March 5, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-WBC flyweight champ Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, a lefty Thailander, will put his belt on the line against unbeaten Japanese prospect Daisuke Naito, 19-0-2, 14 KOs, in Khonkaen, Thailand, on April 19.
Pongsaklek, 43-2, 25 KOs, dethroned Filipino Malcolm Tunacao by a stunning first round TKO and kept his belt three times, beating Hayato Asai (TKO5), #1 ranked Alex Baba (Technical Decision 8), and Luis Lazarte (TKO2) to his credit.
Naito had a crack at the Japanese national title against currently WBC #9 ranked Takefumi Sakata, an unbeaten combination puncher, and fought a grueling battle to a well-received draw in Tokyo last July. Naito is a good puncher with a good heart, so he may show a better fight than Asai and Lazarte. But the southpaw champ boasts of his very busy punching and tight defense, plus superior power. It will be a good fight of the hard-punchers.