By Carlos Costa

In a back-and-forth action thriller that fully entertained Hong Kong fans, 20-year-old Chinese boxer Xiang Li (7-2-1, 2 KO's) of Liu Gang's Max Power stable defeated by unanimous decision Hong Kong's rising star Raymond Poon to capture the WBC Asian Continental, the Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) and the WBO Youth Lightweight Belts at the HK Convention and Exhibition Center in Wanchai, Hong Kong. 

Trained solidly during the last three months by his Filipino coach former boxer Ninolito Jalnaiz, Li engaged the local Hong Kong star Poon in a non-stop close-quarters melee that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the ten chapter war.

Dominance of the combat took turns as Poon -- energized by his tons of fans screaming his name   --   fought back in an attempted to overpower Li, but to no avail, as the Chinese southpaw was solid in his strength, speed, and stamina throughout the rough game.   

Even though the bravery and warrior-spirit of Poon were evident, it was also crystal clear that Li did enough to deserve the nod by six round to four, which was the sensible and reasonable score provided by one of the judges.  

Official tallies in favor of Li were:  96-94, 97-93 and 99-91.

FIGHT GIRLS:   RENZ DACQUEL DOMINATES NANOKO SUZUKI

In fight girls action, Filipina light flyweight boxer Renz Dacquel (2-1, 1 KO) of the Highland Boxing Gym scored a four-rounder non-title unanimous decision win over cute Japanese fight girl Nanako Suzuki (3-2, 1 KO).

The taller, more effective, more aggressive Renz Dacquel moved well around the ring, landing repeatedly with hooks and straight rights over the strong Nanako, rocking the Nippon warrior down to the black canvas during the rough action of round one.

Scorecards were 39-36, all in favor of friendly and smiley 21-year-old Renz Dacquel from the beautiful Abra Province in northeastern Luzon, Philippines.

MORE RESULTS FROM HONG KONG

Also, unbeaten Japanese featherweight Ren Sasaki (9-0, 6 KO's) scored a round six TKO over coming-forward brawler Ge An Ma (6-1, 1 KO) of Dalian in northeastern China.    Official time of stoppage was 1:53 in round 6.   The third man was Mekin Sumon of Thailand.

In addition, Hong Kong's hard-punching super lightweight Nibesh Ghale (5-1, 4 KO's) stopped Japanese Shogo Yamamoto (4-4, 1 KO) in four chapters for a TKO win.    Ghale was the dominant factor from the get-go, getting more and more efficient in demolition work as rounds went by.   The end came at the 2:29 minutes mark in the 4th stanza when referee Mekin Sumon of Thailand waived the fight off.

Also, 21-year-old Hong Kong-Filipino minimumweight warrior Lennon Chen Tsoi (5-1, 4 KO's) dropped three times and stopped unheralded Thai Wichet Sengprakhon (8-6, 3 KO's) for crushing chapter six TKO victory. 

Matchmakers for the entertaining evening of boxing were Alan Chau and Aku Zhang.

The televised card Sunday, May 12, in Hong Kong S.A.R., was a production of award-winning Hong Kong promoter Jay Lau, head of DEF Promotions in association with Nike Hong Kong.

The author Carlos Costa is a Panama boxing reporter living in the Philippines.  Carlos can be reached at carlos512@hotmail.com and whatsapp/viber/wechat:  +639184538152