Friday and Saturday night at Macau East Asian Games Dome in Cotai, the “2017 IBF Silk Road Championship Tournament Inaugural Fight and IBF World Championship” saw local boxers Michael Ferreas Olfindo and Cheong Lap Cheong of Macao Boxing House take on opponents from Thailand and the mainland respectively in their debut professional fights.
“The Silk Road Championship Tournament” is part of the International Boxing Federation’s (IBF) IBF Belt and Road (B&R) Region made up of 70 countries and regions along the B&R. The tournament will take place in countries on the path of the Silk Road thought Eurasia and Africa.
The programme on both nights was supposed to begin at 7:30 p.m. but was suddenly changed to 6 p.m. as the pugilists were getting ready so Olfindo and his opponent Yutthana Narkprasert were rushed into the ring without having time to warm up.
Trainer Wai Cheong (from left to right), first local pro-fight boxers Cheong Lap Cheong and Michael Ferreras Olfindo, as well as trainer Janno Cheong pose for a photo in their dressing room at Macau East Asian Games Dome on Saturday. Photo: Lesley Wells
