This past weekend, WBC minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin took a big step towards matching, or even surpassing, Floyd Mayweather's unbeaten record of 50 straight victories.
The Thai world champion seemed to be in his element in a makeshift ring in Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday when he recorded a unanimous decision victory over Japanese challenger Tatsuya Fukuhara.
The three ringside judges scored 116-112, 117-113 and 118-110 in favour of the 32-year-old Wanheng.
The upshot improved the unbeaten Thai pugilist's record to 49th straight victories with 17 knockouts. It was Wanheng's eighth successive defence of his title.
It was expected to be a tough fight for the Thai, who is better known to his local fans as Wanheng Kaiyanghadaogym, and the Japanese challenger did look ominous in the first few rounds.
Fukuhara, having his second crack at a world title after losing to compatriot Ryuya Yamanaka in his first defence of the WBO minimumweight belt in August, was successful in forcing Wanheng on the back foot in the opening four rounds.
Wanheng turned more aggressive but did not let his guard down. He relied mainly on firing punches and kept the judges busy. By the start of the ninth round, Wanheng's dominance in the points race was clear.
Promoter Piyarat Wachirarattanawong commented after the fight that he was relieved to see Wanheng win in an impressive manner.
"Today, Wanheng has proved that he is capable of beating top-class fighters," said Piyarat. "He has also showed the world that he is a versatile fighter."
Ahead of yesterday's fight, Piyarat had said: "We want Wanheng to match Mayweather's record of 50 successive wins and he beat a fine boxer like Fukuhara to make his record look good."
Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in August for a record 50th straight win, but the feat is not accepted in some quarters as McGregor is an MMA fighter who was ** his professional debut in boxing.
Commenting on Wanheng's next title defence, Piyarat said: "It will be another tough assignment as he is scheduled to take on Leroy Estrada, the No.1 contender from Panama, in a mandatory fight.
"We will be bidding for the right to stage the fight in Buri Ram province on Feb 9 next year, but a lot will depend on the proposal of the other camp also."
Wanheng is one of the Kingdom's only three world boxing champions at the moment along with WBA minimumweight title-holder Knockout CP Freshmart and WBC super-flyweight king Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
2023-10-20 03:23:02
