PUNCH LINES
JULIAN TURNER
Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym and Somsak Sithchatchawal are heading in different directions after their crossroads fight at Hua Mark stadium on Monday.
Poonsawat won the WBA super-bantamweight title eliminator with an 11th round stoppage and is now the mandatory contender to face champion Celestino Caballero.
Caballero is well-known in Thailand after he knocked out Somsak in three rounds to win the WBA belt at Wat Ban Rai in October 2006.
Poonsawat's team said after Monday's victory that they will try and get the Panamanian to come back to Thailand to face their man.
If that fight can be made then I think Poonsawat will fare much better than Somsak, who ended up being floored three times before the referee stopped the contest.
Poonsawat has improved dramatically in the last few years, looks a lot stronger and has become more technically skilled.
I remember watching him box Ricardo Cordoba at Rachadamnoen Stadium in a WBA bantamweight eliminator in August 2005 and he really struggled with the Panamanian's lateral movement.
He eventually managed to slow unbeaten Cordoba down with body shots before taking a split decision win.
On Monday, he was quite happy to fight off the back foot at times and proved himself as the best at 122lb in Thailand.
One thing I really like about Poonsawat is how his career has been handled.
After beating Cordoba his team flew in tough Venezuelan Leo Gamez for another test, which he passed with flying colours.
Poonsawat then travelled to Germany to face WBA bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko but lost out to a close decision (on two cards).
It remains the Thai fighter's only defeat alongside 33 wins (23 KOs).
All of these fights were great learning experiences and have made Poonsawat the formidable boxer he is today.
Many other boxers seem content to win minor belts and then hide behind them while compiling misleadingly good records to earn a world title shot.
When they do end up facing a real champion they are beaten easily as they don't have the correct seasoning to deal with the challenge.
It makes more sense to follow Poonsawat's path of a series of progressively difficult matches before tackling a world-class opponent.
This latest win over Somsak was another good test and will stand him in good stead if he ever finds himself staring at Caballero across the ring.
That is not a certainty, however, as Caballero has talked of moving up to featherweight or unifying the super-bantamweight belts with WBC champ Israel Vasquez.
Poonsawat shouldn't worry though, particularly as representatives from Oscar de la Hoya's promotional outfit flew in from the USA to watch Monday's all-Thai fight.
I'm sure they will have been impressed with his all-action style, which is perfect for an American audience.
He may get some kind of slot on a show in the USA to boost his profile - and his bank balance - which he thoroughly deserves.
While the future looks bright for Poonsawat, the same cannot be said for Somsak.
He failed to make the 122lb limit for the fight and has said he will now move to featherweight (126lb) or even super-feather (130lb).
I wonder if it has come too late because Somsak has been in many hard fights, including his incredible win over Mahyar Monshipour in March 2003 to snatch the WBA super-bantamweight title.
That was a ferocious battle and took a lot out of both men.
Monshipour never boxed again and Somsak certainly hasn't looked the same since that thrilling night in Paris.
Somsak's condition also raises the question on why he was attempting to make a weight limit he had clearly outgrown.
He must have tortured his body for a long time and that will have severely shortened his career.
He looked like damaged goods on Monday and it's hard to see how he can be a force at the top level again.
juliant@bangkokpost.co.th
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