CHACHOENGSAO : Pongsaklek Wonjongkam proved himself worthy of another shot at the WBC flyweight title on Friday, April 24 with a hard-fought points victory over rugged Mexican Julio Cesar Miranda.
Former champion Pongsaklek triumphed 117-111, 119-110 and 118-109 in the sweltering heat but those wide scores do not reflect the contribution from the visitor, who had the Thai in trouble early on in a decent contest which held the attention until the final bell.

Pongsaklek started brightly and was quick to jump in with long lefts to Miranda's body while the Mexican waited to counter-punch.
Miranda repeatedly switched stance but Pongsaklek had the edge in speed and punished his rival with rights over the top when Miranda tried to jab.
The Mexican loosened up in the second session and targeted Pongsaklek's stomach with hooks from both hands.

The Thai smiled after one attack but was then hurt with a thudding left hand to the body and moved quickly out of range.
That subdued the large, noisy crowd and the Mexican kept up the pressure in the third as he burrowed in with intent.
Southpaw Pongsaklek became pinned on the ropes and shipped two hard left hooks, one to his body and one to his jaw, before finally working free.
The Thai never looked in danger of being knocked out but he was certainly out of his comfort zone.

Miranda had a rhythm that worked for him but lost concentration in the fourth when he was cut over his left eye after an unintentional clash of heads.
The wound wasn't serious - the blood trickled down the side of his face away from the eye - but it spurred Pongsaklek on and the Thai regained control, finishing the session with leaping left hook that landed cleanly.
The pace dropped in the fifth, which was no surprise given the high temperature and fast tempo of the fight until that point.
Miranda was undoubtedly tough but he just didn't work enough while experienced Pongsaklek stayed a little bit busier.

As the action wore on, the Thai seemed less concerned by the threat posed by the visitor and was happy to stay on the ropes while countering at close quarters.
Miranda threw plenty of punches but all the quality came from the home favourite.
The Mexican had never been more than 10 rounds before but, with the end in sight, he upped his workrate in the final two sessions to make for an exciting finish.

Pongsaklek obliged with some good exchanges which delighted the crowd before the final bell and the formality of the decision.
Thirty-one year-old Pongsaklek should now be able to secure a fifth fight with WBC flyweight champion Daisuke Naito, from Japan.
Naito dethroned the Thai in July 2007 at the third attempt and then retained with a draw in March 2008.
Pongsaklek had won their first two encounters by stoppage during his reign of 17 title defences.

Naito first defends against China's Xiong Zhao Zhong in Shanghai on May 26.
The Nakhon Ratchasima-born boxer captured the ``interim'' belt with the victory and improved his record to 72-3-1 (38KOs).
Miranda, aged 29, dropped to 29-3-1 (22KOs). Referee was Yuji Fukuchi, from Japan.

This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post newspaper.
The writer can be contacted at juliant@bangkokpost.co.th

Written By : JULIAN TURNER
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