Carlos Canizales will return to the country where he was initially robbed of the title he presently holds.
BoxingScene has confirmed that Venezuela’s Canizales will risk his WBC 108lbs belt against former long-reigning strawweight titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong. Their scheduled 12-round title fight is set for December 4 at Marriott Marquis Queens Park Hotel, the hosting venue for the 63rd annual WBC convention in Bangkok, Thailand.
The bout will headline the card that traditionally runs in conjunction with the event.
Canizales will attempt the first defense of the title he lifted from Panya Pradabsri, Niyomtrong’s gym mate and longtime friend. Pradabsri initially won the vacant title with a highly questionable 12-round majority decision over Canizales, 28-3-1 (20 KOs), whom many viewers – including WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman – felt deserved the nod.
An immediate rematch was ordered, which afforded Canizales with a rare home game. He seized the moment in a fifth-round stoppage in their second act on August 1 in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela.
There were talks of a rubber match, but Pradabsri – a former two-division titlist - instead announced his retirement in late August.
The former two-division titleholder Pradabsri announced his retirement just weeks after his recent stoppage defeat to Canizales to end his WBC 108lbs title reign. A 34-year-old from Bangkok, Thailand, Pradabsri decided that after having dedicated nearly his entire life to the sport, it was finally time to walk away.
“Thank you to everyone who supported me in my 25-year journey in the ring,” Pradabsri said in announcing his exit. “Now it’s time to take care of my family.”
Pradabsri leaves the sport with a record of 44-3 (27 KOs) over a very respectable 11-year career, along with a 6-2 mark in major title fights at strawweight and junior flyweight.
His legacy will be that he was the first fighter to take down Wanheng “TBE” Menayothin, defeating his unbeaten countryman to take the WBC strawweight title in their November 2020 meeting in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand.
Menayothin (birth name Chayaphon Moonsri) was 54-0 at the time of their first meeting, but Pradabsri was able to remain a step ahead and prevail via scores of 115-113 on all three cards. Their March 2022 rematch saw Pradabsri overcome a slow start to pull away and earn a more decisive victory over Menayothin to retain his title.
Two more successful defenses followed for Pradabsri before he lost the belt to then-unbeaten Yudai Shigeoka. Their October 2023 battle took place in Osaka, Japan, the first career road trip for Pradabsri – and also his final fight at strawweight.
More than a year later, he welcomed Venezuela’s Canizales to his home country for their vacant WBC junior flyweight title fight, last December 26 in Bangkok. Their entertaining 12-round battle was awarded to Pradabsri via majority decision, though in a horrific decision that left many in disgust.
Included among them was Sulaiman, who always considered Pradabsri a dear friend (a relationship he generally enjoys with most of the sanctioning body’s titlists). However, his professional side saw a final verdict that warranted an internal investigation – and, ultimately, an immediate rematch.
This time, it was Pradabsri’s turn to hit the road as he risked his belt against Canizales on August 1 in Caracas. The end result was his first – and lone – stoppage defeat, though he managed to floor the locally based Canizales in the fourth round before he was beaten into submission one round later.
There was loose talk of a possible third fight. The rematch seemed decisive enough that such a fight was unnecessary, outside of the handsome payday that would have come with a rubber match.
It’s a moot point, as Pradabsri seemed to agree with those who didn’t need to see a trilogy.
“I end my boxing journey here,” noted Pradabsri.
