Throws punches in bunches to easily defeat bigger Mexican foe

Maybe it wasn't the great leap forward he was hoping for, but Zou Shiming still made a significant step up the pro boxing ladder on Saturday night in Macao.

In just his second punch-for-pay outing, the 32-year-old flyweight from Guizhou province in southwestern China surgically stabbed his jab and threw punches in bunches to notch a lopsided six-round decision over Mexico's Jesus Ortega (3-2, 2KOs) in the action-packed headliner of Top Rank's Fists of Gold II card at the Venetian Resort & Casino.

In front of a packed arena and millions more of his compatriots watching live on CCTV, Zou, a double Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur champ, showed vast improvement over his sloppy April debut when he beat Eleazar Valenzuela over four rounds.

In preparing for Ortega - a bigger and more skilled opponent than Valenzuela - Zou and his trainer, Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, worked at firing double and triple jabs to set up combos aimed at keeping the Mexican off balance.

It worked, for the most part.

Despite giving away nearly three inches in height and four inches in reach, Zou consistently beat Ortega to the punch and punished him on the inside.

There were no knockdowns - which has some pundits questioning Zou's power - but the three scores of 59-55 left no doubt the performance was a stylistic shutout for the mercurial fighter.

Promoter Bob Arum hopes to fast-track Zou to a world title shot before the end of next year.

More impressive than Zou's punch count was his defense. He wasn't hit nearly as often (or as hard) as in his debut thanks to smarter lateral movement and the fact he was sitting down on his punches, which allowed him to dictate the pace while negating Ortega's reach advantage. Because of that the Mexican was rarely able to counter effectively.

Zou's best round was the third, when he charged out of his corner and unleashed a 45-second barrage that backed Ortega into the ropes. He capped it with a five-punch flurry punctuated by a big right hook, but Ortega managed to weather the storm.

"I'm pleased with the win but my goal is to become a new champion and I know there are many new challenges I need to face, so I will work even harder towards that goal," Zou said in an HBO interview after the fight.

Roach said he saw significant improvement in his fighter, but there are still some concerns.

"Zou stayed in front of him a little too much; I would have liked to see him land more combinations and get out of the pocket," said Roach, adding Zou will be in Manny Pacquiao's training camp as the multiple world champ prepares for his Nov 24 bout with Brandon Rios at the Venetian.

If nothing else, watching and soaking up everything "PacMan" does to prepare for battle will give Zou something to ponder as he looks forward to taking his next step up the ladder.

In Saturday's co-main event, Mexico's Juan Estrada (23-2) made the first defense of the WBO/WBA flyweight championship he won in April with a 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Milan Melindo of the Philippines, who dropped to 28-1.

murraygreig@chinadaily.com.cn