By Jake Donovan
A 1st round knockout; a cuts-induced technical decision; a distance fight resulting in a major upset, and now a draw. There aren’t many themes left to unearth in the flyweight rivalry between Japan’s Daisuke Naito and Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.
Meeting for the fourth time – all with the Linear Flyweight championship on the line, Naito escaped with his crown with a split decision draw over former king Wonjongkam, Saturday at the Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, according to various wire reports.
There were no official knockdowns in the bout, though Naito was shoved to the canvas in the ninth round, earning Wonjongkam a stern warning from referee Hector Afu.
The final scoring came down to fighting styles preference. Those who favor volume punching went with the reigning champion Naito, the busier fighter throughout. Judge Alejandro Rochin was among the group, scoring the bout 115-113 for Naito. Judge Jae-Bong Kim fancied Wonjongkam’s crisper, more telling blows, seeing the action 115-114 in favor of the Thai guy.
Herbert Minn had a chance to break the tie, but instead opted to remain on the fence, with his scorecard of 114-114 resulting in a split decision draw.
Though not a win, Naito (32-2-3, 20KO) retains his linear title. It was the second successful defense of the crown he won from Wonjongkam last July in a bout that resulted in one of 2007’s best fights and biggest upsets.
Wonjongkam (67-3-1, 35KO) ends the four-fight series with Naito at 2-1-1, but with the last two fights leaving the ring without the flyweight title, after having enjoyed a reign that saw 17 title defenses over a six-year span. Both of his wins over Naito were among the lot, including a 34-second knockout in 2002, the quickest in flyweight title fight history.
The upset loss to Naito last July ended a 56-fight win streak for Wonjongkam, who captured the linear flyweight crown in 2001, with a crushing 1st round knockout of Malcolm Tunacao. Now on the wrong side of his prime after 71 fights and once again struggling to make the flyweight limit, it is unclear what will be Wonjongkam’s next move.
For Naito, the only way is up. Both of his career losses have come against Wonjongkam. Among his three draws was his ten-round stalemate in 2001 against current alphabet titlist and fellow Tokyo native Takefumi Sakata. A rematch certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing, though another all-Tokyo showdown could prove to be far more lucrative; a defense against unbeaten superstar Koki Kameda, whose bouts often draw record viewing numbers.
The seeds for a Naito-Kameda rivalry have already been planted; Naito’s first linear title defense came last October against Koki’s younger brother, Daiki Kameda. It was a foul-plagued bout that drew four point deductions, resulting in a lopsided win for Naito and Kameda receiving a one-year ban from the Japanese Boxing Commission for repeated fouls.
Nonito Donaire and Omar Narvaez also boast have-belts, will-travel status.
If any of those bouts were to materialize in 2008, it would be a good thing for the flyweight division, who for a long time has been loaded with talent, but crippled by the inability to get the top players to face one another. People can talk unification, but it is Naito’s responsibility as linear champion to defend against the division’s best – a task Wonjongkam never quite seemed up to during his six-year reign.
The options are aplenty for Naito; all he needs to do is act on them.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Please Jake can be reached for comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.