Xu Can
Born
徐灿

(1994-03-09) March 9, 1994 (age 29)
Fuzhou, Jiangxi, China
NationalityChinese
Other namesMonster
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Reach69 in (175 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights23
Wins19
Wins by KO4
Losses4

Xu Can (simplified Chinese: 徐灿; traditional Chinese: 徐燦; pinyin: Xú Càn; born March 9, 1994) is a Chinese professional boxer who held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Regular version) featherweight title from 2019 to 2021. As of December 2021, Xu is rated as the world's ninth-best active featherweight by The Ring magazine,[1] and tenth by ESPN[2] and BoxRec.[3]

Professional career

Early career

Xu turned professional in 2013. His first 14 fights ended in decision, of which he was victorious in 12 of them. In his 15th fight on October 3, 2017, he recorded his first stoppage win against former WBA (Regular) super bantamweight champion Nehomar Cermeño, prevailing via seventh-round corner retirement. The win saw Xu capture the vacant WBA International featherweight title.[4]

WBA (Regular) featherweight champion

Xu vs. Rojas

Xu was rewarded for his twelve fight winning streak with the opportunity to challenge the reigning WBA (Regular) featherweight champion Jesús Rojas. The bout was scheduled for the undercard of the Jaime Munguia and Takeshi Inoue WBO super-welterweight title fight, which took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on January 26, 2019, and was broadcast by DAZN and Canal Space.[5] Xu won the fight, which BoxingScene dubbed an early candidate for "Fight of the Year", by unanimous decision. He was awarded scorecards of 116–112, 117–111 and 118–110.[6] Both fighters threw a combined 2574 strikes total, with Xu landing 380 and Rojas 388 total punches.[7] Xu became only the third Chinese world boxing champion, after Xiong Chaozhong and Zou Shiming.[8]

Xu vs. Kubo

Xu made his first title defense against the former WBA Regular featherweight champion Shun Kubo on May 26, 2019, at the Fuzhou Sports Center Gymnasium in his native Fuzhou, Jiangxi.[9] He successfully retained his title with a sixth-round technical knockout of Kubo. Xu first knocked Kubo down near the end of the third round, before stopping the Japanese challenger with a flurry of punches at the 1:16 minute mark of the sixth round.[10]

Xu vs. Robles III

In his next title defense, Xu defeated Manny Robles III by unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 119–109, 118–110, on November 23.[11]

Failed Warrington negotiations

Talks were held in 2020 and early 2021 to try to make Xu's third defense of his title against the IBF champion at the time, Josh Warrington. However, the fight was postponed due to disagreements from both sides: Xu wanted fans present at the fight, and Warrington refused to leave the United Kingdom to fight on Chinese soil.[12][13] The chances of Xu and Warrington ever fighting were dramatically reduced when Warrington subsequently vacated his IBF title and then lost to the unheralded Mauricio Lara in February 2021, when he was sensationally knocked out by Lara in an upset defeat.[14][15]

Xu vs. Wood

On July 6, 2021, it was announced that Xu would be defending his WBA (Regular) title against British featherweight champion Leigh Wood in Brentwood, England on July 31 as part of Matchroom's Fight Camp.[16] Despite being a -350 favorite,[17] Xu was outboxed during periods of the fight, and suffered an upset defeat via twelfth-round technical knockout.[18]

Post-title career

Xu would next return to the ring on October 7, 2022 to face Brandon Leon Benitez in Plant City, Florida. Xu suffered his second consecutive loss, via split decision; one judge scored the bout 97–93 in Xu's favor, but he was overruled by the other two judges who both scored the bout 96–94 for Benitez.[19]

Personal life

Xu was born in Fuzhou, Jiangxi, and has since moved his residence to Beijing.[20] His parents were pastry-makers, and he was encouraged by his father to pursue a career in boxing. When Xu dropped out of junior high school during his third year, he joined China's only professional boxing club at the time, named Zhongwei, in Kunming, Yunnan where he began training as a boxer.[21]

Professional boxing record

23 fights 19 wins 4 losses
By knockout 4 1
By decision 15 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
23 Win 19–4 Asad Asif Khan KO 5 (10), 1:23 Dec 31, 2023 Shangluo, China
22 Loss 18–4 Brandon Leon Benitez SD 10 Oct 7, 2022 Whitesands Events Center, Plant City, Florida, U.S.
21 Loss 18–3 Leigh Wood TKO 12 (12), 2:43 Jul 31, 2021 Matchroom Headquarters, Brentwood, England Lost WBA (Regular) featherweight title
20 Win 18–2 Manny Robles III UD 12 Nov 23, 2019 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Retained WBA (Regular) featherweight title
19 Win 17–2 Shun Kubo TKO 6 (12), 1:16 May 26, 2019 Fuzhou Sports Center Gymnasium, Fuzhou, Jiangxi, China Retained WBA (Regular) featherweight title
18 Win 16–2 Jesús Rojas UD 12 Jan 26, 2019 Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, U.S. Won WBA (Regular) featherweight title
17 Win 15–2 Enrique Bernache SD 8 Sep 13, 2018 The Joint, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
16 Win 14–2 Jelbirt Gomera TKO 7 (10), 2:22 Jul 27, 2018 Qingdao Guosen Gymnasium, Qingdao, China
15 Win 13–2 Nehomar Cermeño RTD 7 (12), 3:00 Oct 3, 2017 Gym of Datong University, Datong, China Won WBA International featherweight title
14 Win 12–2 Jack Asis UD 12 May 7, 2017 Shaanxi Normal University Stadium, Xi'an, China Retained WBA International super-featherweight title
13 Win 11–2 Spicy Matsushita UD 12 Dec 17, 2016 Zhejiang University Stadium, Hangzhou, China Won vacant WBA International super-featherweight title
12 Win 10–2 Ramiro Blanco UD 12 Sep 30, 2016 Wenzhou Gymnasium, Wenzhou, China Retained WBA International super-featherweight title
11 Win 9–2 Corey McConnell UD 12 Jun 24, 2016 Capital Indoor Stadium, Beijing, China Retained WBA Oceania and WBA International super-featherweight titles
10 Win 8–2 Isaias Santos Sampaio UD 12 Feb 12, 2016 Olympic Park Arena, Luzhou, China Retained WBA Oceania super-featherweight title;
Won vacant WBA International super-featherweight title
9 Win 7–2 Chaiyong Chanthahong UD 10 Sep 18, 2015 Yageer Gymnasium, Ningbo, China Won WBA Oceania super-featherweight title
8 Win 6–2 Kris George UD 10 Jun 27, 2015 Rumours International, Toowoomba, Australia Won WBA Oceania super-lightweight title
7 Win 5–2 Hurricane Futa UD 6 May 8, 2015 EXPO Garden Hotel, Kunming, China
6 Win 4–2 Josh Baillie MD 6 Feb 22, 2015 Wenshan, China
5 Loss 3–2 Bao Dong MD 6 Sep 8, 2014 World Horti-Expo Garden, Kunming, China
4 Win 3–1 Hongpeng Zhang UD 4 Aug 23, 2014 Expo Garden Hotel, Kunming, China
3 Loss 2–1 Neeraj Goyat SD 4 Jun 7, 2014 World Horti-Expo Garden, Kunming, China
2 Win 2–0 Kota Hamamoto UD 4 Apr 13, 2014 Sangyo Hall, Kanazawa, Japan
1 Win 1–0 Tang Yuan Yuan UD 4 Nov 16, 2013 Yu Hang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ratings". The Ring. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  2. ^ "Divisional rankings: Juan Francisco Estrada solidifies top spot at junior bantamweight". ESPN.com. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. ^ "BoxRec: Ratings". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  4. ^ "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  5. ^ Young, Matt (17 December 2018). "Jaime Munguia to headline boxing card at Toyota Center". chron.com. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  6. ^ Donovan, Jake (26 January 2019). "Xu Can Stuns Jesus Rojas, Wins Decision To Capture WBA Belt". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  7. ^ Esco, Wil (26 January 2019). "Can Xu upsets Jesus Rojas in action-packed battle, snags WBA title". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. ^ White, Jonathan (27 January 2019). "Xu Can becomes China's third world champion boxer after defeating Jesus Rojas by unanimous decision". scmp.com. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. ^ Costa, Carlos (16 April 2019). "Xu Can vs. Shun Kubo WBA Title Clash on May 26 in China". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  10. ^ Agence France-Presse (27 May 2019). "Before a hometown crowd in Fuzhou, China's Xu Can defeats Japan's Shun Kubo in first defence of his featherweight title". scmp.com. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  11. ^ Salazar, Francisco. "Xu Can Retains WBA Title, Decisions Manny Robles". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  12. ^ Lewis, Ron. "Josh Warrington Furious With Xu Can's Refusal To Fight Behind Closed Doors". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  13. ^ "Can Xu scolds Josh Warrington for only fighting at home ⋆ Boxing News 24". Boxing News 24. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  14. ^ "Josh Warrington vacates IBF featherweight belt to chase The Ring magazine title | DAZN News UK". DAZN. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  15. ^ "Josh Warrington suffers shock knockout defeat to Mauricio Lara". the Guardian. 2021-02-13. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  16. ^ Stumberg, Patrick L. (2021-07-06). "Xu Can vs Leigh Wood joins Benn-Granados on July 31st". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  17. ^ Williams, Joe. "Can Xu vs. Leigh Wood fight odds, picks and prediction". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  18. ^ Christ, Scott (2021-07-31). "Fight Camp results and highlights: Leigh Wood drops and stops Xu Can to take WBA featherweight belt". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  19. ^ karlfreitag (2022-10-08). "Boxing News: Benitez upsets former champion Xu Can » January 7, 2024". fightnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  20. ^ "BoxRec: Can Xu". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  21. ^ "Things you didn't know about Leigh Wood's next opponent Xu Can". britishboxingnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

External links

Sporting positions Regional boxing titles Preceded byKris George WBA Oceania super-lightweight champion June 27, 2015 – August 2015Vacated VacantTitle next held byDarragh Foley Preceded byChaiyong Chanthahong WBA Oceania super-featherweight champion September 18, 2015 – September 2016Vacated VacantTitle next held byBillel Dib VacantTitle last held byDardan Zenunaj WBA International super-featherweight champion February 12, 2016 – October 2016 VacantTitle next held byHimself VacantTitle last held byHimself WBA International super-featherweight champion December 17, 2016 – June 2017Vacated VacantTitle next held byJames Tennyson VacantTitle last held byScott Quigg WBA International featherweight champion October 3, 2017 – 2018 VacantTitle next held byJordan Gill World boxing titles Preceded byJesús Rojas WBA featherweight championRegular title January 26, 2019 – July 31, 2021 Succeeded byLeigh Wood
Xinhua News Agency's Top Ten Chinese Athletes of the Year
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