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AJ BANAL?S CONQUEROR LOSES WBO TITLE TO NAMIBIAN CHALLENGER By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 03 Mar 2013  Sor Singyu. In what most fight fans consider an upset the conqueror of Filipino bantamweight AJ ?Bazooka? Banal, Pungluang Sor Singyu of Thailand has lost his WBO title in his first defense against Namibia?s undefeated Paulus ?The Rock? Ambunda in a fight held at the defunct Ramatex Textile Factory in the capital of Windhoek. Boxing writer Ron Jackson on Super Sport said in a pre-fight story that ?the odds are stacked against Ambunda who is surprisingly ranked No. 1 by the WBO.? The 32 year old Ambunda was fighting in his hometown and entered the ring with an unbeaten record of 19-0 with 10 knockouts but mostly against what Jackson regarded as ?limited opposition? while the 24 year old Pungluang had a record 43-1 with 15 knockouts. All three judges, Fernando Laguna and Manuel Oliver Palomo of Spain and Manfred Kuchler of Germany scored the fight for Ambunda by margins of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112. Britain?s Paul Thomas was the referee. Ambunda became only Namibia?s third fighter to win a world title, following WBA lightweight champion Paulus Moses and undefeated WBO middleweight champion Harry ?The Terminator? Simon. Boxingscene.com reported that Pungluang who backpedaled most of the first half of the title fight was on the ?receiving end of some vicious right uppercuts from Ambunda who elected to try and beat the champion at his own game by applying constant pressure on him.? The report said Pungluang was willing to stand and trade, ripping combinations of hooks to the body but it was Ambunda who was setting the pace and getting the better of some exciting exchanges.? It said the Thai champion turned aggressive in round seven and scored with more body shots but whereas AJ Banal had started to fade in the latter rounds when they fought for the vacant title in Manila last year, the Namibian challenger showed no signs of fatigue and continued to press forward. Boxingscene.com reported that ?a strong eleventh round for Ambunda left Pungluang knowing he probably needed a knockdown to win the fight and he came agonizingly close to getting it, bombarding the hometown hero with punches in the final round which send him stumbling backwards but didn't quite succeed in putting him down for a count.? Ambunda was hanging on for dear life but once he had bought enough time to regain his composure he was able to use his footwork to stay out of harm's way until the final bell. Both fighters celebrated at the end of a contest which at times looked like it could be a 'Fight of the Year' contender . Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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