Yang Lian Hui out to become first Chinese holder of major weight boxing title

'Ik' Yang Lian Hui will fight Argentina's Cesar Cuenca on Saturday with a shot at becoming most significant boxing title-holder yet with his bout for the IBF junior welterweight belt.

China’s “Ik” Yang Lian Hui weighed in successfully Friday for his world title fight against Argentina’s Cesar Cuenca and then declared that he was in the best shape of his life.

Undefeated Yang (18-0, 13 KOs) tipped the scales at 139.8lb (63.4kg) a day ahead of Saturday’s International Boxing Federation junior welterweight clash while his unbeaten opponent Cuenca (47-0, 2 KOs) was also inside the 140lb limit at 139.4lb.

Both will be in their first world title fight on Saturday with Yang aiming to be only the second Chinese boxer to win a pro belt and Cuenca making his overseas debut after a 13-year career fought entirely in his native Argentina.

“I am in the best shape of my life and have trained harder than all my previous fights,” said Yang, who prepared under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach at his Wildcard gym in Los Angeles.

But he will have to fight without Manny Pacquiao’s mentor Roach in his corner on Saturday. The 55-year-old has a back problem that requires surgery and was advised by doctors not to make the long-haul flight to the southern Chinese city.

Instead he is being guided by conditioning coach Justin Fortune, an Australian former heavyweight who once fought Lennox Lewis.

“I have had a really good training camp with Freddie and Justin. It’s the best I’ve ever worked. I’ve had some really tough conditioning and my sparring partners have pushed me right to the limit,” Yang told AFP after the weigh-in at the Venetian Macau’s Bellini Lounge on Friday.

Cuenca will equal Floyd Mayweather’s record of 48 fights and 48 wins if he is victorious over 12 rounds at Cotai Arena Saturday to stand just one behind the all-time record of ring legend Rocky Marciano (49-0).

But it would seem that the comparison ends there, with the durable but workmanlike Cuenca only managing two wins inside the distance and having fought over 12 rounds just four times in his long career as a professional boxer.

Knockout specialist Yang has only gone the distance once in the past four years and unleashed a devastating barrage to stop seasoned Thai Patomsuk Pathompothong (30-3) in the sixth round of his last appearance in the same Macau ring in March.

Cuenca said that would work in his favour the longer the fight goes on. And he was not worried by his seeming inability to finish opponents inside the distance.

“I have probably boxed more rounds than anyone of my era. Lots of fighters claim they train to go the distance but I really do,” Cuenca said.

“I think once we get past the midpoint of the fight, Yang is going to be in very deep water. We will see who is in condition to go the distance.”

Victory for Yang will make him the first Chinese fighter to win a professional world title in a major weight category.

His countryman Xiong Zhaozhong – who fought in Dubai in 2013 – holds the little-recognised WBC minimum weight (105lb, 48kg) belt – often known as “straw weight”.

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