January 30, 1999
PATTAYA, THAILAND-Veteran Thailander SONGKRAM PORPAOIN(left), 104 1/2, bled so
profusely to go on, and was awarded a majority technical decision over
Filipino bull-fighter RONNIE MAGRAMO(right), 105, midway in the 9th round to acquire the vacant WBA
interim mini-flyweight title at Pattaya City Hall.
Scored: Takeshi Shimakawa (Japan) and Wan-Soo Yuh (Korea) 78-73 and 76-74, both for Songkram, and Kazunobu Asao (Japan) 75-75.
It was a fiasco with some 10,000 partisan fans. Magramo, ex-WBF champ, furiously started fireworks from the opening session and took the initiative with his non-stop rallies. Songkram, 7 years his senior at 33, tried to outpunch the willing mixer with more accurate counters. But the Thailander sustained a cut, caused by an accidental butt, which went to become bigger as the contest progressed.
The 3rd round saw the more aggressive Magramo catch the Thailander with a straight right, dropping him on the deck for a compulsory 8 count.
From the 4th, it became a terrible extravaganza. They threw his opponent each other like a wrestling match. Japanese referee Kazumasa Kuwata penalized a point from the shorter Filipino for his repeated butts in the 4th. Magramo kept boring in, but Songkram attempted to counter him.
The third man had a very hard time breaking them away repeatedly, shouting "Clean fight!" Kuwata penalized another point from Magramo when he threw him down to the canvas in the 8th. Magramo was a stronger wrestler.
As Songkram's cut became very serious with his face in crimson, the ref declared a halt upon the ring physician's advice and then took a technical decision.
Songkram, who previously failed to win the WBA 105-pound crown from Rosendo Alvarez via an 11th-round TKO in Thailand in 1997, registered a second record of a twin both of whom became world champs, following his elder twin brother Chana Porpaoin who kept the same WBA mini-fly title 8 times until 1995. The first example was also a Thai twin-WBA super-fly champ Khaosai Galaxy (who scored 19 defenses) and WBA bantam ruler Khaokor Galaxy. Strange enough, both twins come from Petchabun Province of Thailand.
The new WBA interim champ Songkram raised his mark to 19-1-1, 10 KOs. Magramo, who had previously unsuccessful cracks at WBA champ Chana Porpaoin and IBF leader Ratanapol Sow Vorapin in Thailand, fell to 33-10, 28 KOs.
TAKESHI SHIMAKAWA (JAPAN)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | TOTAL |
| SONGKRAM | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 78 |
| MAGRAMO | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9(-1) | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10(-1) | 73 |
WANSOO YUH (KOREA)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | TOTAL |
| SONGKRAM | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 76 |
| MAGRAMO | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10(-1) | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9(-1) | 74 |
KAZUNOBU ASAO (JAPAN)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | TOTAL |
| SONGKRAM | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 75 |
| MAGRAMO | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9(-1) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9(-1) | 75 |
DEDUCTION OF POINT:
3RD ROUND, FOR HEAD-BUTTS, FROM MAGRAMO
8TH ROUND, FOR WRESTLING ACT, FROM MAGRAMO
REFEREE: KAZUMASA KUWATA (JAPAN)
(1-30-99)
Promoter: Niwat Laosuwanwat.
WBA supervisor: Shigeru Kojima (Japan).
(1-30-99)
PS Although Songkram Porpaoin is the "interim" WBA mini-fly champ at this time, he will elevate to a status of the full champ when Ricardo Lopez, the current WBA and WBC 105-pound champ, captures the WBC 108-pound diadem and renounce his 105-pound titles of the WBA and the WBC.