Cuadras: Rungvisai 'Hits Hard,' Could Knock Out 'Chocolatito'

By Keith Idec

If you look at Srisaket Sor Rungvisai’s resume, you wouldn’t think he’d have too much of a chance to upset Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez next week.

The Thai southpaw has a good record (41-4-1, 38 KOs), has won 83 percent of his bouts by knockout and once owned the WBC super flyweight title. But the contender’s record has been padded largely against opponents who had losing records or were inexperienced compared to him.

According to Carlos Cuadras, those facts shouldn’t mislead anyone into thinking Rungvisai will be in over his head when he steps into the ring to challenge Nicaragua’s Gonzalez for that same WBC 115-pound championship Rungvisai previously held. Gonzalez is considered a heavy favorite over his mandatory challenger, but Cuadras speaks from experience when he says Rungvisai will be a dangerous opponent in their 12-round fight March 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Mexico’s Cuadras (35-1-1, 27 KOs) won the WBC world super flyweight championship from Rungvisai, but that technical-decision victory didn’t come easily. Their May 2014 match in Mexico City was stopped after eight rounds due to a nasty gash over Cuadras’ left eye, caused by an accidental clash of heads.

In adherence with the WBC’s heavily criticized accidental head-butt rule, Rungvisai had a point deducted for helping cause Cuadras’ cut. Cuadras won the fight on the scorecards of all three judges – Cathy Leonard (77-75), Mauro DiFiore (77-74) and Dick Flaherty (78-73).

“Rungvisai is a very strong opponent,” Cuadras said Thursday during a conference call to promote the March 18 card. “He hits hard. If ‘Chocolatito’ allows him to have his distance, he could very well knock him out. So he has to be very aware of that. He is a very tough and dangerous opponent, as I can attest to.”

Cuadras lost the WBC world super flyweight title to Gonzalez by unanimous decision in his last fight, September 10 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. He hopes victories by him and Gonzalez on March 18 lead to a rematch in their next fight.

The 30-year-old Rungvisai, who also has fought under the name Wisaksil Wangek, will make his debut in the United States when he faces the 29-year-old Gonzalez (46-0, 38 KOs). Rungvisai has fought just four times outside of Thailand since he made his pro debut eight years ago (the Cuadras fight; three fights in Japan early in his career).

Gonzalez-Rungvisai will be the co-featured fight before the middleweight title bout between Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) and Brooklyn’s Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs). The HBO Pay-Per-View telecast also will include Cuadras’ 10-round fight against Mexico’s David Carmona (20-3-5, 8 KOs).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.