WBC STRAWWEIGHT
Kittipong Thongsombat
Oledong Sithsamerchai is set to defend his WBC strawweight title against Japan's Junichi Ebisuoka on June 18.
The fight is expected to be held in Phuket and will be the first defence for the Trang-born fighter since winning the 105-pound belt from compatriot Den Junlaphan (Eagle Kyowa) last November in Bangkok.
"It will fall on June 18 but the place is still under negotiation," said Oledong's manager Piyarat Wachirarattanawogse.
"It could be in Phuket or other provinces in the South."
Piyarat said the organiser wanted the fight to be in the South because the 22-year-old fighter was the first champion from the region. Initially, he planned to get Oledong, Thailand's only male world boxing champion, to box abroad but changed his mind.
Oledong has won all the 26 fights in his career, with 10 knockouts, and registered a fourth round technical knockout victory over Indonesia's Serga John in March.
Twenty-seven-year-old Ebisuoka holds a patchy record of 17 wins (7KOs) against 10 losses and three draws. Most recently, he stopped Thailand's Thongthailek Por Vorasing in the fourth round in Kobe, Japan in March.
Despite not seeing the Japanese box before, Piyarat believes his boxer will be able to handle the challenger.
Ebisuoka had been set to challenge former flyweight world champion Pongsaklek Krathingdaenggym in the past but withdrew due to injury.
Ebisuoka is ranked number 20 by the WBC but according to their own rules, champions are only allowed to defend against boxers ranked 11-19 by a majority vote by governors.
Ebisuoka may have to rise up the rankings to be eligible.
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