'X-Man' back for yet another world title crack

Chinese veteran Xiong looking for upset in Qingdao

There's just no quit in Xiong Chaozhong.

Like a fistic phoenix, the pint-sized puncher from Kunming, Yunnan province, has risen from the ashes every time his punch-for-pay career appeared to be torched.

On Friday night in Qingdao, the 35-year-old former coal miner will go to the well for the third time as a world title challenger when he faces undefeated WBA minimumweight (105 lbs) champ Thammanoon Niyomtrong (17-0) of Thailand.

It's the co-main event on a six-bout card headlined by Japan's Sho Kimura defending his WBO world flyweight crown against Froilan Saludar from the Philippines.

The two title fights are slated to air live on CCTV-5, starting at 6 pm.

Xiong (27-7-1, 14 KO) hasn't fought since last October when he won a 10-round majority decision over previously unbeaten No 1 contender Panya Pradabsri - a fight many observers thought might be his last.

That was just the latest blip on Xiong's roller coaster record, which includes:

Losing a challenge against Japan's Daisuke Naito for the WBC world flyweight title in 2009.

Becoming China's first pro world champion by capturing the vacant WBC strawweight belt with a 12-round unanimous decision over Mexico's Javier Resendiz in 2013.

Losing the title via TKO to Mexico's Oswaldo Novoa in 2014.

Going the distance in dropping a challenge against South African WBC champ Hekkie Budler in Monaco eight months later.

Losing a split decision to Jose Jimenez of Colombia in a 2016 IBF title elimination bout in Beijing.

Beating Thailand's Pradabsri for the WBA International crown last fall.

Through all the ups and downs, Xiong, who stands an even five feet, has consistently shown he has the heart of a giant - a quality that veteran trainer Harold Knight believes accounts for his whirlwind tenacity.

"When I look at Xiong - I call him 'X-Man' - I see a fighter with a ton of courage," Knight said when he took charge of the Kunming slugger before his bout with Jimenez.

"He fights with every fiber of his being, for as long as it takes. Besides being a superb puncher, he's got great ring smarts. He knows that patience and perseverance are what make a world champion, because he's been there.

"X-Man is an elite talent, and all of China should be proud of him. He's accomplished some things that most athletes, never mind just boxers, could never even imagine and I feel privileged to work with him."

High praise from a man who worked the corner for former undisputed world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis for 15 years - and Xiong will need to live up to it against the 27-year-old Niyomtrong, who will be making his sixth title defense on Friday.

The fleet-footed champ has fought a total of 142 rounds since turning pro in 2012, while Xiong has logged 257 rounds and a 40 percent stoppage rate compared to the Thai's 41 percent.

After his most recent bout, a lopsided decision over Filipino Toto Landero in March, Niyomtrong vowed to deliver a more aggressive performance in Qingdao.

"I was not very good against Landero ... I needed to attack more," he told boxingscene.com. "But I will learn from the mistakes I made. I promise to do better next time."

PUNCH LINES: In the main event, Kimura (16-1-2, 9 KO) will be making his second defense of the WBO world flyweight title he won by stopping China's Zou Shiming in 11 rounds in Shanghai last July... Saludar owns a record of 28-2-1, with 19 wins by knockout... The undercard features two up-and-coming Chinese fighters against Filipino opponents: Xu Can, a towering featherweight from Kunming, will put his 13-2 record on the line against Jelbirt Gomera (13-4), while Li Xiang (4-0-1), a light flyweight from Guiyang, Guizhou province, squares off against Smiel Fajardo (2-1-1).