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20 THAI FANS INJURED IN PONGSAKLEK FIGHT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 11 Apr 2007
Some 20 fight fans including veteran Thai announcer Vichien Nilikanon of TV 7 were injured in a freak accident that took place in Saraburi, two hours north of Bangkok by road, during the WBC flyweight title fight which champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam won after Japanese challenger Tomonobu Shimizu didn’t come out for the eighth round following taking a bad beating.
International referee/judge Bruce McTavish who refereed the WBC interim straw-weight title fight in which Oleydong Sithsamerchai won a split decision over Omar Soto of Puerto Rico said he was seated at ringside when “one minute into the first round of the Pongsaklek fight an explosion occurred behind me.”
McTavish said his defensive training taught him that if it was a mortar shell another would soon follow and his first instinct after falling to the ground was to try and evacuate the people around him but he couldn’t move because he was “pinned to the ground.”
McTavish recalled that “the heat was excruciating and I thought my back was on fire.” He said many people thought it was a bomb but it turned out that a fan had thrown a burning cigarette which “ignited the gas-filled balloons which were close to ringside” causing the explosion and flames.
The title fight resumed after ten minutes The Nation newspaper reported ”it seemed both fighters were in shock as they rarely threw punches” However, after the action picked up the 29 year old Pongsaklek soon showed his superb skills in what was described as one of his “easiest fights so far” against the No. 14 contender who was a replacement for injured fellow Japanese Junichi Ebisuoka.
Pongsaklek is the same fighter who battered Lito Sisnorio in four rounds last January in one of the many mismatches staged in Thailand by unscrupulous individuals in both the Philippines and Thailand. Sisnorio died last March 30 after being knocked out in the fourth round by former world champion Chatchai Sasakul.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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