Kaew faces world No 1 for Olympic berth

The 31-year-old Kaew overcame a height disadvantage by bustling up inside the German’s reach to land shots from close range. Pinning Touba to the ropes towards the end of the first round, he blitzed him with a combination to snatch a 3-2 lead.  
In the second round, the German suffered an eight count after the Thai’s straight right broke through his guard. Scenting victory, Kaew upped his tempo and had Touba wobbling again with a right hook that stretched his lead to 8-4.
Staring defeat in the face, the German went all out from the start of the final round, but Kaew drew on his experience, reverting to hitandstepaway tactics to secure an impressive 14-8 victory.
Kaew is now only one bout away from booking a ticket to the London Olympics next year. To achieve that, the Thai needs to defy the odds against Azerbaijan’s Salman Alizada, currently ranked world No 1 in the 49kg division.
“Today I faced the tallest opponent in my division, so our game plan was to stay close with him.
“Thanks to my firstround bye, I was out of the ring for eight days leading up to this fight. That affected my physical condition – I tired quickly and felt exhausted after the second round.
“There is no doubt that I’m the underdog against the Azerbaijani in next round. I’ll box carefully and give everything,” said Kaew.