By Jake Donovan
Amnat Ruenroeng survived a knockdown and flirted with disqualification, but in the end managed to land enough to edge out McWilliams Arroyo to remain unbeaten Wednesday afternoon in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Things went well for the defending titilsit early on, looking to impose his will an the unsuspecting challenger. Action tightened up in rounds two and three, with Arroyo timing Ruenroeng but never truly mounting a sustained attack to definitively sway the judges.
As the fight threatened to slip away, Arroyo produced the first game-changing sequence of the fight in round six. Recovering from being shoved to the canvas - for the second time in as many rounds - the once-beaten challenger came roaring back, connecting with an overhand right and left hook. The latter shot landed flush on Ruenroeng's temple, producing the bout's first knockdown.
Ruenroeng barely beat the count and looked spent, but caught a break. Aged referee Pat Russell mistook the five-second warning clicker as the bell, thus ending the round early, the first of at least four times in which he would make such an error.
Both fighters began to tire over the course of the second half of the contest, which featured plenty of clinching and quite a bit of fouling. Ruenroeng was warned for hitting on the break and for holding and pushing. Both fighters were giving a scolding late in the fight after tumbling to the canvas, doing their best to keep it clean for the remainder of the evening.
Scores of 115-114 and 114-113 on two cards were enough for Ruenroeng to remain unbeaten and a flyweight titlist, as he moves to 14-0 (5KOs). The bout was the second defense of the belt he acquired in a vacant title fight win over Rocky Fuentes earlier this year. Sandwiched in between is his biggest win to date, a 12-round decision over previously unbeaten former two-division champ Kazuto Ioka this past May.
Arroyo managed a 114-113 tally on one card, but ultimately came up short in his first title bid as he falls to 15-2 (13KOs). A member of the 2008 Puerto Rico Olympic Boxing team along with twin brother McJoe Arroyo, the bout was his first in Asia since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The loss snaps a 12-fight win streak, his most recent victory - a 2nd round knockout of Philippines' Froilan Saludar this past June - earning the title fight opportunity.
UNDERCARD
Opening the telecast, Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr. and Tatsuya Fukuhara battled to a draw in an entertaining junior flyweight scrap.
Fukuhara, fighting outside of his native Japan for the first time in his young career, was the aggressor throughout the contest but could never quite seize full control of the contest. Sakreerin Jr. once again proved to be a tough out, almost always having a response for everything his visiting opponent threw his way.
Scores weren't announced in the end, as both fighters hands were randomly raised by a cornerman in celebrating the fight literally fought on even terms.
Fukuhara is now 13-4-5 (4KOs). The 25-year old southpaw served as the opponent of choice for the pro debut of Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of reigning 108 lb. king Naoya Inoue.
The younger Inoue beat Fukuhara in six rounds, then went on to an eight round decision in his next fight over Sakkreerin, who is now 24-3-1 (15KOs). The 21-year old second generation boxer fought at home for his second straight fight following back-to-back trips to Japan. The loss to Inoue came four months after his biggest win to date, a 3rd round stoppage over a weight-drained Ryo Miyazaki.
Both fights aired live on Thailand Channel 7 and its online streaming service .
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Amnat Ruenroeng survived a knockdown and flirted with disqualification, but in the end managed to land enough to edge out McWilliams Arroyo to remain unbeaten Wednesday afternoon in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Things went well for the defending titilsit early on, looking to impose his will an the unsuspecting challenger. Action tightened up in rounds two and three, with Arroyo timing Ruenroeng but never truly mounting a sustained attack to definitively sway the judges.
As the fight threatened to slip away, Arroyo produced the first game-changing sequence of the fight in round six. Recovering from being shoved to the canvas - for the second time in as many rounds - the once-beaten challenger came roaring back, connecting with an overhand right and left hook. The latter shot landed flush on Ruenroeng's temple, producing the bout's first knockdown.
Ruenroeng barely beat the count and looked spent, but caught a break. Aged referee Pat Russell mistook the five-second warning clicker as the bell, thus ending the round early, the first of at least four times in which he would make such an error.
Both fighters began to tire over the course of the second half of the contest, which featured plenty of clinching and quite a bit of fouling. Ruenroeng was warned for hitting on the break and for holding and pushing. Both fighters were giving a scolding late in the fight after tumbling to the canvas, doing their best to keep it clean for the remainder of the evening.
Scores of 115-114 and 114-113 on two cards were enough for Ruenroeng to remain unbeaten and a flyweight titlist, as he moves to 14-0 (5KOs). The bout was the second defense of the belt he acquired in a vacant title fight win over Rocky Fuentes earlier this year. Sandwiched in between is his biggest win to date, a 12-round decision over previously unbeaten former two-division champ Kazuto Ioka this past May.
Arroyo managed a 114-113 tally on one card, but ultimately came up short in his first title bid as he falls to 15-2 (13KOs). A member of the 2008 Puerto Rico Olympic Boxing team along with twin brother McJoe Arroyo, the bout was his first in Asia since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The loss snaps a 12-fight win streak, his most recent victory - a 2nd round knockout of Philippines' Froilan Saludar this past June - earning the title fight opportunity.
UNDERCARD
Opening the telecast, Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr. and Tatsuya Fukuhara battled to a draw in an entertaining junior flyweight scrap.
Fukuhara, fighting outside of his native Japan for the first time in his young career, was the aggressor throughout the contest but could never quite seize full control of the contest. Sakreerin Jr. once again proved to be a tough out, almost always having a response for everything his visiting opponent threw his way.
Scores weren't announced in the end, as both fighters hands were randomly raised by a cornerman in celebrating the fight literally fought on even terms.
Fukuhara is now 13-4-5 (4KOs). The 25-year old southpaw served as the opponent of choice for the pro debut of Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of reigning 108 lb. king Naoya Inoue.
The younger Inoue beat Fukuhara in six rounds, then went on to an eight round decision in his next fight over Sakkreerin, who is now 24-3-1 (15KOs). The 21-year old second generation boxer fought at home for his second straight fight following back-to-back trips to Japan. The loss to Inoue came four months after his biggest win to date, a 3rd round stoppage over a weight-drained Ryo Miyazaki.
Both fights aired live on Thailand Channel 7 and its online streaming service .
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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