Nawaphon ready to take on Mexican
Nawaphon Nakhonloung has vowed to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight championship fight with Mexican rival Juan Hernandez on March 4 at Nimibutr Stadium and join the country’s elite group of boxers who have achieved such a feat.
The bout pits the Thai number one challenger against the 29-year-old Mexican, lying next to him in the rankings, for the vacant title in the 112-pound class after Nicaragua’s Roman Gonzalez decided to move up a division.
For Nawaphon, boasting an unbeaten record of 36 wins with 28 knockouts, it presents an opportunity to join an elite fighter such as Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, who won the WBC flyweight championship before.
“I’m ready and fit. I could fight anytime. I’ll try to use my height and range to good effect. He looks smaller than me. I’ve trained intensively, with more than 200 sparring bouts under my belt. I have former champions like Srisaket [Sor Rungvisai] and Suriyan [Sor Rungvisai] as my sparring partners. I think I’m strong and 100 percent confident,” the Nakhon Ratchasima native said.
Surachart Pisitwuttinan, chairman of Nakhonloung Promotion, who is better known as “Sia Hui” in boxing circles, has tipped Nawaphon to become the country’s latest fighter to win the WBC title, one of three widely-recognised boxing organisations.
“He [Nawaphon] has to wait for this fight for more than two years. Roman Gonzalez avoided facing him in the ring until he vacated the title. We worked really hard to bring the bout to our country. Hernandez set many conditions to come here.
“We’ve trained Nawaphon for four months. I get up at the crack of the dawn to oversee his training. We now have a month to go before the fight, which I think we could reach our targeted 299 sparring bouts.
“He seems to have a weak spot in the middle of his body. We have to keep a close eye on his lethal left hook. It’s by no means an easy job for Nawaphon.
“All the Mexican fighters want to win WBC title. That’s because the WBC chairman is a Mexican and the organisation’s headquarters is situated in Mexico so it has more meaning to them,” said Surachart, who has been behind the success of a number of Thai champions.
Nawaphon’s title bout, which is organised by BEC Tero Entertainment, will be held indoors at Nimibutr Stadium, something uncommon in the country where boxing fights usually take place outside. The company also boasted that the fight would change the face of boxing bouts in the country with the use of lighting and sound technology. Tickets for the fight start at Bt100 and go on sale on the website, thaiticketmajor.com, on January 27.
