By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Former Philippine champion Eric Barcelona has been beaten in a Pan Asia Boxing Association bantamweight title fight by champion Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat in Lopburi which is about 150 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, Thailand.
It was a close fight based on the scorecards of the three Thai judges, two of whom gave it to the hometown fighter 115-114 while the third judge had him the winner by a two-point margin 115-113.
Barcelona who was ranked No.2 by PABA drops to 38-13-4 with 12 knockouts while Rachawat improves to 21-1 with 15 knockouts.
Rachawat won the vacant PABA 118 pound title on October 31, 2005 by a third round TKO over Allan Fuentes of the Philippines in the Thai capital of Bangkok.
