Boxing isn’t quite all the way out of the pandemic—a lesson Thammanoon Niyomtrong was forced to learn the hard way.
The boxing artist better known as Knockout CP Freshmart was forced to accept a late postponement of his attempted WBA strawweight title versus Siridech Deebook due to an extended state of emergency in Thailand. Efforts to combat the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic have impacted all forms of sports and entertainment, including the aforementioned all-Thai strawweight title fight that was due to take place Saturday in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand.
Representatives from Petpiya Fight noted to BoxingScene.com the uncertainty of when the bout can be rescheduled, though hopeful of getting the unbeaten champion back in the ring by August.
Concerns over the fight moving forward were first raised when the current state of emergency in place in Thailand was extended on May 20 by another two months. The latest battle against the infectious disease required such drastic measures after the nation saw a massive spike in COVID-related deaths and illnesses since early April.
The bulk of boxing events in Thailand since the first wave of the pandemic have taken place behind closed doors, including three fights featuring former lineal junior bantamweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Niyomtrong (21-0, 7KOs) has yet to fight since the pandemic, his reign stalled since last March when he earned a 12-round shutout win over Norihito Tanaka.
The unbeaten 30-year-old from Surin has held the WBA belt since upgrading his interim title reign in a 12-round unanimous decision over Nicaragua’s Byron Rojas June 2016. Eight successful title defenses have followed, including a repeat win over Rojas in November 2018.
Deebook (23-6-1, 13KOs) was due to enter his first major title fight. The 28-year-old has yet to land a notable win, though managed to turn things around—including a current six-fight win streak—following an 0-3-1 career start.
With the postponed event, Niyomtrong is forced to settle for the title of best strawweight by default. A major shakeup left him as the class of the division after his close friend Wanheng Menayothin (birth name Chayaphon Moonsri) saw his lengthy WBC title reign come to a close following a 12-round loss to Panya Pradabsri last November in Sawan, Thailand.
To date, Thailand has claimed nearly 150,000 total positive COVID-19 cases and 988 related deaths. Those figures are the result of nationwide numbers quadrupling over the past eight weeks, according to health reports.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
