## Preview of WBC flyweight title bout
NAITO FACES PONGSAKLEK TOMORROW

March 7, 2008

TOKYO, JAPAN

WBC flyweight champ Daisuke Naito (32-2-2, 20 KOs), Japan, will take a difficult and dramatic test tomorrow (Saturday) when he faces former titlist Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (67-3, 36 KOs), a formidable southpaw of Thailand, with his belt at stake in a grudge fight in Tokyo, Japan.

Each tipped the beam at the 112-pound class limit. The WBC officials are as follows: referee Hector Afu (Panama); judges Hubert Minn (US); Alejandro Rochin (Mexico) and Jaebong Kim (Korea); and supervisor Chuck Williams (US).

It is their fourth encounter as Pongsaklek, 30, had previously kept his WBC 112-pound belt eighteen times to his credit, including a couple of easy victories over Naito, 33, but dropped an upset decision last July. The Thailanderfs overconfidence and poor conditioning (as he failed in his first trip to the scale, shed some poundage and barely made the weight) might account for his unexpected forfeiture of his throne. His mistakenly excessive confidence and underestimation of the Japanese challenger was simply understandable since Pongsaklek needed just 34 seconds to flatten him in their first encounter in 2002 and scored a well-received seventh-round technical decision (all 68-64) in 2005.

Pongsaklek had been unbeaten in no less than eleven years since 1996 before his unexpected defeat by Naito, so Thai people may firmly believe it was just a fluke that Naito could win the belt from the ill-prepared national hero and Pongsaklek will certainly regain his belt this time. Naito, in 36 bouts, has never get beaten by anyone but Pongsaklek twice, which may show his stable real power thanks to his tricky shift, invisible counters from strange angles and power punching (Naito collected 20 victims by KO out of 36 opponents, including current WBA ruler Takefumi Sakata with whom he battled to a split draw in 2001).

Pongsaklek is a crisp-punching sharpshooter with precision. Though he recently lost his previous zip and sharpness at his prime, he apparently turned a tactical boxer-puncher and specialist to pile up points to win steadily. Naito, on the contrary, is a big puncher who throws looping right crosses and smashing left hooks to overpower his opponent. Now that they are to face for the fourth time, if not so often as Jack Britton-Ted Kid Lewis bouts (20 times!) in 1915 through 1921, they must know each other well and neither is so young and flexible to change the fighting style any longer.

Naito, behind an upsurge of his popularity due to his lopsided victory over previously unbeaten gbad boyh Daiki Kameda last October, is now as famous a boxer among the general public here as Koki Kameda, ex-WBA light-fly champ and now WBA#1/WBC#3 flyweight contender. Should you score a revenging victory of your previous two-time conqueror, you must have gained the confidence and will believe in your triumph in a rematch. But Pongsaklek this time is serious enough to have passed the weigh-in at 112 pounds with his training pants, which may indicate that he is well-prepared and determined to regain his belt.

It isnft so easy to win back the title from the conqueror and new champion especially in the defending titlistfs home turf. Previously unbeaten ggolden bantamh Eder Jofre, Brazil, yielded his world throne to Fighting Harada by an astoundingly upset split decision (ref Barney Ross 71-69, Masao Kato 72-70, both for Harada, and Jay Edson 71-72 for Jofre) in Nagoya in 1965. It was said that Jofre had only underestimated Harada, so he would recapture his throne with great ease. Jofre, who had a weight problem in their first encounter, had been training strenuously in Brazil, already made the bantam limit upon his arrival in Japan, and looked much smaller than in his previous appearance here. Jofre scaled in at 116, no less than two pounds under the class limit. Accordingly the Brazilian was less powerful than a year before, and lost again to Harada this time by a close but unanimous decision (69-68, 71-68 and 71-69) in Tokyo in 1966. Regardless of the slightness in the scorecards, Jofre looked more a loser than a winner.

There were opposite examples, of course, in history. Unheralded and neglected Japanese challenger Yasutusne Uehara displayed a come-from-behind one-punch knockout of WBA junior light champ Samuel Serrano in the sixth round to wrest the belt beneath the Thomas Hearns-Pipino Cuevas memorable affair in Detroit in 1980. Uehara was far behind on points as all the judges had seen it 50-45 before the trick happened. It might be really a fluke, as Serrano impressively regained his belt from Uehara by a unanimous nod (147-143, 144-142 and 145-142) in their grudge fight in Wakayama, Japan, eight months later.

In short, Naito is more powerful, while Pongsaklek is more skillful. It's hard to pick a winner in such a competitive fight, but Pongsaklek has a tool to outpunch and outfox Naito especially in the close quarter, while Naito has a hometown advantage, plus his increased physical power through scientifically trained by a conditioning coach (as Michael Spinks was successful against Larry Holmes with Macky Silstonefs coaching). Wefll watch what will happen tomorrow.

The Naito-Pongsaklek main event will start at 7:55PM at the Ryogoku Sumo Arena to be telecast live both in Japan and Thailand. This show is presented by Miyata Promotions.

(3-7-08)

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