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Pongsaklek will see where his future lies

JULIAN TURNER

Thailand's Pongsaklek Wonjongkam will be an interested observer when young karaoke king Daiki Kameda tackles WBC flyweight champion Daisuke Naito tonight.

Eighteen-year-old Kameda bids for the crown Naito snatched from Pongsaklek in July.

Part of the deal Pongsaklek's camp originally signed with Naito gave them two options on the Japanese fighter if he managed to win the crown.

When the Thai champion lost on points they sold the first option to Daiki to set up this evening's match in Tokyo.

Pongsaklek will look to take on the winner of tonight's contest in a bid to retain his old crown, if he doesn't sell the second option as well.

The chances are Naito will retain his WBC title in Japan but a match with Daiki would probably be a bigger money-spinner for the Thai.

Brash Daiki is the younger brother of former WBA light-flyweight champion Koki, who also campaigns in the flyweight division.

The pair are controversial figures in Japan as they are loud and outspoken, which angers many Japanese fans.

Daiki refers to Naito as a cockroach because of his awkward style and his brother also offers similarly uncomplimentary views about rivals.

Daiki, however, has carved a niche with young female supporters with a unique act that involves singing songs in the ring after each victory.

After beating Thailand's Fahpetchnoi Sor Chitpattana in July he did his usual karaoke act before moving to the balcony to serenade fans by playing the piano.

That win shifted him up the WBC ratings and made him eligible for tonight's fight, although experienced Naito is the favourite.

Daiki has only had 10 fights (all wins, seven KOs) while Naito is 31-2-2 and both of his losses were to Pongsaklek in previous WBC title challenges.

In fact when 33-year-old Naito was making his pro debut 11 years ago today Daiki was just seven years old.

His win over Pongsaklek was thoroughly deserved and his gritty performance attracted a lot of praise.

The Thai also had to dig deep and he nearly knocked Naito out late on when he was behind on the scorecards.

Some criticised Pongsaklek's performance but that takes away from Naito's effort _ he simply wanted it more.

If Naito does beat Daiki then it will be interesting to see how he fares against Pongsaklek in a fourth meeting.

I think the Thai will win, especially if the fight is held here, but it would prove little on the world stage.

Pongsaklek should already have been in big-money fights by now and he missed opportunities to fight Jorge Arce and Vic Darchinyan, who were both subsequently beaten.

If he regains his WBC title then the Thai should try and unify with the WBA champion.

At the moment that is Takefumi Sakata, from Japan, but he faces Thai Denkaosan Singwangcha on November 4 and the belt could change hands.

There are plenty of options to consider, including Filipino IBF holder Nonito Donaire, but first Naito and Daiki must clash and then Pongsaklek can make an educated decision about his future.

There was an interesting moment in the 11th round of Marco Antonio Barrera's super-featherweight points defeat to Manny Pacquaio last weekend.

Barrera belted Pacquaio with an illegal shot after referee Tony Weeks had told them to break and Manny staggered away obviously badly hurt.

Pacquaio was ahead on points and if he had made a meal of it Barrera would have been disqualified. Instead he chose to carry on and finished in style.

What a difference compared to AC Milan goalkeeper Dida's embarrassing antics after being lightly touched by a Celtic fan last week.

That's why Pacquaio is respected by millions while Dida is a laughing stock.

juliant@bangkokpost.co.th

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