Srisaket Sor Rungvisai apparently managed to rid himself of any lingering ring rust with his last performance.
The former lineal junior bantamweight champion overcame a sluggish start to outpoint countryman and former flyweight titlist Amnat Ruenroeng in their August 1 clash in Bang Phun, Thailand. Sor Rungvisai surged ahead in the second half to prevail by scores of 97-94, 96-93 and 99-91 in their ten-round bout between two of the more accomplished boxers to ever come out of Thailand.
“I’m very satisfied with my performance,” Sor Rungvisai (48-5-1, 41KOs) said of his first fight in more than a year. “Amnat came in very prepared and we gave the fans a great fight.”
The bout was delayed twice before finally seeing the light of day earlier this month. It marked Sor Rungvisai’s celebrated ring return after a 15-plus month inactive stretch after having lost his 115-pound championship to Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27KOs) in their entertaining rematch last April in Inglewood, California.
Sor Rungvisai held a portion of the 115-pound crown dating back to his March 2017 decision win over then-unbeaten pound-for-pound king Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.
The verdict was widely disputed which—coupled with their 12-round war emerging as arguably the best fight of 2017—created demand for a rematch. Their sequel six months later established Sor Rungvisai as one of the sport’s top talents, leaving no doubt in a stunningly one-sided 4th round knockout of the Nicaraguan legend. Nearly six months later came his thrilling win over Estrada in their first fight in February 2018, which established championship lineage atop the junior bantamweight division.
Just one successful defense came of Sor Rungvisai’s lineal championship reign, a 12-round win over Irak Diaz in a decisive if not uneven performance in October 2018. More than six months later came the defeat to Estrada and the end of his title reign, which he’s ready to reestablish as early as his very next fight.
“I am looking forward to bringing the title back home to Thailand,” insists Sor Rungvisai. “Whenever he is ready, I have a few words for Juan Francisco Estrada.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
