Saturday night saw the return of boxing in Macau after a long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Macau Boxing Association’s (MBA) gym in Hap Si Industrial Building in Rua Seis do Bairro da Areia Preta, run by Ng Kuok Kun aka The Macau Kid, aka KK, held the “2022 Macao Open Boxing Championship” night for amateur pugilists from local and Zhuhai gyms.
There were 10 bouts in all held in front of a large raucous crowd.
Not only did Macau’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) have fighters taking part in the boxing event, they also put on a display at the end of the evening.
KK told The Macau Post Daily that “it has been difficult to put on an event because of COVID-19 and we couldn’t find any ladies to take part this year because of the quarantine that some of the fighters from outside Macau may have had to do.”
KK added, “My students have been doing intense training for these fights for about two weeks and some have just graduated from school, then taking exams to enter college [university] so training was very [sporadic]. So I have been very busy training them in the lead-up to the event morning and afternoon as well as arranging the fights and fighters”.
He went on to say, “I am very happy with tonight’s [Saturday] event as more people have come from other places [gyms] to watch the fights not just my gym.”
The Macau Post Daily spoke to the winner of the final bout, Alvin Salinas, who beat his opponent, Sio Son from Zhuhai, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, and 29-28.
“I have had about five fights before this one, but this is the first I have had without a helmet,” he said before going on to say, “This was my toughest fight because he [my opponent] is fast, powerful and tall.”
Salinas, a Macau-born Filipino, said that he has been training for about two and a half years with KK.
When asked what he thought about so many people turning up to watch the fights on Saturday night, Salinas said, “I am surprised at so many people here to support us, I am very introverted really and am always scared to disappoint and although I am very proud that I won it was very nerve-racking to fight in front of so many people.”
After MBA’s “Macau Open Boxing Tournament 2021 Fisty Fight,” held on March 27 last year KK had told The Macau Post Daily that “the association plans to put on three boxing events a year, in March, August and November, to give the [boxing] students the opportunity to fight as I want them to be more interested in the sport and let them [eventually] represent Macau.”
Obviously, due to the pandemic, this did not happen so KK said that the plan for this year is to put on another event in August, “This time I want to try for a two-day championship and if I get this right I would like to move outside this gym [MBA] and hold events in other local gyms to get even more Macau fighters involved,” he said.
KK (left) gives local Filipino boxer Alvin Salinas advice between rounds at the Macau Boxing Association’s (MBA) gym in Hap Si Industrial Building in Rua Seis do Bairro da Areia Preta on Saturday. Photo: Lesley Wells
