By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Thailand’s WBO Asia Pacific featherweight champion Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo lived up to his lofty  WBC No.1 and WBO No.2 rankings to score a 6th round TKO over Filipino journeyman Randy Megrino in Thailand Wednesday.

The undefeated Piriyapinyo improved his unbeaten record to 43-0 with  26 knockouts while Megrino dropped to 12-10-2 with 7 knockouts.

WBO Asia Pacific vice president Leon Panoncillo told the Manila Standard that Chonlatarn was “very precise with his punches and dominated tough journeyman Megrino, stopping him in the sixth round.” The time was 2:39.

The Thai champion’s promoter Pariyakorn Ratanasuban in a post fight interview said that negotiations are underway for a title shot against either WBC champion  Johnny Gonzalez or WBO champion Orlando Salido.

The 27 year old Piriyapinyo was coming off four successive  knockout victories while the 23 year old Megrino won a majority decision in a four round bout against Gabriel Royo who hadn’t won a fight and had a 0-4 record. That fight took place  last October 16.

Megrino had also previously lost by a 9th round knockout in an IBF Pan Pacific super featherweight title fight against another  top Thai, Fahsai Sakkreerin on June 17, 2011.

Piriyapinyo won the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title with an 8th round TKO over Filipino Sonny Gonzales on Septremnber 15, 2010 and in his last defense won by a 4th round TKO over Arief Blader of Indonesia on January 23, 2012.

Gretchen “Chen Chen” Abaniel failed to capitalize on another crack at a world title when she lost to Thailand’s Teeraporn Pannimit in a clash for the vacant WBO female minimumweight title in Bangkok.

The 26 year old Abaniel who  lost her bid for the IBF title to highly talented Mexican Katia Gutierrez by a 4th round TKO in Sinaloa, Mexico last December 10 after dropping a ten round decision for the Women’s International Boxing Association and WBC Asia Boxing Council title to Samson Tor Buamas in Sukothai, Thailand on February 19, 2011 started off well against Pannimit but faded in the second half of the bout according to WBO Asia Pacific vice president Leon Panoncillo and lost a unanimous decision.

Panoncillo told the Manila Standard all three judges scored the fight for the Thai girl. Salven Lagumbay of the Philippines and Indonesia’s Rois Muhammad scored it for  Teeraporn   96-94 while Thai judge Surat Soikrachang had the Thai girl the winner by a wider 98-92 margin.

Panoncillo said it was a good fight with Gretchen “doing well in the early rounds and was winning the first half of the fight.”

However, the WBO executive said Abaniel “lost steam in the later rounds Terraporn came out strong throwing more   effective combinations while Gretchen was more in a defensive mode, backing up and being less effective.”

Panoncillo said it was “a close fight.”

The younger 19 year old Teeraporn Pannimit had earlier also lost by a 5th round TKO to another fancied Mexican Jessica Chavez in an IBF light flyweight female title fight on January 14, 2012 but came back to win an eight round unanimous decision over Naporporn Superchamps whos real name is Napaporn Sor Ploenchit.

Abaniel  who is handled by former  Australian boxer Terry Mogg dropped to 10-4 with 2 knockouts while Teeraport improved to 16-5 with 5 knockouts.