Wonderful Wu returns to winning ways against Lourenco in China
11 July 2015
The remaining AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) Cycle I Round 2 Light Flyweight (49 kg) matches occurred on Saturday night in Guiyang, China, and produced two outstanding bouts.
In the main event, home favourite Zhonglin Wu (CHI) returned to winning ways in APB with a sparkling rematch victory over Patrick Lourenco (BRA).
Wu had won their first meeting by split decision, and though the verdict was the same in their second bout, he won in a more convincing fashion this time around.
The Chinese athlete was treated to a loud ovation by his supporters in Guiyang, and gave them plenty to cheer about in the first round as he boxed with a disciplined mindset to unsettle his Brazilian opponent.
Lourenco reacted well to the early pressure and claimed the second round on two scorecards, before Wu’s wicked left hook began to find its target regularly in round three.
Wu had struggled to mix defence and attack in his last bout with Carlos Quipo (ECU), but he has clearly been working on both elements in the gym as he looked a completely different fighter to the man who was defeated last time out.
His Brazilian rival could not close down the distance without being met with heavy shots, while his own guard was frequently exploited by the highly motivated Chinese athlete.
The South American stylist had several moments of success in the bout with his overhand right particularly impressive in the seventh round, but he could not create enough moments of magic to truly trouble the man on the other side of the ring.
A tiring Wu reverted to a more methodical jab heavy style in the last round as he was keen not to allow Lourenco any chances of making his way back into the fight, but Lourenco once again impressed in the latter stages of an APB contest to claim the round.
After all eight rounds had been completed, Wu was awarded the victory 78:74 and 77:75 according to two judges, while Lourenco was favoured by a single round on the third scorecard.
In the second match of the evening, 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Fazil Juma Kaggwa (UGA) defeated 2015 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Kornelis Kwangu Langu.
