Olympic Boxing Finals: Zou Shiming vs Kaeo Pongprayoon

by Gautham Nagesh

China’s Zou Shiming won a controversial decision over Kaeo Pongprayoon of Thailand in the finals of the men’s light flyweight Olympic boxing tournament in London on Saturday.

Shiming received the benefit of the doubt from the judges in all three rounds of the final, despite being outworked and out-landed by the squat but spirited Pongprayoon. The bout was the just the latest example of what has been uniformly abysmal judging and officiating in these Olympics. If we wonder why boxing is such a laughingstock of the sports world, we need look no further than AIBA, which regulates the amateur level.[[MORE]]

The final placed all the shortcomings of amateur boxing on full display, thanks largely to the now two-time gold medalist. Very long and rangy for a light flyweight (49 kg), Shiming is that maddening boxer that has mastered the amateur level, but has almost no pro potential. His styles consists of throwing a number of arm punches from crazy angles, lots of movement and dancing on the outside, and minimal engagement. The goal is clearly to use his superior reach and conditioning to peck at his opponent for the full three rounds.

Zou’s strategy worked well in the first, as neither fighter landed much of anything and the Chinese fighter built a 2-1 lead. But Thailand has built a reputation as a breeding ground for champions in the lower weight classes, and Pongprayoon lived up to that proud tradition. Despite his obvious disadvantage in height, he doggedly worked inside and attacked the body of Zou. We thought Pongprayoon clearly landed the harder scoring blows in the second, but the judges disagree, awarding Zou another one-point advantage for the round.

The third featured plenty of retreating from Zou, along with a healthy dose of grabbing and holding. Kaeo fought better on the inside, occasionally landing his right hand and displaying impressive tenacity. When Zou attempted to lean on him, Pongprayoon shoeshined in hopes of impressing the judges. Pongprayoon clearly brought his full effort in the third, hoping to make up the deficit. Alas, the judges had no intention of even giving him a chance.

The end of the fight featured a confounding sequence where Zou tackled Kaeo to the mat for the second time in the fight. The ref issued a warning, which might have meant two points for the Thai, if he hadn’t issued an identical warning to Pongprayoon not 30 seconds later. The end result was a lopsided score in favor of Zou and a 31-year-old Chinese gold medalist that would probably get knocked out by most garden variety prospects in the pro ranks. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the value of Olympic boxing.