Pungluang Sor Singyu is preparing for the biggest fight of his life when he takes on AJ Banal in the main event at Pinoy Pride 17.
The vacant WBO Bantamweight Title will be on the line but he will have to win it the hard way in front of 18,000 boxing fans in the Philippines.
Pungluang has only fought outside of Thailand once before but has bad memories of that experience when he was on the receiving end of a dubious decision against a Belgian fighter in Belgium,
?I am not worried about fighting in front of so many people but I hope that the judges are fair because when I fought in Belgium I thought I won every round but they said that the opponent was the winner. I am happy that the judges and referees for this fight will not be from the Philippines.?
That split decision loss was the only one of his career to date and he has put together 42 wins, with 27 of them coming by KO. After competing for eight years he will finally get to challenge for a world title on October 20th at the brand new SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.
To win the belt he will need to overcome ALA Boxing Gym standout AJ Banal who like Pungluang has only one career loss which came in a world title fight in 2008. 20 of the Filipinos 28 wins have come by way of knock out but Pungluang is in no doubt who the more powerful puncher will be,
?AJ Banal is fast and has good footwork but I have more power, I think I can knock him out. I hope to knock him out in the seventh round. I don?t know if he will be the best boxer I have ever fought, Eden Sonsona was very good but maybe AJ Banal is better.?
Although this will be Pungluang?s first time fighting in the Philippines he is no stranger to beating Filipino fighters having faced 14 of them and emerged victorious on every occasion. He is one of the top pound for pound boxers in Thailand at the moment but despite spending virtually his entire career fighting in his homeland he is still not as well known as he could have been if he had decided to continue competing at Muay Thai,
?Boxers are not as famous as Muay Thai fighters in Thailand but my fights are always on TV so now I am quite famous. I started Muay Thai when I was 8 years old because my Father took me to see the fights at Rajadamnern and I liked it. I fought Muay Thai 25 times but when I was 15 I decided to start boxing instead because I was better at boxing and Muay Thai hurts!?
Pungluang made his professional boxing debut when he was 15 and was paid 100 Baht for his first fight. Although his purses still fall short of those handed out to the top Muay Thai fighters at the stadiums in Bangkok if he can keep on winning he has the potential to earn much more than he ever would have done had he stuck with the ?science of the 8 limbs?,
?There is more money in boxing, when you are starting out in Muay Thai you only get 2,000 or 3,000 but boxing you can get 15,000 when you are just starting. If I had carried on with Muay Thai maybe I could have been a champion but I prefer boxing. If I win this fight I hope I can go and fight in some more countries, I would like to fight in the US, I like to travel. If I could fight anywhere it would be in Las Vegas.?
Pungluang normally trains in his native Ratburi but is currently at the Navy Base in Sattahip prepare for this fight, where he says he will be sparring with some good amateur boxers some of whom competed at the Olympics. If he can maintain his hundred per cent record against Filipinos when he faces Banal then Las Vegas could beckon and he knows exactly who he would most like to fight next,
?If I could fight any fighter it would be Nonito Donaire. I like fighting Filipinos!?
Pinoy Pride 17 is scheduled for October 20th at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. For more information visit: http://www.alaboxing.com/
