Wanheng Menayothin retained his WBC minimumweight title with a unanimous victory over Melvin Jerusalem of the Philippines in Phitsanulok yesterday.
In his sixth defence of the 105-pound title, the 30-year-old Thai narrowly won 114-113, 114-113, 115-113 after 12 rounds.
Unbeaten Wanheng extended his record to 45 wins (17KOs), while the No.9-ranked challenger suffered his first loss in his 12-fight career.
In his first shot at the world title, the 22-year-old Filipino fought impressively in the first two rounds.
However, the Thai gradually found his rhythm and the scores were 38-38 on the three judges’ scorecards after four rounds.
Jeruselam was deducted a point for his low blow in the eighth round.
At the end of the round, Wanheng had a commanding 77-74, 77-74, 78-74 lead.
The challenger did well in the last four rounds but his efforts were not enough to dethrone the champion.
Wanheng’s manager Piyarat Wachirarattanawong praised his boxer saying it was one of the best performances of his career.
“Before the bout, I was worried that Wanheng could be in trouble but he did a great job today,” he said.
“The challenger was strong and well-prepared for the fight.”
Piyarat added that he wanted Wanheng to fight overseas.
“He is likely to fight in China in May,” he said.
Wanheng won the title from Oswaldo Novoa of Mexico in Thailand in November 2014 and has since won six bouts, all of which took place in the Kingdom.
Wanheng is one of Thailand’s only two current world boxing champions with the other being Knockout CP Freshmart, the WBA champion of the same division.
