By Jake Donovan

MACAU, CHINA --Amnat Ruenroeng was called for a questionable knockdown, but avoided unfair treatment from the three judges as he outpointed Zou Shiming over 12 rounds Saturday evening at Cotai Arena in Macau, China.

The theme of the first half of the fight was Ruenroeng working behind his jab and Shiming waiting for any available opening. The first threat of a controversial evening came in round two, when Shiming connected upstairs. 

Ruenroeng stumbled off balance, tripping over Shiming’s foot and falling to the canvas. Referee Mark Nelson made a split-second judgment call, ruling it a knockdown. As disputable as was the call, it was the lone bright spot for Shiming for about six rounds, as his tactic of lunging in and throwing the occasional power shot was not at all working.

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach was not pleased with his client’s work, demanding he pick up the pace and walk Ruenroeng into his overhand right. The unbeaten contender carried out the marching orders in round seven, at which point Ruenroeng began to throw just a little bit loss and move just a little bit more. 

The tactic stripped any lingering excitement from an already awkward fight. It also put him at risk of being robbed by the judges, despite the general perception that he was well in control.

In the end, the judges got it right and it was Shiming who had it all wrong. The three-time Olympic medalist – including back-to-back Gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics – looked every bit the amateur in failing to cut off the ring or coming up with a means of attack when it was clear that Ruenroeng had gone all in and was preparing to cruise to the finish line.

Clniching and fouling marred the action (or lack thereof) down the stretch, as both fighters were frequently warned by the referee – who had a busy night in doing his best to restore order – to keep it clean and fight. 

Shiming brought the crowd to its feet in the 12th and final round, merely by charging forward as Ruenroeng was content to boxing from the outside. Nothing of substance landed for the local hero, nor was his ineffective aggression rewarded by the judges.

Identical scores of 116-111 rang in for Ruenroeng, who advances to 15-0 (5KOs) with the win. The bout was his third successful defense of the flyweight title he obtained last January. The road win was reminiscent of his 12-round boxing lesson delivered to Kazuto Ioka last May. On both occasions, Ruenroeng marched into hostile territory to take on an unbeaten local favorite. 

The judges did their best to deprive Ruenroeng of the well-deserved win over Ioka, at the time undefeated and in search of a major title in a third weight class. There was no such shenanigans on Saturday evening, as Shiming was left to fend for himself in light of fair officiating. 

With that comes his first career loss, as Shiming falls to 6-1 (1KO). All seven career bouts have taken place at Cotai Arena, with his pro debut kicking off Top Rank’s frequent visits to the luxury resort location. 

The bout aired live on BoxNation, and will air via same-day tape-delay on HBO2 (Saturday, 5:00 p.m. ET) in the United States. 

Highlighting undercard action (full report can be found here ):

• Junior middleweight slugger Glen Tapia boxed for two rounds before unloading on Daniel Dawson in forcing a 3rd round stoppage

• Ik Yang advanced to the #2 contender in the IBF 140 lb. rankings with a one-sided 6th round stoppage of Patomsuk Pathompothong 

• Unbeaten super flyweight Rex Tso rode a third round knockdown all the way to the finish line, barely outpointing Michael Enriquez over 10 rounds in by far the best bout of the evening

• Mexico’s Paul Valenzuela scored the lone upset of the undercard, flooring Zhou Yun Fei in the opening round in taking a four-round split decision in their super middleweight slugfest

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox