Boxing in Asia – Fight Results and More

Another Thai fighter using the surname Krating Daeng Gym is victorious and the Filipino march towards dominance of the lower weights continues.

* * *

Pornsawan (Krating Daeng Gym) Porpramook vs. Johan Wahyudi

Thai fighters are often accused of facing soft opposition while fighting inside their country. Pornsawan Porpramook’s fight with Johan Wahyudi of Indonesia demonstrated the opposite – there are indeed Thais who are willing to fight capable opponents. Porpramook is certainly an excellent prospect, albeit in the little-seen minimumweight division, and he proved why in this battle between the little guys. In round one the Indonesian came out strong, stalking Porpramook, winging bombs and going for broke. The Thai calmly moved side-to-side, patiently biding his time. At the end of the round, he ripped two left hook body shots and the fight was definitely on.Wahyudi continued to pursue the Thai in the following round, hands held high. Every punch the Indonesian threw was intended to end the fight and Porpramook took a cautious approach. Porpramook settled in, established his jab, and followed it with thunderous body shots heard above the raucous Thai crowd.Porpramook controlled the middle rounds with his jab and body shots, keeping off the aggressive Indonesian who continued to throw whistling hooks at Porpramook. It was apparent to those at ringside Wahyudi was there to win and would not go quietly. Porpramook slowly turned the tide, pushing Wahyudi against the ropes, unleashing a mixture of body shots with left and right hooks to the head.

In round six Wahyudi seemed content to lie on the ropes, seemingly suckering in Porpramook. The strategy backfired when Porpramook dropped the courageous fighter with a huge left hook to the temple. The Indonesian quickly, but shakily, got to his feet and managed to last the remainder of the round.  Wahyudi gave the impression that he had sufficiently recovered by the following round, beating on his chest and inviting Porpramook to engage in battle. His bravery got the better of him once again though in round eight. Immediately after Wahyudi called in Porpramook, the Thai landed a crackling left-right-left combination, smashing Wahyudi to the canvas, leaving him in a heap. Somehow Wahyudi once again managed to pull himself up and finish the round.

Porpramook landed a vicious right uppercut in round nine, dropping Wahyudi for the third time in the fight and causing his right eye to rapidly swell shut. Again the Indonesian rose to finish the round but the end was near. For ten, bristling rounds, the fighters set a torrid pace, Porpramook with his classic jab-cross-hook combinations, and Wahyudi with his just-miss haymakers. The ending was unfortunate and anti-climatic. At the beginning of round eleven the referee stopped the bout and called in the doctor to look at Wahyudi’s swollen left eye. The slow, constant thudding he received had caught up with him and the doctor stopped the bout. Wahyudi forced Porpramook to use his complete arsenal of weapons and won over the crowd in the process. Porpramook goes to 15-0 with 11 KOs while Wahyudi drops to 3-2 with 3 KOs.Porsawan Porpramook recently became a member of the ever-expanding Krating Daeng Gym family; under the guidance of promoter Virat Vajiratanawongse, he looks on his way to bigger and better things. Before starting his boxing career in 2003, the Thai had been the Lumpini stadium 105 lb. Muay Thai champion.

Filipinos March On

Manny Pacquiao vs. TBA and Erik Morales

Shortly after being brutalized by Manny Pacquaio, Erik Morales let it be known he’d like to get in the ring with the Filipino one more time. He’ll get his chance when the two get together once again on September 16th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Pacman has expressed an interest in fighting a tune-up in Manila, sometime in May, with Javier Jauregui and Oscar Larios mentioned as possible opponents. In September of last year, Jauregui defeated Randy Suico of the Philippines and Filipino fans would be more than happy to see Pacquiao avenge the loss.

Eagle Kyowa vs. Rodel Mayol

One fight which could possibly be on the undercard of a Manny Pacquiao fight in Manila is Eagle Kyowa (Thailand) vs. Rodel Mayol (Philippines). The fight is not yet confirmed and could also take place in Japan. Although Kyowa is originally from Thailand, he is based in Japan where he has fought all but his first five fights.March 3, 2006 – Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, CA, USA

Undefeated IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (24-0, 19 KOs) is set to face Diosdado Gabi (26-2-1, 18 KOs) of the Philippines. Darchinyan recently signed with promoter Gary Shaw and is hoping to fight a fighter everyone mentions but rarely fights, Jorge Arce.

The bout will be televised on the Showtime series “ShoBox: The Next Generation”.

February 3, 2006 – Las Vegas, Nevada

Z Gorres dominated Mexican Jose Alfredo Tirado to win a unanimous decision and improve his record to 22-1 with 11 KOs. Tirado drops to 24-9 with 19 KOs. Super featherweight Czar Amonsot (14-1-1, 10 KOs) scored a unanimous decision over Mexican foe Christian Favela (11-10-4, 8 KOs).Both fighters are trained by Freddie Roach.

February 5, 2006 – Nagoya, Japan

Randy Suico rebounded from his defeat in September to Javier Jauregui and registered a fourth round TKO over Ryuhei Sugita of Japan. Suico dropped Sugita in round two before finally stopping him in round four of the scheduled twelve round contest.

Boxing to Be Scrapped From Olympics?

According to the Los Angeles Times, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is threatening to drop amateur boxing from the Olympics unless major reforms are instituted. The status of boxing in the 2008 games is unclear and is dependent on the governing body of amateur boxing, AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur) revising the way bouts are scored and how judges and referees are selected.In July of 2005, the IOC froze $9 million due to AIBA and IOC President Jacques Rogge stated “the money would be held until the federation provided a clear timeline and plan of action.”AIBA is experimenting with open scoring and has repeatedly stated it would be in place for the 2008 Summer Games however the IOC is in a rush to address the matter before the 2006 Winter Games begin.

Upcoming fights

Feb 11, 2006 – Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Toshimitsu Sakai vs. Rikiya Fukuhara

Feb. 13, 2006 – Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Daisuke Naito vs. Daigo Nakahiro

Feb. 14, 2006 – Thailand
Sataporn Singwancha vs. TBA
Sirimongkol Singwancha vs. Hayato Takabayashi
Wandee Singwancha vs. Kenichi Onishi

Feb. 16th, 2006 – Sannburi Stadium, Chainart, Thailand
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam vs. Gilberto Keb Bass

Feb. 17th, 2006 – Nonthaburi Pier, Nonthaburi, Thailand
Veeraphol Sahaprom vs Scari Korori
Devid Lookmahanak vs. Satoshi Usui
Napapol Kiatisakchokchai vs. Issa Sewe
Thong Por Chokchai vs. Noriyuki Nakata

March 3, 2006 – Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, CA, USA
Vic Darchinyan vs. Diosdado Gabi

March 4th, 2006 – Golden Gate Arena, Tenggarong City, Borneo, Indonesia
Chris John vs. Juan Manuel Marquez