By Derek Bonnett
China’s most famous professional boxer and one-time amateur standout, Shiming Zou returned to the ring for the first time since losing in a world title bout against Amnat Ruenroeng last March. Japan’s rising middleweight prospect Ryota Murata also saw action on the bill.
Zou’s return to action was greeted with mixed feelings due to the obvious padded nature of Natan Santana Coutinho’s record. One opponent had in excess of sixty defeats win a solitary win on his resume. Yet, Coutinho fought him twice. However, Zou did what he had to do in his comeback win and the Brazilian boxer was better than advertised.
The first three rounds saw pretty spirited action from both men as Zou fought nimbly, using his jab to stick Coutinho as he pressured his way inside. Coutinho gamely came forward, but it was clear that Zou missed the ring and was having fun in this his return. In round two, both men hot-dogged a bit with the Chinese boxer sticking in jaw out to urge his overmatched foe inside. The Brazilian opted to shake his hips and dance instead of taking the bait. Zou’s size advantage seemed considerable as Coutinho appeared better suited at 108 or 105 than flyweight. Zou’s punches possessed the better sting and he landed in greater volume.
Zou closed Coutinho’s left eye by round four from a mix of stiff jabs and right hands. The Brazilian fighter was stung by single shots in the round prompting a much more cautious approach in round five. Zou’s confidence rose and his combinations grew longer and with more urgency to close the show. Zou used the ring well, reminescent of his amateur career, landing a flurry and then circling. However, these flurries were carrying more and more power and the accumulation was takeing it’s toll on the eyes of the underdog. Zou wobbled his man in the last thirty seconds of the round making it clear the cards would not be necessary for this bout. Coutinho came out for round six looking like a raccoon with growing darkness around the eyes. Zou’s timing was far superior and Coutinho became a sitting duck as he continued to follow the Chinese boxer around the ring. A left hook wobbled the Brazilian unbeaten back on his heels in the final seconds of the sixth.
Zou unnecessarily pushed Coutinho to the canvas early in the seventh. The behind the head went unadmonished. Zou peppered his foe with triple and quadruple jabs. The brave underdog was again wobbled late in the frame. Zou jumped on Coutinho early in the eighth and kept him on the ropes for his final assault. A right hand hurt the Brazilian flyweight again. This time he covered up and stopped throwing. Zou kept his punches flowing prompting intervention from the referee.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:17 of round eight. Zou elevated his record to 7-1-0 (2). Coutinho gained valuable experience in falling to 12-1-0 (10). A world title challenge of Kazuto Ioka of Japan is rumored to be in Zou’s future.
On the undercard, Ryota Murata moved his dossier to 9-0-0 (6) with a routine stoppage of Gaston Alejandro Vega. The much taller Murata controlled the action with power shots and pressured his opponent to the ropes often. Two overhand right dropped Vega late in the first. Vega rose and fought back with reckless abandon to no avail. Murata dropped Vega again in round two with a pair of chopping rights. The fight was waved off after the second knockdown. The end came at 2:23. Vega fell to 24-11-1 (10).
