The Showdown at Sands | Thai fighter confident against Zou Shiming in March 7 title defense

Amnat Ruenroeng

Zou Shiming is not the only boxer hoping to defend a nation’s pride with a pair of fists. His old acquaintance and upcoming opponent, International Box-
ing Federation (IBF) flyweight titleholder Amnat Ruenroeng, is also expecting to bring a world-
class matchup between China and Thailand come March 7 at The Venetian’s Cotai Arena.
At a university sports center outside Bangkok city, Ruenrong told visiting reporters that his confidence in boxing originated from an unexpected victory over the then high profile Zou, in the amateur ranks back in 2007.
Now, to face off against the same contender on the professional stage, he is not only reaffirming his champion status, but also seizing a chance to earn glory and recognition for his country.
“When I started boxing, I didn’t think I’d become a good boxer. But when I beat Zou Shiming, he told me that I was a good boxer. That was the inspiration for me to feel good about boxing in my heart and continue,” said Ruenroeng, recalling his first international tournament – the 2007 King’s Cup in Thailand, where he confronted Zou as a replacement boxer on his team.
The Thai fighter said that box-
ing changed his life, as he was also chosen to represent Thailand in the 2008 Olympics. Before all that happened, he was a convicted felon who couldn’t see a way out of prison.
“He [stole] a lady’s bag and he couldn’t pay the [fine] of USD2,000 himself, thus he was sentenced for 15 years based on the calculation of the value he robbed. But he was very lucky,” said Ruenroeng’s manager Jimmy Chaichotchuang. “He participated in the prison boxing program and won the national championship. They saw the talent in him and wanted him to join the Thailand national team. Someone paid the ransom for him.”
Before going to jail, Ruenroeng had claimed the national championship in Muay Thai. However, “he got lazy after that, so his coach threw him into the street and he didn’t have a home,” said the manager.
Comparing Muay Thai and boxing, Ruenroeng said that the biggest difference is that Muay Thai allows fighters to use any part of their body as a weapon besides the fists, which requires greater stamina and harder training. More importantly, boxing brought him bigger recognition and glory as well as a happy family.
“By winning the world [championship] in boxing, I could also make Thailand more known in the world,” he stressed. “This [upcoming] fight with Zou Shiming is a fight between two boxers who represent Thailand and China. It’s a good match, good promotion for Thailand and for China. People in Macau and people in Thailand want to watch it,” he added.
Despitet having won more than twice the number of pro bouts as Zou, the champion denied that the matchup will be easy for him.
“For skills, Zou is very good; we are at the same level. This fight will test my limits, as I’ve trained very hard to beat him,” he told the media. “I’m confident to defeat Shiming and keep my title. I came to professional boxing earlier; he just started. And I’ve had three 12-round fights, but he only fought a 12-rounder once,” he added.
The two boxers had two more encounters in the amateur ranks, with Zou winning both bouts in the 2007 Asian Championships in Ulan Bator, Mongolia and the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. When asked to comment on his rival, Ruenroeng said he had watched two of Zou Shiming’s fights in Macau and that he fought well against those Thai opponents.
“Since turning professional, Zou Shiming has developed very fast,” he said, adding that he was also impressed by Chinese boxers’ performances at a boxing event in Shanghai last December. “Boxing in China has a big development. It just opened up, but [has grown] very fast.”
The 34-year old Thai fighter said he is used to hard training because of Muay Thai; but to maintain a strong body and further enhance his stamina, he needed support from the sport science department of the Srinakharinwirot University.
Every day, he travels 6 hours between his home and the university’s sports center. He trains for 6 hours there. Despite the commute, he avoids going to the noisy and polluted training site that he used to frequent near the airport.
“For a boxer to be a champion at the age of 34 in Thailand is very old, thus he needs to get good support from the physicians, nutrition scientists and psychologists. After he became the world champion, for every fight, he’d come here to train,” added his manager.
Another Thai boxer under the same trainer, Patomsuk Pathompothong, also told reporters that boxing had changed his life. Coming from a family with a strong Muay Thai tradition, he acknowledged that boxing is more of an international stage for Thai fighters. “I’m confident in winning the match with Ik Yang,” he said. “A strong fighter doesn’t have a weak point in his body and nothing will scare him.”

*The reporter was in Bangkok at the invitation of The Venetian Macao