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WBC CHAMP OPEN TO DONAIRE UNIFICATION DUEL; WBC CONVENTION AS VENUE?
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 11 Jul 2007
World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wongjongkam of Thailand has informed the media that he is open to a possible unification war with newly-crowned IBF flyweight king Nonito Donaire of the Philippines.
''If they offer us a very lucrative deal we would want the fight,'' Wongjongkam's manager Piyarat Vachiraratanawongse told the Bangkok Post. ''Pongsaklek can fight anyone and anywhere in the world, it just depends on the offer. I think Pongsaklek is better than Donaire so it is up to Donaire to challenge us."
Donaire had stopped erstwhile unbeaten Vic Darchinyan last Sunday in Connecticut in what was described as a possible Upset of the Year candidate. Darchinyan, a brash and talkative Armenian based in Australia, had earlier said he wanted to face Pongsaklek, and his promoter Gary Shaw had even offered a $250,000 purse for the Thai champion to face him in the United States.
Pongsaklek (65-2, 34KOs), who won the WBC title with a shock first-round technical knockout over Filipino Malcolm Tunacao in 2002, is scheduled to make the 18th defence of his WBC belt against Japan's Daisuke Naito (30-2-2, 20KOs) in Japan next Wednesday.
He stands to make $100,000 for his bout against Naito, whom he had already beaten twice in the past, including a first-round KO over the Japanese in 2002, which established a record as the fastest knockout ever in a world flyweight bout history.
Pongsaklek has been padding his record against lesser opponents, prompting some experts to call him a 'paper champion' also due to his refusal to travel to the US to face big-name opponents.
Donaire had ealier been quoted as saying that he would also love to fight Pongsaklek Wongjongkam in a unification war.
A Philippine television network is reportedly planning to bankroll a possible Donaire bout in the Philippines, and the WBC Convention in Manila later this year might just provide the perfect venue for that unification war.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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