Thailands Pongsaklek Wongjongkam has held the WBC flyweight belt for over six years, defending his title a record seventeen times while going undefeated for eleven years. He is Ring Magazines top ranked flyweight, and has suffered only two losses in his twelve-year career. Despite these accomplishments, the twenty-nine year old champion from the rice fields of Korat is more well-known for his choice of limited opposition than anything else. All is not as it seems though. With his career winding down, Wonjongkam and his camp now seem intent making two superfights in the next year; one with Japanese superstar Koki Kameda and the other with Vic The Raging Bull Darchinyan. On July 18, Wonjongkam travels to Tokyo, Japan to face WBC #6 ranked Daisuke Naito for the third time, a move which has once again drawn harsh criticism from the boxing community. According to his manager, Piyarat Vajiratonawongse, Wonjongkam will reportedly receive a whopping $400,000 for his fight with Naito - $150,000 more than what has been offered to fight Vic Darchinyan. Yesterday, Vajiratonawongse confirmed that while in Japan for the Naito fight, he will attempt to secure a bout with Koki Kameda. If successful, the bout could be one of the most lucrative ever between two Asian fighters. Vajiratonawongse also made it a point to tell Darchinyans promoter Gary Shaw, We can start negotiating the fight after July 18. We have three fights scheduled this year and afterwards our schedule is open. The fight can be made - everything can be negotiated - there isnt anything that is non-negotiable. Q & A with Wonjongkam Scott Mallon: Youre fighting Daisuke Naito on July 18 in Japan. Hows your training going and how is your weight? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: My training is going well. My weight is really never a problem though and Im always close to the flyweight limit, even when Im not training for a fight. Scott Mallon: Youve beaten him twice already. There are rumors hes getting another shot at your title because hes told his manager if he cant beat you this time, hes retiring. Why are you fighting him again? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: I believe he said if he loses hell retire. All I know is he wants to fight again. He is a difficult opponent but I will be well prepared for him. Scott Mallon: So you like fighting in Japan. What about Koki Kameda? He a huge star in Japan and youre a star in Thailand. A fight between you two would be a massive event in Japan. What is the chance of a fight between you two? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: Yes, I like Japan and would be happy to fight him but this is up to my boss, promoter Virat Vajiratonawongse. Kameda came to Thailand about three years ago and trained here in the gym here. Hes a determined fighter who is an active boxer with good movement. His manners are one thing thats not good though, but everything else is good. Scott Mallon: Lets move on to Vic Darchinyan. He has publicly stated he doubts your willingness to fight him. His promoter, Gary Shaw, has also stated that a $250,000 purse is not a problem and if youre truly sincere about willing to fight his man, your promoter knows his phone number and can easily get in touch with him. Do you think a fight with Vic Darchinyan will ever happen? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: I would like to fight him but this is for my manager and promoter to decide. Boxing is a business and its much easier for me to fight in Japan than America. Television rights, options, travel, money - Im a fighter and my job is to train, to fight and to win. My promoters job is to take care of the business side of boxing. Scott Mallon: Cant you tell your promoter you want to make the fight though? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: Like I said, this is my promoters job, not mine. I would like to prove myself to the fans in America and Im sure a fight between Darchinyan and me would be exciting. The promoter is my boss though and like I said, he handles the business of my career. Ill fight anyone he tells me to. (It should be noted that in Thai culture, the fighter has little to no say in deciding who he fights. In most cases there are no written contracts between the fighter and his promoter and fighters rarely challenge their promoters and managers business practices. A fighter calling his own shots is a foreign concept to Thai fighters. Instead, they view themselves as an employee and the promoter as their boss. Scott Mallon: What do you think about Darchinyan as a fighter? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: His style is alot like Manny Pacquiaos. He strong and is a courageous fighter. Maybe after I finish with my obligations this year we can fight in the United States next year if he doesnt go up to the next weight division. I hope so. Scott Mallon: There are fans out there who think youre taking easy fights because youre scared to fight the best in the division. Are you scared? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: Im not scared to fight anyone and will fight anyone. I always try to do my best when I fight. If I lose, Im ok with that because I know I will have tried my best. Scott Mallon: Youve fought at light-flyweight and flyweight, with the majority of your career spent at flyweight. Is there any chance youll move up in weight? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: No, I dont think so. Like I said, my weight is never a problem and this is a good weight for me. Scott Mallon: Do you think youre the best flyweight in boxing right now? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: I dont ever think Im better than anyone. There are many, many good fighters in the division who have not had a chance to win a title. I dont think about this I just try to defeat who is put before me. Scott Mallon: How important is making twenty defenses of your title? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: (Laughing and shaking his head) I never think about how many times Ive defended my title. I just think about winning each fight. I just think about winning and winning and winning. I dont care about these kinds of things. If I break a record, good, if I dont, its doesnt matter. Scott Mallon: If you could do one thing in boxing before you retire, what would it be? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: Id fight in America. Id like to fight in America at least once before I retire. Scott Mallon: Before you said you would retire after 20 defenses. What about now? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: I dont know. As long as I keep winning and Im healthy, Ill keep fighting. Scott Mallon: What would you like to tell your fans outside of Thailand? Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: I would like them to know that if I have a chance to fight in America, I hope that after they see me fight, they will say they saw a great fight. www.boxinginasia.com ___________________________________________________________ I was unaware of the Asian view that fighters are employees and that their promoters are their bosses in their cultures. Wonjongkam sounds like a humble man.
He sounds really smart and humble, yes i agree with you, along with his impressive record, I would like to see him fight in America.
Ya its sad to see promoters treating their fighters like employees, atleast in the states, even Don King would let you call out opponents, show you around America and let you market an image. In that interview, Wongjongkam wouldn't even mention a fight that HE wanted :-( Promoters shouldn't have that kind of power, they don't know what it's like to step in the ring and the sacrifice that come with it.
I want to see him take on the top dogs at 112 and 115 (Arce, Mijares, Darchinyan, Sakata, Montiel, Castillo, Gorres, etc.) Maybe a future fight with Koki Kameda would be big.
could have been something, but got trapped in the idea of defending his title against regular opposition. can't blame him though. he'll surely get into all sorts of boxing records because of what he did
Thing is, the culture of the relationship between promoter and fighter is completely different there. I can't really blame Wonjongkam either because I really don't think he has near the weight to decide who he fights that alot of fighters do. It's basically on his promotor for him not getting the big fights.
Pong i cant think for himself thats stupid he just let his pimp deside who is he gonna fight i still think hes a ducker.
Eventually as a fighter you have to take a stand or risk letting history judge you. Boxing won't be kind on you.
It's just a difference in cultures. Chances are we're putting more thought into it than he is- Pong just fights who management puts in front of him. Boxing fans get shortchanged, but from a practical standpoint, it's hard to argue. He'll probably have financial security for life, his faculties about him, and his country will probably love him for life. Us fans bitching about it on a message board carries absolutely zero weight when you consider that by their standards, Pong's promoter has done a great job with him. I want to see him fight the best, too...but I don't see where he's got much choice in the matter. I'd love to see him fight Vic, though.
You give Calderon far too much credit. He looks like a boxing marvel against average fighters, but what happens when he steps up the competition? If he can beat Cazares with ease, that is if he can beat Cazares at all, then I'll start to give him his props.
