October 26, 2001
HAT YAI, THAILAND-Southpaw Thailander Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (who changed his nom-de-guerre from Pongsklek Singwangcha to Pongsaklek Kratingdaeng-Gym from this fight) successfully kept his WBC flyweight throne as he battered the perennial top contender Alex Baba, Ghana, and was awarded a unanimous technical decision due to the champfs nasty cut in the 8th round.
Pongsaklek, making his second defense since his coronation by an upset first round demolition of Filipino Malcolm Tunacao last March, began fireworks with the onrushing Ghanan from the outset, and took the initiative with his more accurate combinations.
The second and third sessions witnessed Baba keep coming forward but Pongsaklek covering him up and countering more effectively. In the 4th, Pongsaklek, 9 years his junior at 24, sustained a gash over the left eyebrow due to an accidental butt, and the referee penalized a point from Baba.
The Thailander, in the 5th, shook him up with southpaw lefts and followed up with left-right combos. Baba still kept boring in and took a point with his aggressiveness in the 6th.
The lefty champ turned loose in the 8th, when he swarmed over the Ghanan opponent with a flurry of punches. But his assault was abruptly stopped, as the third man saw Pongsaklek streaming blood too profusely to go on and declared a halt.
A technical decision was taken as follows: Masakazu Kanaya (Japan) and Franz Marti (Switzerland) both 79-73, and Gus Mercurio (Australia) 79-71, all for the defending champ, 42-2, 24 KOs. Baba, whose corner claimed that the gash was caused by legal punches, fell to 18-2, 14 KOs.
Pongsaklek is an excellent southpaw with a fine record, boasting of his crisp punching and tight defense. He may make his reign long since there are no formidable contenders at this moment.
(10-26-01)