39-year-old Singaporean boxer Mohamad Nor Rizan won the World Boxing Council (WBC) Asia Continental bantamweight title at The Pavilion at Far East Square over the weekend, after beating Thailand’s Piched Chianawa following nine grueling rounds.
It was Rizan’s perseverance that led him to clinch the title over his 24-year-old opponent who almost got Rizan to fold at least five times during the match.
But each time, Rizan rose. He refused to buckle and eventually won the match because he was prepared for the long game, while his opponent aimed for an early knock-out.
Rizan told a local daily that he was able to read Piched’s game plan:
“I knew his game plan, and I was able to read it. He knew that I am much older, and wouldn’t have the endurance. So he tried to go for a knockout from the fifth round onwards, but I was already prepared for a 10-round fight.
“I didn’t predict that I’ll win by a knockout because I had conditioned myself to go the full 10 rounds.”
After exchanging careful hooks, Piched aimed to end the fight during the sixth round by throwing a slew of hard hits at Rizan’s body for a good two minutes while the Singaporean was forced to play defense.
However, it was the Thai who was eventually cornered when Rizan returned the treatment by delivering jab after relentless jab before finishing the job with a killer right straight. The champion said:
“At the end of the day, it all boiled down to what I did in training. My reflexes were instinctive.”
Rizan has had a long career in professional boxing in Singapore. He was widely regarded in the local media as the only professional boxer in Singapore during the 2000s.
In another match, Singaporean Zakaria Ismail earned a split-draw decision in a bout against American boxer Will Chope. The match was Ismail’s very first bout in the sport of professional boxing.