By Carlos Costa
NAKHON SAWAN, Thailand - World-rated Chonlatarn Piriyapiyo (47-1, 30KO’s), the Thai featherweight who lost a landslide unanimous decision to WBA world super champion Chris John last year in Singapore, successfully retained his WBA Pan-Asian 126-pound title by scoring an eighth round technical knockout win over brave but hugely unheralded Jovill Marayan (8-13-3, 3KO’s) in a televised boxing/muay thai fight card staged here in the remote Village of Banpotpisai in Nakhon Sawan Province, Kingdom of Thailand.
The Filipino Marayan began aggressive, showing his willingness to pull the unlikely upset, but his punches caused no harm on the experienced Chonlatarn who was blocking and sizing him up for the fury he was planning to unleash later on.
Chonlatarn stepped on the gas in rounds two and three excerpting a damaging pressure on weaker 25-year-old Marayan who was becoming a steady target for the hellacious fire dished out by the menacing Thai warrior.
In the fourth, a full power combination thrown by Chonlatarn rocked Marayan to the core, sending the big heart pinoy to canvas for the first time.
Marayan managed to stand up and end the round, but a big damage was done. From then on Marayan was not the same.
Having his opponent visibly shaken, the Thai kept the pattern of applying steady debilitating pressure as hooks and straight kept on raining on Marayan.
Time seemed an allies of the relentless Thai till the arrival of round eight when a huge devastating combination sent Marayan to the floor for the second time in he battle. Again the brave Marayan managed to stand up, though obviously in bad conditions. The fight should have been stopped right there.
Yet, the Thai referee allowed more punishment to land upon the hurt Marayan till the inevitable happened: the Bulacan native went down for a third time flat on his back in the middle of the ring and the fight was over.
Currently rated as WBA #10, WBO # 5 and IBF #11, Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, handled by Pariyakorn Ratanasuban of Onesongchai Boxing, is ready to square off any of the world champions in those organizations.
In the past, the 28-year-old Chonlatarn was WBC Asian featherweight champion for over 7 long years since 2004 till 2011, but never had the chance to fight for the WBC world title.
BRUTAL CO-MAIN EVENT
In the co-main event, 23-year-old featherweight Thongtaeng Muangsima (4-2, 9KO’s) of Sakon Nakhon, Thailand, score a unanimous decision victory after knocking down and brutalizing Chinese leftie Jen Yu Jia (2-5-1, 1KO)
The Chinese warrior went down hard to the canvas, but bravely beat the count and ended the 6-rounder with a bloody nose and a badly swollen right eye.
In women's boxing action, 20-year-old Thai fight girl Anrey Sor Saenkamrang (3-1-1, 1KO) managed to recover from a knockdown to earn a draw with fellow Thai boxing girl Petchnatkan Bangmod Sport, who was making her pro debut.
Present during the boxing event in Nakhon Sawan were PABA Chairman Alan Kim of Korea, WBA international official Chalerm Prayadsab of Thailand and Japanese boxing matchmaker/reporter Kazuto Harada.
The card was a presentation Pariyakorn Ratanasuban of OneSongChai Boxing Promotions, the top muay thai and boxing promoter in the Kingdom of Thailand.