January 29, 2001
SEOUL, KOREA-The official weigh-in of the WBC light flyweight title bout for tomorrow was over. The defending champ Yosam Choi, Korea, scaled in at 107 3/4, and WBC top contender and ex-champ Saman Sorjaturong, Thailand, 106 1/4. The highly anticipated rematch will take place at Central Millennium Hall.
The officials are as follows:
Referee Guadalupe Garcia (Mexico), judges Marty Denkin (US), Malcolm Bulner (Australia) and Masakazu Uchida (Japan) along with the WBC supervisor Frank Quill (Australia).
Sorjaturong annexed the WBC 108-pound throne by a shocking 7th round KO of Mexican Humberto Chiquita Gonzalez in Los Angeles on July 15, 1995. Since then, the mighty Thailander successfully kept his WBC belt on 10 occasions to his credit. But Sorjaturong amazingly showed a lackluster performance probably due to his failure to make the weight properly, and lost his title to ex-OPBF ruler Yosam Choi via lopsided decision in Korea on October 17, 1999.
The busy-punching Choi, 21-1, 10 KOs, kept it just once since chiefly due to the terribly declining economy there, stopping Chart Kiatpetch in 5 easy rounds in Korea on May 17 of the previous year. Saman, 3 years his senior at 31 and 45-3-1, 34 KOs, registered 4 wins including three within the distance since his upset defeat by Choi.
Samanfs exclusive promoter Sahasombhop Srisonvongse sorrowfully passed away last December, which certainly gives him great motivation to win back the title. That is an Oriental mentality. Choi, younger and faster, may have a local advantage in the chilling cold Seoul, but it may not be such an easy fight as their first encounter for Choi, even if he is a prefight favorite.
This fight was postponed from December 24 until January 28, then until January 30, and, furthermore, the fight place was necessarily moved from Pyongyang, North Korea to Seoul, South Korea because of political difficulties in persuading both governments to grant staging it north to the border.
(1-29-01)