Srisaket pummels Japanese challenger to win WBC title

It took more than a year before Nakornloung Promotion could trigger an option to get the 29-year-old Japanese, three years his senior, to fight the third-ranked Thai challenger, for a title defence in the country after he wrested the belt from Suriyan Sor Rungvisai last March.

The wait was worth it for the southpaw Thai, who dominated the bout with the raw power of his punches amid loud cheers of the raucous home fans before successfully snatching the world title at his first attempt in his hometown. 

Such was the Thai’s dominance in the fight that it always seemed to be a question of when he would finish off Sato rather than whether he could win the bout as Srisaket pinned the Japanese to the ropes several times.

The writing appeared on the wall from the fourth round when the Thai fighter launched a barrage of punches against Sato, which left the Japanese shaking his head after the bell came to his rescue.

Srisaket had the Japanese wobbling again in the middle of the seventh round when he landed a body shot before releasing a flurry of punches but Sato managed to hang on until the bell sounded. However, the inevitable happened in the next round when the Thai pummelled the champion against the ropes and the referee eventually called a halt to the fight, which was greeted by huge roars from the partisan crowd. 

“Today, I boxed exactly as planned. We knew his weakness was in the middle of his body. I have to acknowledge that he was quite formidable, though. He should not have survived the seventh round after taking several big punches.

“I’m really delighted to realise my dream. I’ll try to keep this belt as long as possible. After this, I’ll get ordained for 15 days,” said a delighted Srisaket, who became the country’s 47th champion of the major institutions.