Thammanoon Niyomtrong W12 Junior Zarate ... On the last night of the WBC convention in Bangkok,Thammanoon Niyomtrong a/k/a Knockout CP Freshmart defeated Junior Zarate by convincing unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC light flyweight belt. The WBC vacated the title and demoted Carlos Cañizales to champion in recess because he can’t travel outside Venezuela. Zarate came from Argentina to fight in Freshmart's home country, on the second floor of the Marriott Marquis in Queens Park, Bangkok.

 

After a quiet opening round Zarate was snapping out the left jab, but the shorter Freshmart was going for the body. Freshmart drove Zarate to the ropes and unleashed the heavier punching power. By the bout's midway point, Freshmart was throwing punches in clusters and Zarate was showing the effects of crunching body punches. But by the tenth round, Freshmart wasn’t so fresh. He was noticeably running out of steam while Zarate had gained his second wind. He landed some good combinations and made good use of neat footwork. It was Zarate's best round, but it was not enough.

 

In the eleventh, Freshmart crashed a short left hook into Zarate’s head and avoided potential retaliation. Occasionally switching to southpaw hadn’t helped Zarate’s cause and only made him more vulnerable. In the final round after a brief hug, Zarate kept the punches coming, but it was clear that Freshmart, a former WBA minimumweight monarch, would become a two-time champion.

 

Ryutaro Nakagaki W10 Kitidech Hirunsuk... On the undercard, Ryutaro Nakagaki from Japan defeated Thai Kitidech Hirunsuk by split decision from the five judges ringside, to win a super flyweight contest after ten absorbing rounds. The well-schooled Japanese southpaw had to contend with some fierce early attacks and some flailing right hands, but he soon settled into his rhythm, with his precise right jab finding the mark more often than not. And following in with an array of effective lefts, particularly to the head. As both tired down the stretch the fighting became shorter range and more ragged with clinching. The power of the Thai, who landed less was still in evidence from the Japanese fighter’s puffy cheekbones, but he stayed composed and held it together, although he was under increasing pressure in the championship rounds.