Zou Shiming close to title showdown with Amnat Ruenroeng

MACAU – While Manny Pacquiao’s main event showdown against Chris Algieri garners many of the headlines in Macau, Zou Shiming has a lot at stake in the chief supporting bout of the card.

The trailblazing Chinese star will compete in his first 12-round bout on Saturday when he faces unbeaten Thai Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (27-0-2, 12 knockouts). Should he get past this test, promoter Bob Arum says he’ll match Zou (5-0, 1 knockout) with IBF flyweight titleholder Amnat Ruenroeng on Feb. 14 at The Venetian in Macau.

Ruenroeng (12-0, 5 KOs), of Choburi, Thailand, won the vacant title in January with a decision win over Rocky Fuentes and followed that up by handing Kazuto Ioka his first defeat in May. In his most recent bout, he came off the deck against McWilliams Arroyo to win a split decision in September.

“If all goes well, we’ll do a press conference after the post-fight press conference to announce the fight,” said Arum, the CEO Top Rank, which promotes Zou.

In the amateurs, Zou defeated Ruenroeng in the 2010 Asian Games by a 5-2 score.

The 33-year-old two-time Olympic champ has single-handedly revived boxing in China, where it had previously been banned under Chairman Mao Zedong. Zou won gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics after winning bronze in 2004. he has worked with Freddie Roach to transition from a fleet-footed amateur style to one conducive to the heavier punching that is valued more in the professionals.

OnesongchaiGym, 33, made a stir at Wednesday’s final press conference when he approached the podium to speak. Pacquiao did a double take after noticing the Thai boxer bared a resemblance to himself.

Despite his age and number of bouts, OnesongchaiGym has only been a professional for four years. This will be OnesongchaiGym’s first fight outside of his native country.