Nakhon Sawan, THAILAND – The WBC World Championship for boxing’s smallest weight-class – the 105 pound division – will be on the line tomorrow, Tuesday Nov 2, in Nakhon Sawan, Kingdom of Thailand; and the two combatants have already successfully made weight.
Ranked # 1 strawweight fighter in the world by Boxrec.com, the 30-year-old reigning champion Panya Pradabsri (a.k.a. Petchmanee CP Freshmart), the very same Thai fighter who defeated long-time titlist Wanheng Menayothin (54-1), claiming his crown and preventing Menayothin to break Floyd’s unbeaten (50-0) record, weighed-in today at 104.71 lbs. (47.50 kilos), looking confident and in fantastic shape – more-than-ready for his 2nd world title defense.
His first defence was a round four demolition work over fellow Thai warrior Pattharapong Rueangsilanon last March; and after getting his first hurdle out of the way Panya now feels that the sky is the limit.
Panya’s challenger, 21-year-old Thai compatriot WBC # 19 Danai Ngiabphukhiaw (9-2, 5 KO’s), also looked in great physical condition while at the scale, stopping the needle at identical 47.50 kilos (104.71 lbs).
Betting fans in the Kingdom have Panya as their clear favorite. Indeed placing their hard-earned Bahts on the fists of the more accomplished defending world champion; though fans know too well, that in boxing nothing is written in stone… absolutely anything could happen.
Will solid fighter Pradbsri (36-1, 23 KO’s) make a successful second defense, brutally scalping his younger challenger.
Or will the unheralded, shy-looking, Danai Ngiabphukhiaw be the one to shock, stalk, outclass and overpower the over-confident Strawweight champion of the world? Who is destined for victory?
The Pradasri vs Ngiabphukhiaw world title battle will be broadcast live in Thailand on open TV on True4U Channel 24 at 6 PM(Thailand Time, GMT +7).
Boxing fans around the world may check the network’s official live signal here: www.true4u.com/live/
If the link doesn’t work in your region, then other links carrying the True4U live signal are easily available online.
WBC Ringside Judges are Royal Thai Army Colonel Pongpan Rattanasutorn and Associate Professor Visuth Yongaupagarn. Fight supervisors for the WBC are Surapote Phongjivanich of Thailand and Kevin Noone of Ireland.
The author Carlos Costa of Panama is a veteran fight reporter living in Asia with a lifetime passion for the sport of boxing. Carlos can be reached at [email protected], and whatsapp +639184538152