Pichit raised his mark to 20-1, 12 KOs. Lee reportedly dipped to 6-3-1,
3 KOs.
Oct. 17
BANGKOK, THAILAND--Fast-punching lefty PICHIT CHOR SIRIWAT(left) (previously
fighting as Pichitnoi Sithbangprachan), 108, easily whipped Korean
TAEKIL LEE(right), 108, in every round and had his eyes swollen so badly that
he was awarded a TKO win at the beginning of the 8th round to retain his
WBA light flyweight title.
It took place at the Convention Hall of Central Plaza Hotel in commemoration of the WBA Convention being held there. Some 4,000 partisan fans were in attendance along with participants of the WBA Convention.
Pichit scored his 3rd defense since he flattened Japan's Keiji Yamaguchi with a single southpaw right hook in the 2nd in Osaka, Japan, in Dec., 1996.
Scored after the 7th: Samuel Conde (Puerto Rico) and Ove Ovesen (Denmark) both 70-63, and Silvestre Abainza (Philippines) 69-64, all for the lefty champ.
It's a lopsided affair from the outset. The Thailander landed sharp one-two combos and southpaw right hooks to the shorter Korean in the opening canto. Pichit swept the 2nd through 4th rounds with accurate southpaw lefts. The 5th saw Pichit swarm over the crouching rival with a flurry of punches to have him at bay.
Lee attempted to attack the faster champ with less accurate and wild blows in the beginning of the 6th, but the champ took back the initiative with effective combos in the closing seconds of the round.
As Pichit battered him at will in the 7th, Lee's eyes were almost swollen badly. Referee Armando Garcia had the Korean examined by the ringside physician, and Garcia waived his arms to signal the champ's TKO triumph.
Pichit raised his mark to 20-1, 12 KOs. Lee reportedly dipped to 6-3-1,
3 KOs.
Pichit, whose last mandatory defense took place in Thailand with a unanimous decision over the then #1 contender and compatriot Hadao CP Gym, will be obliged to meet the current #1 contender Joma Gamboa, Philippines, in his next defense, because Pichit's mandatory deadline should be December 1.
PS This reporter confirmed the time of this TKO, and the Thailand Boxing Commission said that the bell to begin the 8th already sounded when the ref Garcia signaled a TKO. In fact, the ring announcer also said that Pichit won at the beginning of the 8th.
In a supporting 12, hard-punching lefty Thailander YODSANAN SOR NANTHACHAI, 130, retained his super feather title of the PABA (Pan Asian Boxing Association), as he overpowered Filipino Jeffrey Onate, 130, dropped him 3 times en route to an impressive KO win at 1:56 of the 2nd round.
Yodsanan, a sturdy lefty, ran his unbeaten mark to 17-0, 17 KOs. Onate reportedly fell to 19-10-4.
The powerful Thailander caught him with a vicious southpaw right hook to send him sprawling to the deck in the 1st. In the 2nd, he followed up with a barrage of punches to floor him again. Yodsanan went for a kill, and exploded a wicked right to the face and collapsed him for the count.
Pinit Prayadsab, Thailand, was the referee. Judges were Bob Watson (US), Derek Milham (Australia) and Ivan Zonich (Croatia).
Promoter: Songchai Ratanasuban in association with Yangsup Shim of PABA.
(10-17-98)