Undefeated “Ik” Yang Lianhui today is seeking to become only the second Chinese fighter to win a professional world title, but to do it will need to prevent Cesar Cuenca’s march into the record books.
The unheralded Argentine light welterweight has built up a record of 47 wins and no defeats in his home country over a career spanning 13 years.
That puts the No. 1 rated International Boxing Federation contender just one win behind Floyd Mayweather Jr and two off Rocky Marciano’s all-time 49-0 record in the pantheon of the world’s undefeated fighters.
Counting against his record being mentioned in the same breath as those two ring greats is the fact he has only four times gone the championship distance of 12 rounds and has just two knockouts on his resume.
Today is to be the first time the man from Chaco has fought outside of his home country and he will be up against a knockout specialist in Yang when they face off for the vacant IBF junior welterweight world title at Macau’s Cotai Arena.
The explosive puncher from the northeastern city of Dalian has stopped his opponents 13 times in an 18-fight undefeated career and in March battered the seasoned Thai Patomsuk Pathompothong (30-3) in a six-round knockout on his previous appearance, also at the same Macau venue.
Cuenca (47-0, 2 KOs) is undaunted by Yang and says he deserves to be ranked with the greats, despite detractors saying he lacks the power to knock out opponents.
“No one ever did me any favors. I earned my No. 1 rating by beating everyone who has been put in front of me,” the 34-year-old Cuenca said. “Lots of fighters claim they train to go the distance, but I really do. Yang is going to be in very deep and very uncharted waters.”
He confidently added that people should be comparing him to Mayweather, who beat another Freddie Roach-trained fighter Manny Pacquiao on points in May in the richest fight in boxing history.
“I am more Mayweather than Marciano,” Cuenca said. “Mayweather has had only two knockout victories over the past 10 years. He fights his fight and he fights to win. That is my philosophy too.”
Roach will be absent from Yang’s corner today, a long-standing back problem that needs surgery preventing the Hall of Fame trainer making the long trip from Los Angeles to Macau.
Filling in for Roach will be Australian Justin Fortune — a former heavyweight who once lasted five rounds against the great Lennox Lewis — and he was quick to dismiss Cuenca’s chances.
“Only two KOs in 47 fights? Let’s face it this guy couldn’t break an egg,” Fortune told reporters.
Yang said he wanted to win the belt for Roach.
“I am sad he cannot be with me now,” Yang said. “I want to honor him with this fight. I can’t wait to see the look on Freddie’s face when I walk into his gym with the belt.”
Former five-division world champion Nonito Donaire (34-3, 22 KOs) from the Philippines and 2012 US Olympian and undefeated super lightweight prospect Jose Ramirez (14-0, 11 KOs) feature in the standout bouts on the undercard.
“Filipino Flash” Donaire, looking to get back on the world title trail after losing belts in the past two years to the great Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba and Jamaica’s Nicholas Walters, takes on France’s Anthony Settoul (20-3, 8 KOs) in a 10-round super bantamweight bout.
AMATEUR BOXING
A professional world title showdown between the two greatest amateur boxers of all time — Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux — is a step closer to being finalized, according to Top Rank veteran promoter Bob Arum.
The 83-year-old Arum, in Macau to promote today’s International Boxing Federation junior welterweight world title fight, said he would be able to reveal more once he returned to the US from Macau next week, adding: “There is a good chance of it happening.”
Olympic champion in 2008 and 2012, Lomachenko of Ukraine lost only once in a fabled 500-fight amateur career and is the World Boxing Organization featherweight champion, having won the title in just his third professional fight and successfully defended it twice.
Cuba’s Rigondeaux was an amateur icon who also won two Olympic titles (2004 and 2008) in a 475-fight career before defecting to the US in 2009. He is the undefeated WBO and World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion with a 15-0 record.
“I”ve got to get back and put everything together, but I’d like to do that fight,” Arum said on the sidelines of the weigh-in for today’s card. “It would be a sensational fight.”
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