January 11, 2001
THANYABURI, PATUM THANI PROVINCE, THAILAND-WBC bantam champ Veeraphol Nakhonluang-Promotion, 118, kept his throne as he outpunched Mexican Sergio Perez, 118, all the way en route to a lopsided decision over 12 rounds at the Future Park.
Scored: Takeaki Kanaya (Japan) 120-108, Kodai Kumazaki (Japan) 118-110, and Jaebong Kim (Korea) 118-111, all for the 33-year-old defending champ. Referee was Malcolm Bulner (Australia). The triumph boosted the champ’s excellent ledger to 35-1-1, 25 KOs. The tough loser fell to 23-10, 16 KOs.
Perez, 27, showed a tricky switch-hitting form in the first two rounds, which made the crowd feel it might be a competitive fight. But Veeraphol, making his 8th defense, controlled the bout from the third round on, piling up points in almost every round. Perez showed his best just in the 8th canto, when he threw many jabs to take a point. The Thailander, whose coolness rendered him a nickname of “Death Mask,” took back the initiative and punched him with precision thereafter.
It became such a onesided fight in the final session that Perez kept running around just to survive against the formidable champ. Perez praised the victor, saying, “I didn’t expect the champ to be so strong. I underestimated his ability.” The champ coolly said, “It was successful that I followed the instructions of my manager-trainer Suchart Pisitwutinun’s instructions, though Perez was a durable opponent.”
Veeraphol captured the WBC 118-pound throne by annihilating Japan’s Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in 6 upset rounds in December, 1998, and extends his reign for more than three years.
The Thai veteran was slated to engage in a rematch, this coming March 9, with Japanese southpaw Toshiaki Nishioka, the WBC top contender, who held him to a split draw in Yokohama, Japan, last September. But Nishioka tore his Achilles’ tendon while training, so it will be postponed until May or later.
WBC top-ranked 130-pounder Sirimongkol Singmanasuk chalked up a fine knockout over Filipino Rex Marzan in 3. Sirimongkol is anticipating his participation in an eliminator in case of Floyd Mayweather’s possible relinquishment of the WBC 130-pound throne after his shot at the WBC light crown against Jose Luis Castillo this March.