Pongsaklek slips to shock defeat against Jaro
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam lost his WBC flyweight belt in controversial circumstances yesterday, when the Thai world champ suffered a shock sixth-round knockout at the hands of Filipino Sonny Boy Jaro in Chon Buri.
Jaro (34-10-5, 24 KO) scored the shock win over Pongsaklek (83-4-2, 44 KO) in a rainslicked ring that had the Thai slipping and stumbling throughout the fight.
Pongsaklek opened the fight uncharacteristically passive in the face of an aggressive challenger whose bustling style seemed to suit the slippery conditions better.
After slipping to the canvas in the first round, the home fighter fared better in the second and third rounds, but was down again in the fourth, though the referee ruled a slip. Pongsaklek got up only to be floored by a genuine punch from Jaro. The bell then came to the jellylegged champion’s rescue just as Jaro was closing in for the kill.
There was no reprieve two rounds later, though, when Jaro put Pongsaklek down again. The champ rose and stepped into a storm of thundering blows, with Jaro raining down punches in a bid to end the fight in the sixth. Trapped against the ropes, Pongsaklek buckled under the pressure and the referee leapt in to put a halt to the fight.
Given the controversial conditions of the fight plus Pongsaklek’s status as a WBC legend, the Thai fighter can expect to be offered a rematch. When that happens, it will be up to the man from Nakhon Ratchasima to prove that, at 34, he can still rule the flyweight division.
