Zou Shiming has laid to rest fears over his stamina after surviving his first 12-round bout against Thailand's Kwanpichit 13 Rien Express yesterday.

The two-time Olympic champion, who turned professional about two years ago, won his flyweight bout at the Cotai Arena in China's Macau — an undercard to the WBO world welterweight title bout between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri — and improved his professional record to 6-0 with one knockout.

"From now on, the number of the fight rounds should not be a topic of discussion, as I proved 12 rounds is not a problem both in training and in a real bout," Zou told reporters at a post-fight conference.

The boxer was sporting a pair of sun-glasses to shade his heavily-swollen left eye.

The 33-year-old gave eight out of 10 marks for his performance. He took advantage early, knocking over Kwanpichit (27-0-2, 12KOs) twice in the second round. He tried to control the pace with his footwork and some long punches, scoring higher points in every round.

"I was not pushing too hard like I used to after the knock overs (in the second round)," Zou said. "My opponent is powerful with heavy punches, but I didn't give him much chance to bring his advantage into full play thanks to plans made by my coach Freddie Roach."

Zou had his left eye struck by Kwanpichit's arm in the middle rounds, and the Thai kept targeting the injury. The bleeding seemed to obstruct Zou's view in the last few rounds.

"(After the bleeding) I moved around more to avoid direct exchange of punches so as to protect myself and seek my own chance, as well as to interrupt his pace. Personally, it's a self-progress to accomplish 12 rounds and win the fight. I also learned a lesson, like how to protect myself better after injury."

Zou said Roach had given him high remarks of his fast foot movements. He described his ballerina-like footwork, that had the crowd enthralled, as a new personal style that combined his years of Olympic training with modern day professional boxing. It was also a way to tease and distract his opponent.

The victory allows Zou to challenge IBF flyweight title holder Amnat Ruenroeng (14-0, 5 KOs), also from Thailand. However, the fight, previously scheduled for February 14, might be delayed due to Zou's eye injury.

"We have to make sure that his eye heals and then decide when to hold the fight," said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

Two other Chinese boxers won their undercard bouts. Rex Tso from China's Hong Kong overcame Indonesian Espinos Sabu in an eight-round super flyweight bout. Local boy Kuok Kun NG from Macau beat Australian Stephen Attard in a six-round super welterweight fight.

Dalian native Qu Peng, however, lost to New Zealand's Andrew Robinson in their four-round light heavyweight fight.

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