An intense controversial grudge fight, and a meaningful debut win for a youngster – It sure was a special night for Singapore’s boxers.
In an event dominated by the Indonesian champions, 2 Singaporean boxers stole the limelight, as Mohd Nor Rizan and Syafiq Bin Abdul Samad, both emerged victorious in their respective fights at the Dragon Fire World Boxing Championship under the bright lights of the Marina Bay Sands on Nov 9.
For the 33-year-old Rizan, it was sweet revenge as he overcame Wang Xinhua, who won their previous meeting in May, by close scores of 39-37, 36-38, and 36-40.
More impressively, Syafiq, 19, in his professional debut, beat England’s James Goyder with a technical knockout in just the first round of his bout no less.
Syafiq cornering his opponent, Englishman James Goyder. The bout went in favour of the Singaporean, who won via a technical knock-out.
To make the win even more special, he dedicated the win to his fellow trainee, Shahril Salim, who was in a coma and is currently fighting for his life after collapsing in a training session.
Both were originally slated to make their professional debuts together that night in the ring, and so Syafiq couldn’t help but pay some tribute to his friend during the post-bout interview.
The 19 year-old Syafiq Bin Abdul Samad waving to the crowd as he celebrates his first professional win.
Rizan’s fight was no ordinary one either.
Spurred on by a vocal home crowd, he stormed through his opening 2 rounds, as he overwhelmed Wang with a flurry of hits. However, fatigue soon caught up to him, and his opponent made a comeback in the 3rd and 4th rounds.
Singapore’s Mohd Rizan throwing a right hook at his opponent, Wang XinHua.
So when it was announced that he was the victor, Rizan was in disbelief. He disagreed with the decision, and showing good sportsmanship, gestured for his opponent to be the victor, with Wang doing the same.
Eventually, he reluctantly accepted the ruling, and left the ring without giving the post-match interview.
In the main event of the night, Indonesian boxer Chris John successfully defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title for the 17th time.The 33-year-old broke Thailand’s Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo’s unbeaten record by a unanimous decision (117-111, 119-109, 119-109).
Indonesian Chris John launches a left-handed jab against his opponent Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo from Thailand.
Similarly, his compatriot, Daud Yordan, also defended his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) Featherweight belt, when he defeated Choijiljavyn Tseveenpurev with a score of 117-111, 119-110, and 118-110.
All photos courtesy of Asyraf Rasid (Klix Photography).