Zain Shah v. Omar Sims.

Zain “The Tiger” Shah cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Omar Sims on Saturday night at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Shah used his right counter to great effect against Baltimore-based Sims, who came in at 163 lbs. for the middleweight contest.

The fight ended with a furious final round which saw both fighters rocked by heavy right hands, with two of out of three judges judging Sims to have gotten the better of the sixth. But overall the Chantilly-based Shah was the busier fighter and looked at times just half his 36 years.

After the fight Shah seemed calm and underwhelmed with his performance, disappointed he hadn’t been able to floor his opponent. He claimed to be more fatigued than expected and explained that his nerves had prevented him from sleeping the night before.

Shah said he was unable to evaluate his own performance but suggested Sims had slapped him repeatedly and bore scratches and welts on his right shoulder as evidence. Sims’ trainer Kenny Ellis slammed the judges’ decision, claiming such results are exactly why boxing is losing followers to mixed martial arts.

“This is why MMA is on the rise - dirt done to fighters,” Ellis said. “How can you win a fight by running?”

Ellis admitted Shah had landed “a few rights” but argued he missed many more.

“I gave him three right hands in the whole fight and no rounds,” Ellis said.

Shah improved his record to four wins and no losses with two KOs; his late entrance into the professional ranks will prevent him from becoming world-class but he has talent in abundance. Tall and lean for a middleweight, his expansive reach and dexterous footwork make him an appealing prospect.

Tendinitis in his forearms following a regional Golden Gloves title at age 27 robbed Shah of his power and prematurely drove him to a career as a trainer, only for him to discover that holding the mitts was the perfect therapy for his ailment. He returned to the ring recently and says he will continue for as long as his body holds out.

Shah proclaimed himself 100 percent once again and promised that he would stay busy for this year in particular. After all, in the Chinese calendar 2010 is the year of the Tiger.