Zou beats Kwanpichit in rematch for first title

The 35-year-old from China easily outpointed Kwanpichit, winning on all three judges scorecards to capture his first world title. Two judges had it 120-107 while the other scored it 119-108.

The Zou-Kwanpichit fight opened an impressive undercard for Manny Pacquiao's comeback fight against Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack arena in Las Vegas.

Zou, who won gold in 2008 at Beijing and 2012 in London, started quickly by winning the opening round and then knocking down the Thai in the second.

Zou, who had a big size and reach advantage, sent Kwanpichit to the canvas with a perfectly timed right hook to the side of the head with about a minute to go in the round.

Zou improved to 9-1 with two knockouts, with his only loss coming in his first title attempt when he lost to Amnat Ruenroeng in Macau last year.

Zou posted his second straight win over Kwanpichit, pummelling the Thai to defeat with a similar unanimous decision victory in Macau two years ago.

Kwanpichit was riding a two-year, 12-bout winning streak since his sole loss to Zou.

All of his victories during the streak had come by knockout but he was unable to close in on Zou, who used his superior defensive skills to stay out of trouble.

Zou gave the Thai plenty of punishment, especially in the first half of the fight, when he used a steady jab and combination punches to keep the more aggressive Kwanpichit at bay. Zou landed a total of 347 punches to just 107 for Kwanpichit.