[5] After his rematch with Somnuek he suffered the second defeat of his career against Ippei Aoki the following September,[6] before facing Morakot CP Freshmart for the WBC Youth flyweight title.
[8] In his next fight he fought to a split draw against Ben Mananquil on 25 July at the Central South University of Forestry and Technology in Changsha, China, with the vacant WBO Asia Pacific flyweight title on the line.
[12] Xiang defeated Taduran by UD to capture the vacant WBO Oriental interim flyweight title, with the judges' scorecards reading 99–91, 98–92 and 97–93.
[18] After moving down in weight again, he faced Jomar Caindog for the vacant WBO International mini-flyweight title on 17 August 2019 at the Shenzhen Bao'an District Sports Center.
After an accidental clash of heads in the eighth round left Caindog with a cut below his right eye, the contest was halted by the referee, with the decision going to the judges' scorecards.