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Everything appears weighted in Ruenroeng's favor - but it's still difficult to shake the feeling the quarterfinal loser at the Beijing Games has been carefully selected by savvy Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to maximize Zou's drawing power ... and ultimately deliver the crown to a guy who wasn't even on the title radar a year ago.
For starters, the two fought three times as amateurs, with Ruenroeng triumphing in their first encounter and Zou winning the other two - the last a 5-2 decision in the 2010 Asian Games semifinals.
More telling, Arum - who owns Zou's promotional rights - has shown no qualms about sending his boy into the lion's den against a vastly more experienced world champion.
"Freddie Roach has really done a great job turning Zou from an amateur star to a professional," Arum said. "We think he fights like a real pro, and he doesn't get distracted by all the star stuff that's surrounding him. He's ready. I think he got accustomed to the adulation and the attention over a long period after winning his Olympic medals."
For his part, Hall of Fame trainer Roach says Zou must forget everything he thinks he knows about Ruenroeng.
"My biggest thing is I don't want him to go into the fight thinking, 'I know how to beat this guy', because three rounds and 12 rounds are just worlds apart," Roach said from his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood before departing for Macao with Zou last week. "Having a preconceived notion about how to beat a guy based on past results is a recipe for disaster."
Zou upped his pro record to 6-0 in November, going 12 rounds for the first time in a convincing win over Thailand's Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym, who was knocked down three times but still managed to open a nasty cut over Zou's left eye in the featured prelim to Manny Pacquiao's demolition of Chris Algieri.
"Ruenroeng has had a little more experience since they both turned pro, but he has some mistakes that I think Zou can take advantage of - although they're not the same mistakes he made in the amateurs," said Roach.
"The way Zou counters those mistakes has to be different, too. We'll see if he really understands what I've been trying to teach him."
If Zou wins, part of the credit must go to Pacquiao, who is also trained by Roach.
Roach was going to send his assistant, Marvin Somodio, to work Zou's corner at Cotai Arena because the Hall of Famer is busy preparing Pacquiao for his May 2 mega fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. But the eight-time world champ told Roach he believes Zou fights better with the boss in his corner, so there was no argument.
Zou's future - and the future of Chinese boxing - carries that big a price tag.
Murraygreig@chinadaily.com.cn
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Zou Shiming, China's two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur champion, is challenging International Boxing Federation world flyweight champ Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand in a 12-rounder on Saturday night at the Venetian Resort in Macao. File Photo |
