Rex Tso Sing-yu’s comeback is going to take a little while longer after the “Wonder Kid” posted on his Facebook he was going to rest for the first half of the year.
In his New Year’s Day message to friends and fans, the 30-year-old unbeaten southpaw (22-0-0, 13 KOs) said he hopes to do something “special” in the second half of 2018 without specifying what, suggesting he is no closer to returning to the ring.
Hong Kong’s boxing superstar hasn’t trained and fought since winning his 22nd professional bout on October 7. His sabbatical from the ring will stretch for another three months at least, meaning he won’t fight again until the third quarter of the year at the earliest – that’s if he decides to even come back.
“For the first half of 2018, I will be in a state of rest!,” wrote Tso in his Facebook posting. “For the first time in so many years, I can finally take a real break. I used to have no rest. My body has encountered all kinds of problems and I have to remind myself that I need to rest properly,” he wrote.
Tso is still nursing a badly bruised left eye sustained in his last fight against now 37-year-old Japanese veteran “Tough Boy” Kohei Kono, which the Hong Kong superstar won on a technical decision, and Hong Kong’s most famous and successful boxer stressed the importance of getting adequate rest.
“I have no plans for the second half of the year. My wife said to me, ‘live in the moment and enjoy the present. Just enjoy it [rest] for more than half a year’. In the second half of the year, I hope to face new challenges, something I have not done before,’” he wrote without saying whether he will return to the ring. “I want to do something that can make me happy. I wish everyone a Happy 2018 and all the best.”
Tso’s long, protracted rest would further delay his world title ambitions – something he has been trying to achieve for years.
His hopes of a title shot for the WBO world super flyweight title is looking brighter than ever following reports that current champion Naoya Inoue is ready to vacate his belt after pulverising his latest victim last weekend.
Japan’s “Monster” said he had fought his last fight in the 115 pound division and intends to move up a division to bantamweight. Tso is the WBO No 1 contender and would have priority to fight for the title against the No 2 ranked contender, Aston “Mighty” Palicte, should that be the case.