Roc Nation Sports light heavyweight boxer Meng Fanlong (15-0, 9 KOs) dominated in his return to the ring Saturday night after toppling Adam Deines (17-1, 8 KOs) of Germany via unanimous decision in the IBF Light Heavyweight World Title Mandatory Eliminator bout at the Wynn Palace in Macau, China.
With this historic victory and by getting into the mandatory position, Meng will become the first ever Chinese boxer to fight for the Light Heavyweight World Championship. The judges scores were 116-1101; 115-110; and 117-109
This becomes Fanlong’s most impressive win to date as he is now set as the #1 mandatory challenger of IBF World Champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs).
If he wins the world title match, Fanlong can make history again by also becoming the first Chinese boxer to earn the world professional light heavyweight belt. His world title opportunity is expected to occur sometime in 2019.
This victory means a lot to me. Daines is a tough opponent. There is a reason that he was ranked No.5 by the IBF. He is a world class guy. He is strong yet patient.
He has great ability of seizing opportunities and also great on defensive end. He earned my respect. But I am proved to be a better fighter in the ring today.
Now I have bigger goals to achieve. I want to thank my promotion team, coaching team, IBF and IBF China for putting this all together. I will go home with my wife and daughter and rest up. Please stay tuned for big news soon.
“I could not be happier for Fanlong,” said Roc Nation Sports boxing promoter Dino Duva. “When I first scouted him 10 years ago with the Chinese National Team, I knew he was destined for greatness.
Now it’s all coming together, and he will get his dream – to fight for the World Light Heavyweight Championship. We know Beterbiev is a great Champion, but Fanlong has the skills to box and beat anyone.
Looking forward to that historic match. Also, I want to send sincere gratitude to the IBF for giving Fanlong this opportunity, and to IBF China, Rejoy Group, and Wynn Palace for staging an outstanding event.”
