Chinese New Year boxing competition to be held at The Venetian Macao

The 2017 5th CCTV Chinese Lunar New Year Cup – IBF World Championship, jointly presented by IBF and CCTV, will be held at the Cotai Arena at The Venetian Macao during the Chinese Lunar New Year period, from 7:30 p.m. until midnight on both Sunday (Jan. 29) and Monday.

According to organizers, this is the first time that CCTV has cooperated with the international sporting organization to forge CCTV-5’s classic Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration television program.

The competition will see a total of 24 fighters compete during two nights of bouts. Hailing from China, France, Japan, Mexico, Romania, the Philippines and Thailand, the fighters will compete for a number of golden belts from categories such as World Junior Champion, World Female Flyweight Champion, Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and China Lightweight Champion.

A press conference was held yesterday in anticipation of the competition. Present at yesterday’s conference were renowned international boxing stars Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines and Mexico’s Jose Rodriguez and also Wang Ruihang, the president of IBF China.

Macau homegrown and up-and-coming boxer Ng Kuok Kun (a.k.a. “The Macau Kid”) also made an appearance during the pre-
event press conference. He is due to fight in his 11th bout during the competition.

With 10 wins (6 K.O.s), zero losses and zero draws, The Macau Kid told reporters yesterday that he feels no pressure to continue his streak by winning his 11th match on Sunday. The fight will be against Thailand’s Komsan Polsan, who has 33 wins (20 K.O.s), five losses and one draw under his belt.

“I don’t feel the pressure,” said Ng. “I am pretty confident for the competition this year, though I am also cautious. I know my opponent is very experienced… that’s something I will keep in mind in this competition.”

Meanwhile, also on Sunday, the aforementioned Ancajas and Rodriguez will compete for the IBF World Junior Bantamweight Championship Golden Belt. Both fighters have strong records behind them with 25 and 32 wins respectively and 16 and 19 knockouts respectively.

French fighter Carlos Takam and Polish boxer Marcin Rekowski will stage another headline act during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration competition. With an 187 centimeter height and 204 centimeter arm reach, Takam will go face-to-face with Rekowski who measures 189 centimeters in height and 193 centimeters in arm reach.

Taka holds a record of 33 wins (25 K.O.s), three losses and one draw, while his challenger, Rekowski stands at 18 wins (15 K.O.s), four losses and zero draws.

On Monday (Jan. 30), Chinese fighter Cai Zongju will take on Japan’s Etuko Tada in the IBF World Female Bantamweight Championship competition. Organizers, including IBF China President Wang Ruihang, said during yesterday’s press conference that this battle will be of “special concern for Chinese audiences.”

Besides Cai, several other Chinese fighters will be making an appearance at the two-day competition, one of China’s biggest in boxing. Chinese boxer Ge Wenfeng will be up against Melmark Dignos of the Philippines, while Wang Feihu will be against Russia’s Aleksei Podkolzin. Afterwards, Chinese boxers Sun Xiangxing and Wang Kun will take to the ring to compete for the IBF China Lightweight Championship Golden Belt.

The weigh-in ceremony of the two-day sporting event will be held at 2 p.m. on both January 28 and 29 at Wynn Palace.

Tickets are on sale now for the event. They start at MOP580 and go as high as MOP100,000. DB