Thammanoon Niyomtrong is once again locked into a mandatory title defense.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the sport’s longest reigning current titlist was ordered to next face Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov. The WBA strawweight title fight was mandated on Wednesday evening, the timing which could allow Dusmatov to fight for his first major pro belt ahead of his second Olympic bid.
“The body sent the communication to both fighters’ teams, who will have a period of 30 days to negotiate, starting this February 7 and ending next March 8,” WBA Championship Committee chairman Carlos Chavez instructed both parties in an official letter obtained by Boxing Scene. “Niyomtrong’s Super Champion status was conditioned to an eighteen (18) month mandatory defense period. Since his last mandatory fight was on November 29, 2018, the lapse has been expired since May 28, 2020 and he must face the next available contender, which in this case is Dusmatov.”
Thailand’s Niyomtrong (24-0, 9KOs) has held his title since June 2016, when he upgraded his secondary title after a twelve-round unanimous decision over Nicaragua’s Byron Rojas. Eleven defenses have followed for the 33-year-old from Surin, Thailand.
None have come, however, since a July 2022 points win over countryman and former WBC titlist Wanheng ‘TBE’ Menayothin in Chonburi, Thailand. Niyomtrong—more affectionately known as Knockout CP Market— spent the latter half of the year and all of 2023 attempting to sort out an ordered fight versus secondary WBA titleholder Erick Rosa.
The ordeal left Niyomtrong out of the ring for all of 2023. He was left off the hook and permitted to keep his title.
Dusmatov (6-0, 5KOs) turned pro in November 2019, three years after he a captured a Gold medal during the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 30-year-old from Andijan, Uzbekistan remains on a mission to do the same in the 2024 Paris Olympics, as he qualified for his native country after he qualified for his native country when he won the 2023 Asian Games outright.
His pro career has been slowed as a result, though he has done just enough to elevate to the top spot in the WBO 105-pound rankings. Dusmatov last fought as a pro in a ten-round shutout of Siphamandla Baleni last November 6 in Polyana, Russia. The feat marked his lone distance fight to date.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox