In what will be her third fight ever Macao Boxing House’s Tang Choi Ieng is topping the bill in her professional debut tomorrow evening in the fight night “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Professional Boxing Competition II” to be held at her home gym.
The Macau Post Daily interrupted Tang’s training at Macau Boxing House in Fat Lei Industrial Building in Areia Preta on Wednesday afternoon to talk to her about her first pro fight.
Tang said, “I have been training for this fight for two months, the training has been more intense than before and I have been learning more skills.” Tang is studying for her master’s degree in Physical Education at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) and added, “I am spending about the same amount of time training as before [for her two amateur fights in June and November last year both of which she won] and still study so it is very tiring as in training I need to focus and then I go to school and also need to focus”.
When asked how she was feeling about tomorrow night Tang said, “I am a little nervous about my first professional fight as I shan’t have any head protection”.
Before Tang’s fight in November she went to Zhuhai to train and actually sparred with the opponent she will face tomorrow night, Qiu Li Chen. Tang said, “I think I can beat her, I need to do that”.
2 locals making pro debuts
Cheong Wai, organiser, owner of and trainer at Macao Boxing House said that there will be six fights with boxers coming from Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai as well as two local pugilists, Tang and male boxer Ho Chon Pong, also making his professional debut.
Cheong said, “It is a long time since we had a professional boxing match in Macau and I want to promote Choi Ieng in her first pro fight. If all goes well I shall keep promoting her and she will be Macau’s first professional female boxer.”
Lap Cheong’s temper battle
Cheong Lap Cheong (9 -0-0, 4 KOs) was training at the gym on Wednesday and in December fought Zhang Fangyong (16-4-2) in Gansu, winning a World Boxing Association (WBA) Asia belt in the process. Despite winning Cheong ended up having stitches to cuts over both eyes, the left one still is painful according to Lap Cheong.
“I was very happy to be able to fight last year, because nothing had been happening in the sport world due to COVID-19 so to have a fight was unbelievable, Lap Cheong said.
Adding, “To fight after having no fight for a whole year was strange, I thought I could do my best but in rounds five and six I lost control, he [Zhang] started taunting me and said ‘Come on baby’ in English. In round seven I told him to speak Chinese, I had lost my temper”.
Trainer Cheong said, “He didn’t control his temper so Zhang got into his head, so he needs to learn how to keep calm.”
Lap Cheong said, “My opponent and I went to hospital in the same ambulance as he was cut too, he was very strong and also head butted me many times, it actually made me feel a bit dizzy in the 10th round, but one year of nothing but training proved useful as I was still feeling strong in Round 10.”
Lap Cheong added, “I think I am so lucky to be able to fight, I want to do well in my career and make Macau history.”
Live streaming
Trainer Cheong said, “We are live streaming the event on Facebook. When we did this in November 1,600 people in Macau and 600 elsewhere tuned in to watch”.
Tickets to tomorrow’s event cost 200 patacas and can be bought from Macao Boxing House on the 7th floor of Fat Lei Industrial Building in Areia Preta. The event starts at 7 p.m.
Tang Choi Ieng (left) trains on Wednesday under the watchful eye of trainer Cheong Wai at Macau Boxing House in Fat Lei Industrial Building in Areia Preta.
Cheong Lap Cheong trains at Macau Boxing House in Fat Lei Industrial Building in Areia Preta on Wednesday.
Photos Lesley Wells
