June 13, 1999
SEOUL, KOREA-Slick-punching and unbeaten Korean INJOO CHO(right photo), 115,
impressively kept his WBC super-flyweight title as he positively
attacked Thailander PONE SAENGMORAKOT, 114 3/4, from the start
and flattened him with a beautiful countering right at 2:44 of
the 8th session at the ball room of Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel.
It's Cho's second defense since he dethroned Filipino lefty Gerry Penalosa on an upset decision here last Aug. Cho, a lanky footworker, displayed his determination to raise his stock from the outset after his previous lackluster performance in outscoring Joel Luna Zarate here last Jan.
The 30-year-old champ took the initiative to sweep the first three rounds, as he outjabbed and outsped the unbeaten Thailander. Saengmorakot, 25, occasionally retaliated with a left-right combination to the fleet-footed champ, who kept peppering him to show his faster hand.
Saengmorakot was in command in the 4th, when he connected with a solid one-two combo to shake up the upright Korean. The Thailander, in the 5th, threw good jabs and left-right combos, but Cho responded to his attack with light but faster punches.
The 5'7" skinny champ, unlike other Korean bull-fighters, turned loose in the 6th, as he stalked a bit shorter Saengmorakot from pillar to post. Cho also dominated the 7th with a fine display of fast rallies to the fading opponent.
The fatal session saw Cho land a countering right when Saengmorakot also threw a right shot. It's a perfectly-timed counter that sank him prone for the count. The fine KO, which raised Cho's mark to 15-0, 7 KOs, had the cheering crowd at its feet.
Saengmorakot, who tasted his first defeat, fell to 17-1, 6 KOs. But the WBC #6 contender showed his real power against the well-conditioned champ.
Scored after the 7th round-Marty Sammon (US) and Takeaki Kanaya (Japan) both 69-64, and Kodai Kumasaki (Japan) 69-63, all for the defending champ. Referee was James Jen Kin (US).
Cho is scheduled to fight his third defense against Japanese lefty Keiji Yamaguchi, ex-WBA light fly champ who outgrew the class, in Tokyo on Sept. 5. Both are fast-handed speedsters, so it will be a competitive match.
CHO |
||||||||
| MARTY SAMMON (US) | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | 69 |
| KODAI KUMASAKI (JAPAN) | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | 69 |
| TAKEAKI KANAYA (JAPAN) | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | 69 |
JUDGE |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | TOTAL |
| TAKEAKI KANAYA (JAPAN) | 9 | 9 | 9 | - | 9 | 9 | 9 | 64 |
| KODAI KUMASAKI (JAPAN) | 9 | 9 | 9 | - | 9 | 8 | 9 | 63 |
| MARTY SAMMON (US) | 9 | 9 | 9 | - | 9 | 9 | 9 | 64 |
SAENGMORAKOT |
||||||||
REFEREE: JAMES JEN KIN (US)
WBC #4 ranked feather INJIN CHI, 128, battered Thai #1 ranked feather SIENGTHIPYA SITSYASEI, 129, to the punch all the way to prompt the referee's intervention at 2:28 of the 5th round in a scheduled 10. Chi bettered his mark to 20-1, 11 KOs. Sitsyasei dropped to 12-4, 4 KOs.
Promoter: Kusung Lee's Poong San Promotion.
WBC supervisor: Dominador Cepeda (Philippines).
(6-13-99)
PS This reporter was the matchmaker of this title bout, and found a vastly talented singer before the main event started. As the Thai group failed to bring a cassette of a Thai national anthem, a Thailander sang it with a tremendously beautiful and strong voice. He was the Thai promoter/manager Sahasombhop Srisomvongse. All the people at the ball room admired his singing. Though the Thai challenger failed to win the world crown, Thailand could discover a genius singer named Sahasombhop. Congratulations!