By Ian S Palmer
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming takes on Luis De La Rosa of Colombia in his first 10-round bout this Saturday, July 19 in Macau, China for the vacant WBO International Flyweight Championship. It’s just the 33-year-old Shiming’s fifth pro contest as he aims to become China’s first professional world boxing champion. De La Rosa has fought for an interim world title three times in his career at flyweight and minimumweight and should be Shiming’s toughest and most-experienced test as a pro. The bout can be seen on HBO 2 in the U.S., on HBO in Canada and on BoxNation in Britain..
Shiming enters the bout with a record of 4-0 along with 1 Ko while De La Rosa climbs through the ropes with a mark of 23-3-1 along with 13 Kos. De La Rosa has fought 114 pro rounds compared to just 23 by Shiming. However, there isn’t too much other information available on De La Rosa since he’s fought most of his career in the obscure lower weight divisions at 105 and 108 lbs. This is a step up in class for Shiming and it’s going t be interesting to see how he handles a seasoned pro, especially over 10 rounds.
But while De La Rosa has quite a bit more pro experience he’s the smaller man and hasn’t fared too well at all when facing upper-echelon opposition. De La Rosa stopped the winless Deivis Narvaez in the second round in his last fight, but before that he was knocked out in the very first round while battling Moises Fuentes for the interim WBO flyweight title. He was also stopped in the eighth round by Merlito Sabillo for the WBO interim minimumweight championship. He also lost a 12-round split decision to Raul Garcia for the minimumweight crown in 2010
So while the Colombian fighter has a relatively impressive record, he’s fought a lot of Grade C opponents over the years to build it up. He has good speed and power though to go along with an awkward style, but his weak spot is his ability to take a good shot. Shiming is a superior technical boxer, but doesn’t really have much power in his fists. He possesses excellent mobility and throws a lot of quick punches from all angles. However, he lacks power because he doesn’t plant his feet like he should while throwing his punches.
Shiming’s speed and accuracy could cause some problems for the smaller Luis De La Rosa though, especially if he’s able to land flush on the chin. De La Rosa’s best weapons are his overhand right and left hook. De La Rosa will need to try to work his way inside to land his punches while Shiming will be attempting to keep him at bay with his speedy jab and size advantage.
Prediction
De La Rosa may have the edge in age, power, and pro experience, but Shiming has the better skills, chin, size, and speed. Shiming should be able to handle De La Rosa’s power by keeping him to the outside while landing his own shots when the Colombian comes within range. Look for Shiming to rack up the points and possibly stop De La Rosa with an accumulation later in the fight or take a relatively easy unanimous decision.
