By James Goyder 

In theory Crison Omao should have been a good test for Eakwatan Ruaviking. The Filipino has a decent record and has been in with some big names including Donnie Nietes and Wanheng Meenayothin.

Unfortunately, as the small crowd in Hua Hin on Wednesday afternoon quickly discovered, Omao has no ambition to win this fight. The Filipino's sole ambition was to go the distance and he did it.

In the opening round it appeared that Eaktawan's power was troubling Omao, who threw very few punches and used his footwork to avoid exchanging as much as possible.


 
However it soon became clear that this was Omao's gameplan, to go the distance while taking as little damage as possible. It forced Eaktawan to spend 36 minutes chasing him around the ring.

The frustrating thing is that the Filipino is clearly a skilled fighter. His footwork and head movement are excellent and when punches did connect they mostly struck an arm or glove.

Omao did take a few shots to the body but was very careful to avoid being hit in the head. The referee finally warned him for running away in the final round but it was too little too late.

The scorecards all read 120-108 although no-one in attendance needed to wait for the announcement to realize this would be the case. The win moves Eaktawan up to 24-5 but he will have been in more meaningful sparring sessions.
 
Omao drops to 23-16-4 and Eaktawan's name can be added to those of Nawaphon Por Chokchai, Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep Wanheng Menayothin who have all beaten the Filipino in Thailand.

With losses to Naoya Inoue and Merlito Sabillo also on Omao's record he is clearly regarded as a safe pair of hands for promoter's who want to hand their fighter a guaranteed win.
 
It's a pity because Omao can box and could potentially have caused Eaktawan problems if he had wanted to. But boxing is never going to be big in Thailand if promoters persist in televizing these type of matchups.

The first fight of the day did provide drama, although not of a particularly competitive nature. Undefeated Thai light welterweight Downua Ruawaiking (11-0) floored Indonesian journeyman Rusmin Kie Raha (15-15-3) with a thunderous right hand in the opening round.
 
There was also a win for Sukkasem Kiatyongyut  (19-8-0) who stopped the inexperienced Yodpadeang Sithsaithong (1-1) with a body shot in the second round.