KUCHING: Mikail ‘Miki’ Ghazali was made to work for it, but once the Malaysian found his rhythm, Zaid Zirem spent the rest of the fight trying to keep him off.
Miki overturned a slow opening round to defeat the Algerian by unanimous decision at RWS Muaythai at Rajadamnern Stadium in Thailand on Saturday night, with the judges returning scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
The victory lifted the Sarawak-based fighter’s RWS record to 3-1.
Zaid, making his Rajadamnern debut, took control of the early exchanges.
The Algerian attacked the legs early and found his right hand, while Miki stayed patient, probing with his jab and waiting for opportunities to bring his trademark left hook into play.
Zaid’s early work earned him the round on two cards – 10-9, 9-10, 9-10.
Miki came out differently in the second.
He began stepping into Zaid’s space, landing a jab combination before driving a kick into the Algerian and forcing him backwards.
That opened the door.
Miki followed Zaid towards the corner and began unloading with his hands, stitching punches together as the Algerian was forced to shell up and absorb the pressure.
Suddenly, Zaid was no longer setting the terms of the fight.
All three judges scored the second 10-9 for Miki.
The Malaysian carried that momentum into the third, and when Zaid tried to come forward again, Miki made him pay.
He timed the advance with a hook that dumped Zaid onto the canvas, producing the biggest moment of the bout.
Miki stayed on the attack after the count, refusing to let Zaid reset and continuing to force exchanges before landing a tomahawk in the closing moments.
The contrast from the first round was clear.
Zaid had started by making Miki fight cautiously. By the final bell, it was the Algerian being pushed back, caught on the way in and made to react.
Miki had taken a round to find the answers.
Once he did, Zaid never quite found his way back into the fight.
