LIGHT FLY 49 KG – FRIDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER (19:10 GMT +8)
Location: Guiyang – Venue: Guizhou Arena
APB World Championship Matches begins on Friday night when Lyu and Zhakypov battle for the Light Flyweight title
The first of the eagerly awaited APB World Championship Matches will take place on Friday night at the Guizhou Arena in Guiyang, China, as Light Flyweight (49 kg) Champion Bin Lyu (CHI) defends his title for the very first time against Birzhan Zhakypov (KAZ).
Boxing fans around the world can view this historic event from 19:10 (GMT +8) on https://www.youtube.com/user/AIBAproboxingTV, and will also be broadcasted by Guizhou TV, Shenzhen TV Sports Channel and LeTV.
Lyu became the Inaugural Light Flyweight Champion last February when he defeated compatriot Zhonglin Wu over eight rounds, while Zhakypov is currently on a five fight winning streak in APB.
Sublime Cycle I victories over Patrick Lourenco (BRA) and Carlos Quipo (ECU) have firmly established Zhakypov as the number one contender, and he has no issues about fighting in China, as both of those triumphs emanated from Guiyang.
Zhakypov’s lone loss in this competition came against Lyu in the very first week of action, so the 31-year-old AIBA World Champion is desperate to make amends for that defeat and claim the title.
Lyu will enjoy home advantage however and believes that the support he shall experience in the arena will help tremendously.
“Because I will defend my title at home in front of boxing fans from my country, I have a stronger motivation to win the match,” he remarked in an interview with AIBAProBoxing.com.
The first meeting between the two fighters produced six rounds of scintillating action, where Lyu convincingly outpointed the decorated Zhakypov, who is a decade older than the Chinese Champion.
“From the first fight with Zhakypov, I learnt that I need to have strong self-confidence to be successful. His strengths are that he has rich competition experience, good understanding, good timing, and he controls the distance,” said Lyu.
Ever since that initial defeat last October, Zhakypov has looked in ominous form, with his impressive body shots proving effective against both of his Cycle I opponents.
Zhakypov’s watertight defence enable constant control of the ring, but questions remain on how he will be able to combat the exciting and aggressive style that Lyu possesses.
Accuracy and strength are two of Lyu’s biggest weapons, and his unerring discipline allows him to maintain his tactics through a bout no matter what his opponent is doing.
Unlike their first match, this key title rematch will take place over 12 rounds, a distance neither man has ever fought over competitively before.
Zhakypov may have a slight advantage having twice fought over eight rounds this year, while Lyu has not competed in APB since his triumph over Wu seven months, as he has been waiting for a title challenger to emerge.
Both men have been training hard for the match, and as neither boxer has experienced stamina issues before, the stage is firmly set for an incredible match.
Three further matches will take place on the undercard, including Anton Pinchuk (KAZ) vs Dragos Ghionea (ROU), Tianlong Ding (CHI) vs Thulasi Tharumalingam (QAT) and Yong Chang (CHI) vs Ilyas Suleimenov (KAZ).
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