By Jake Donovan
A cut couldn’t even slow down Wanheng Menayothin’s unbeaten run.
It was enough, however, to bring an earlier than expected ending to his latest title defense.
The undefeated strawweight titlist from Thailand retained his crown following a technical decision win over Japan’s Tatsuya Fukuhara in their rematch Friday afternoon at City Hall in Chachoengsao, Thailand.
Scores were 78-74 twice and 79-73 in a bout which ended in round eight after the ringside physician ruled that a cut over Menayothin’s right eye was deemed too severe to continue.
As per World Boxing Council (WBC) rules—with its strawweight title at stake—the judges were required to score the shortened round to the point of the contest being stopped.
Prior to the anticlimactic ending, Menayothin (53-0, 18KOs) was well in control, far more dominant than was the case in his close but clear win over Fukuhara 18 months prior.
More surprising was the fact that bout even reached that point. The familiar foes clashed heads earlier in the fight, leaving Fukuhara with a deep cut across his left eyelid and contending with blood from round two onward.
From there, Menayothin grew increasingly accurate with right hand shots, creating further separation between the two on the scorecards.
An accidental clash of heads left the local titlist with a cut over his right eye in round eight, which at first glance didn’t appear to be enough to end the fight especially in comparison to what Fukuhara had to contend with for more than six rounds. The ringside physician felt different, instructing the referee to stop the contest.
The win extends Menayothin’s title reign to 11 straight title defenses dating back to his Nov. 2014 knockout win over Mexico’s Oswaldo Novoa. Friday’s title fight was his first over a repeat customer, with Fukuhara (21-7-6, 7KOs) snapping a two-fight win streak following a 12-round defeat in their Nov. 2017 clash.
Menayothin now ranks third all-time on the list of most successful defenses in the history of the strawweight division. He is presently just behind countryman Ratanapol Sor Vorapin who recorded 18 over his two title reigns in the 1990s including 12 in a row before conceding his title at the scales.
Ricardo Lopez holds the all-time divisional mark, racking up 21 in a row in serving as the division’s last World (lineal) champion. His reign extended throughout most of the 1990s, moving up in weight late in 1999 to capture a 108-pound title—with his first defense and penultimate fight of his career coming in a knockout win over Sor Vorapin in Dec. 2000.
One statistical area where Menayothin has surpassed Lopez is remaining unbeaten through more career fights. Lopez officially retired in 2002 after 52 career fights, amassing a record of 51-0-1 (38KOs) and gaining enshrinement in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Menayothin is now 53-0, although still a long way to go before making his way to the Hall of Fame as anything more than a visiting fan. Where he figures to follow Lopez, though, is in desired unification bouts and securing a title win in a second weight division.
The long-reigning titlist has ruled out a unification showdown with longtime friend and promotional stablemate Knockout CP Freshmart (19-0, 7KOs). That would leave South Africa’s Deejay Kriel and Philippines’ Vic Saludar, both of whom are coming off of title fight wins in back-to-back weekends in February.
Absent those fights, Menayothin—who turns 34 in October—has openly discussed plans to move up to the loaded 108-pound division.
Friday’s bout aired live on Channel 7 in Thailand and was streamed live and legal on its website and YouTube channel.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
