November 25, 2002
November 25, 2002
OSAKA, JAPAN-WBC flyweight champ Pongsaklek Kratindaeng-gym Wonjongkam (45-2, 25 KOs), Thailand, will put his belt on the line against #2 ranked Japanese Hidenobu Honda(right photo) (25-1, 13 KOs) in Osaka, Japan, tomorrow.
It is an encounter of southpaws. Pongsaklek, 25 and two years his junior, tipped the beam at 111.5, while Honda, the perennial contender, 111.75.
The WBC officials are as follows: referee Bruce McTavish (New Zealand), judges Gus Mercurio (Australia), Gullermo Ayon (Mexico) and Jaebong Kim (Korea). The supervisor is the WBC president Jose Sulaiman.
Pongsaklek, making his 6th defense, is an excellent puncher, having dethroned Filipino lefty Malcolm Tunacao via quick annihilation in the first round in March of the previous year. The hard-hitting Thailander defeated Hayato Asai (TKO5), Alex Baba (TW8), Luis Lazarte (TKO2), Daisuke Naito (KO1) and Luis Martinez (W12) to his credit. He is not only a hard-puncher but also a skillful boxer with his tight defense.
Honda, 3 inches taller at 5’7”, is one of the most superbly defensive boxers with his good footwork and excellent hand speed here in Japan. He has been unbeaten for six years and a half since his first and last defeat by Keisuke Ohno by a 6-round decision in his 7th pro bout in 1996. Honda acquired the Japanese 108-pound belt by beating Ryuji Muramatsu on points in 1996 and kept it on 6 occasions before moving up to the 112-pound division in 2000. Honda was employed as a sparring partner by Marco Antonio Barrera prior to his showdown with Prince Naseem Hamed, and Mexican people praised Honda’s good reflexes and defensive ability. If necessary, he can fight as trickily as Hamed to confuse his opponent.
Since Pongsaklek is an early starter with his always dangerous opening attack, Honda must move to-and-fro to avert the champ’s trade-mark quick demolition. If Honda should be able to outleg and outmaneuver him, he may have a possibility to confuse and counter him by capitalizing on his potential speed and superior physique. Honda must be careful against the Thailander’s body bombardments which will be necessarily seen for him to stop the Japanese’ shifty mobility. We look forward to seeing a highly competitive fight.