A Wild One in Thailand Produced the 2021 TSS Round of the Year

On December 14, Thammanoon Niyomtrong, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, successfully defended his WBA minimumweight title for the tenth time with a fifth-round stoppage of Robert Paradero, a tough but wild-swinging Pinoy, in a wild one in Phuket, Thailand.

Paradero (18-2) fights like a mini-Deontay Wilder throwing windmill punches and when he lands, he can do serious damage. However, against Freshmart (pictured on the left) he was done in by a hard right to the head. He fell over, then got up too quickly (a la Zab Judah) and then fell all over the ring like Trevor Berbick against Mike Tyson. It would have been four times had he not been rescued by the ring doctor.

While that in itself was noteworthy, the real action came in round four when crazy (or maybe lazy) became the new norm.

At least four knockdowns were registered, three by Freshmart and one by Paradero who also landed a vicious shot to the head while CP was down. But wait! Though each was a crystal-clear legitimate knockdown, the oblivious referee, Chalerm Prayadsab, called each a slip! There were five fights on the card and this was the only fight he worked so being exhausted was no excuse. His work was amateurish at best and deplorable at worst. But at least there was no disputing the fight-ending sequence.

The strange cadence of the well-masked crowd punctuating each strong punch (typical of Thai fans) together with live commentating throughout the arena on loudspeakers added to the bizarre atmosphere.

The fight “was entertaining as hell,” said prolific boxing writer James Slater who added that the little guys don’t get enough credit. Meanwhile, Freshmart (23-0, 9 KOs) continues to shine and is fast becoming a pound-for-pound candidate. He just needs more publicity.

And so, round four of this bizarre fight in Phuket was an easy choice for the TSS Round of the Year. Check it out on youtube.

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com and welcomes comments and/or questions.

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE