Mar. 1, 1998
BANGKOK, THAILAND--Slick-punching lefty PICHIT CHOR SIRIWAT (previously
fighting as Pichitnoi Sithbangprachan, because his elder brother was
then called Pichit Sithbangprachan, ex-IBF fly boss. After his brother
hang up gloves, Pichitnoi turned Pichit), 108, proved too sharp and
smart for his compatriot and WBA #1 contender HADAO CP GYM (previously
campaigning as Kaj Chartbundit or Kart Chartbundit, as, in Thailand, "j"
in the last letter of a word is pronounced as "t"), 108, as the champ
controled the bout and floored him with a southpaw left in the 12th and
final session to retain his WBA junior flyweight title on a unanimous
verdict. Scored: Ferdinand Estella (Philippines) 118-111, Derek Milham
(Australia) 118-112, and Philipe Verbeke (Bergium) 119-108.
Pichit, making his 2nd defense, wrested the WBA 108-pound crown on a stunning 2nd-round stoppage of Japanese lefty Keiji Yamaguchi in Osaka, Japan, in Dec., 1996. Hadao, a veteran campaigner at 30, failed to win the WBA throne when he battled to a draw with the then champ Leo Gamez, Venezuela, in Bangkok in Jun., 1994. Though this mandatory title bout between the fellow countrymen was slated to take place earlier, it was inevitably postponed dut to some heavy effect by the notorious recession in Thailand.
The lefty Pichit, 23, started with faster southpaw jabs and straight lefts, while Hadao, an orthodox stylist, responded with left jabs and straight rights. Hadao caught him with roundhouse lefts and rights, and threw solid blows to the left speedster in the 2nd. The champ utilized his faster footwork and outboxed the slower but game opponent in the 3rd and 4th.
An accidental collision of heads opened a bad gash on the forehead of Hadao in the 5th. Referee Mitch Halpern, from Las Vegas, called it unintentional. Hadao kept bleeding from a cut, which became a great handicap for him. Pichit dominated the 5th as he showed quick attacks to the gory foe. The southpaw champ was in command in the 6th through 11th, as he solved a monotonous strategy of Hadao who just threw left-right combinations to the face and midsection. The faster and smarter Pichit often scored with southpaw right hooks, piling up points steadily.
With about 30 seconds remaining in the 12th and final session, Pichit landed a well-timed left cross and had Hadao sprawling to the deck. Hadao barely regained his feet, but looked exhausted and groggy enough. But Pichit adopted a safety-first way of fighting without following it up.
Pichit, whose previous Cuban trainer Ismael Salas left for Japan, bettered his mark to 19-1, 12 KOs. Hadao fell to 35-10-1, 8 KOs. The loser said, "This was my final opportunity to fight for the world title. I am too old to expect another title shot, so I will retire from the ring."
SCORECARDS
FERDINAND ESTELLA (PHILIPPINES)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PICHIT | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 118 |
| HADAO | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 111 |
DEREK MILHAM (AUSTRALIA)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PICHIT | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 118 |
| HADAO | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 112 |
PHILIP VERBEKE (BELGIUM)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PICHIT | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 119 |
| HADAO | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 108 |
Promoter: Niwat Laosuwanwat.
WBA supervisor: Shigeru Kojima, Japan.
(3-1-98)