WBA “interim” bantamweight title holder Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym will fight the ordinary title holder Bernard Dunne in Dublin, Ireland, on September 26.

Poonsawat, the latest Thai boxer bidding for a world title, is currently in a training program at the Galaxy gym in Nakorn Pathom in central Thailand in preparation for the WBA title match at the end of this month. So far, he seems to be confident and does not consider the Irish title holder as a strong opponent, and said he and Dunne would have about equal chance of winning.

“I have studied the video records of Dunne’s earlier bouts. I think he is a fast striker, but is not as strong as Ukraine’s Wladimir Sidorenko, the only boxer who was able to beat me,” he said.

Thailand’s five out of six boxing athletes are still competing at the AIBA World Championships in Milan, Italy, with light flyweight Kaeo Pongprayoon viewed as the top dog of his weight class.

In addition to Kaeo, the other Thais competing at AIBA World Championships 2009 are flyweight Amnat Ruenroeng, bantamweight Chatchai Butdee, featherweight Wuttichai Masuk, lightweight Sailom Adi, and lightwelterweight Apichet Seansit.

So far, Chatchai has defeated Ghana’s Emmanuel Quartey by 19-2, while Apichet has lost to Hungary’s Gyula Kate by 13-4 in the first preliminary round.

WBC “interim” youth bantamweight champion Fahpetchnoi Sor Chitpattana of Thailand was killed in a road accident on Monday.

The 21-year-old Piyapong Sao-sawaeng who was known to his boxing fans as Fahpetchnoi left a military site at the Thai-Cambodian border where he worked to return home in Roi Et in the night of August 31, but never showed up and was found dead the next morning.

According to the report, his motorcycle slipped out of the road and clashed into a tree not far from his home. Upon examination, the forensic authorities believe he died instantly.

 Chucharoen Rawee-aramwong        Songchai Ratanasuban 

Muaythai promoters Chucharoen Rawee-aramwong and Songchai Ratanasuban are reportedly still having a dispute over the revenue sharing from the Lumpini-Ratchadamnern cross-stadium event in Bangkok on August 6.

Chucharoen reportedly demanded that the Ratchadamnern’s chief promoter Songchai pay him 140,000 Baht for the August 6 match of his fighter Chomthong Chuwattana, who lost to Nong O Sit O. However, he received from Songchai a check of 100,000 Baht, which the promoter rejected and had it returned to the sender.

On the next day, Chucharoen reportedly received a “thank you” note from Songchai. In retaliation, the upset Chucharoen traveled to the Sit O gym in Buriram in an attempt to recruit three top fighters, Kaimukdam Sit O, Kaimukkao Sit O, and Palangpon Piriyanoppachai to his camp.

The professional boxing career of former WBC champion Sirimongkol Singwangcha has likely come to an abrupt end as the pugilist has been arrested for drug dealing in the Thai city of Pattaya.

A team of Chonburi province anti-drug police arrested Sirimongkol, whose real name is O Eiamtuam, at 8.00 p.m. on August 29 as the boxer was driving a car, reportedly to deliver illegal drug to a buyer. About 28.4 grams of the drug, known as “ice” in Thailand, was also found with him.

Sirimongkol confessed that he was hired by a man known as “Lek” to deliver the drug to a buyer for 10,000 Baht. He said he had been using and dealing drug since he lost his world title in 2002, as he could not earn enough from boxing.

Thailand’s WBC “interim” flyweight title holder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam has defeated Japan’s Takahisa Masuda by technical knockout in the sixth round on Friday, while the Thai pugilist’s next match against Japan’s Naito Daisuke will be delayed to the beginning of the next year.

Pongsaklek, although considerably shorter, was able to land a right punch to the chin of the Japanese challenger, sending him down to the canvas for a count of eight in the second round of the WBC international title match held in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on August 28.

Thailand’s Olympic medalist Worapoj Petchkhoom is reportedly upset after learning that he has been banned from the national amateur boxing squad for three months and excluded from the upcoming SEA Games for modeling for a gay magazine, while the Thai boxing chief General Taweep Jantararoj says Worapoj would not be qualified for the SEA Games anyway due to his poor performance and discipline.

Worapoj, who won a silver medal from bantamweight boxing at the Athens Games, was reportedly upset when learning of the ban, saying he was not treated as favorably as some other national squad members.

Thailand’s two rival muaythai associations will meet next week to discuss the possibility of a merger as requested by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), although one of the two associations is saying such merger is not necessary.

The Muaythai Association of Thailand and Amateur Muaythai Association of Thailand have had a long history of rivalry, with each association trying to lobby Thai and international authorities while stubbornly refusing to cooperate, often at the expense of the sport, such as at the recent Asian Martial Arts Games when muaythai events nearly failed to receive endorsement from the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

GAISF, recently renamed as SportAccord, and OCA have pushed for a merger of the associations and are looking to bar them from participating in international events if they fail to do so. 

Thailand’s Olympic medalist bantamweight boxer Worapoj Petchkhoom has been banned from amateur boxing for three months, disallowing him to compete at the upcoming SEA Games in Laos, as a punishment for modeling for a gay magazine.

According to earlier reports, the Athens Games silver medalist appeared nearly naked in the Thai gay magazine STAGE, sparking the attention of the media and the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand (ABAT) which said national athletes are supposed to uphold good image. Worapoj, in defending his action, said the images, including the one on the magazine cover, were “sporty” and not obscene.

However, ABAT president General Taweep Jantararoj said at a press conference on August 26 that the association has decided to ban Worapoj from the national boxing squad for three months, which will bar him from representing Thailand in the upcoming SEA Games in Laos at the end of this year. Taweep said Worapoj’s images in the gay magazine are not considered obscene, but still they have tarnished the reputation of the national athletes.

Thailand’s WBC “interim” flyweight title holder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam and Japan’s Takahisa Masuda have passed the weighting and both says they are ready for the title match tomorrow.

The match will be held in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on Friday August 28 and will be broadcasted by Thailand’s Channel Seven from 2.00 p.m. onward.

The two boxers passed the official weighing today, with each found to be exactly 112 pounds and have good physical conditions, including eye response and muscle strength. The weighing attracted a large number of reporters, many of whom flew from Japan to follow the former OPBF champion Masuda.