Yodsanan Shines, Saddam Blasts Sollano

Pattaya, Thailand: It was action-packed, and give and take while it lasted, but in the end, former WBA super featherweight champion Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai of Thailand proved too strong for Jimrex Jaca, stopping the Filipino in round six of the scheduled twelve-round contest.

Sor Nonthachai, nicknamed “The Thai Tyson,” lived up to his name, scoring with thunderous blows that noticeably affected the smaller man. Jaca bravely stood in with Sor Nanthachai, trading punches and connecting sporadically in rounds one through three, but Sor Nanthachai refused to let Jaca gain control of the bout, keeping him off balance with a mixture of stiff jabs and overhand lefts.

Jaca had his best round in the fourth, but Sor Nanthachai quickly squelched the attack, landing with crunching right hooks to the temple that rapidly depleted the power of the Filipino. In round five, Jaca, his face swollen and bloodied, threw left hook after left hook but the Thai marched forward and matched his punches tit-for-tat.

Sor Nanthachai picked up the pace in the next round until scoring with a hard right that knocked his opponent backwards. Sensing Jaca was hurt, he moved quickly to the Filipino, pressing him against the ropes and unloading with a barrage of punches. Jaca attempted to move out of danger but Sor Nanthachai knew the end was near. He let go another volley of punches, scoring with right hand after right hand until Jaca slumped over slightly and turned his body away from the attack, no longer capable of responding. The stoppage came at 1:36 of round six.

Sor Nanthachai tentatively plans to fight next in the United States on ESPN. The win brings Sor Nanthachai’s record to 56-3-1 with 45 KOs). Jaca drops to 28-5-3 with 13 stoppages.

On the undercard, Thailand’s Saddam Kietyongyuth displayed devastating speed and power in demonstrating why he is one of Thailand’s top prospects, stopping JR Sollano of the Philippines in round one of a scheduled twelve-round fight.

Sollano began the round popping out his jab, moving side-to-side; Kietyongyuth advanced, throwing jabs and overhand rights. Slightly over a minute into the round, the two traded punches in the center of the ring, with Kietyongyuth landing a left hook that landed on the point of the chin. Seconds later, Sollano turned away, suffering a delayed reaction from the effect of the punch, and dropped to the canvas. He took a nine count before springing up at the count of nine to beat the count.

Kietyongyuth moved in quickly, again throwing the jab, right cross combination. Again the two traded punches and once more Kietyongyuth’s punch found the mark first. Seconds later though, Sollano scored with a left hook of his own, knocking the Thai off balance and giving the partisan crowd a momentary scare. Kietyongyuth jumped back into the fray and immediately landed a massive left hook that put Sollano down and out. The referee did not bother to count.

The show was promoted by Asia Box Promotions.

Yodsanan “Thai Tyson” Sor Nanthachai Ready for Jaca, Title Shot

Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai, Kru Sithyodtong, Daniel Potter, and Saddam Kietyongyuth

It’s been three long years since Thailand’s Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai (55-3-1, 44 KOs) lost his WBA super featherweight title to Vicente Mosquera (24-2-1, 12 KOs) in Madison Square Garden. In all-out slugfest that saw Sor Nanthachai hit the deck three times and Mosquera once. Sor Nanthachai, also known as Yodsanan 3K Battery and Yodsanan Sithyodtong, proved he had a granite chin, while Mosquera proved he deserved to be at the top of the heap.

Mosquera went on to hold the title for just over a year before suffering a tenth round knockout at the hands of Edwin Valero. He has been inactive since then. Sor Nanthachai has racked up eleven straight victories since the loss to Mosquera, and on Friday, in Pattaya, Thailand, he’ll face his toughest opponent in years when he goes up against Jimrex Jaca (28-4-3, 13 KOs) of the Philippines in a lightweight battle.

Currently ranked 8th by the WBA in the super lightweight division and 12th by the WBC and IBF at lightweight, Sor Nanthachai, 33, is ready to make another run at a world title.

Jaca, best remembered for his bloody nine-round battle with Juan Manuel Marquez, should present a stiff test for the Thai. Although Jaca hasn’t been the same fighter since losing to the Mexican – in his four subsequent bouts to the Marquez contest he’s scored one victory, one defeat, and two draws – he’ll act as a measuring stick to see where Sor Nanthachai stands in the lightweight and super lightweight divisions.

When asked if there were one champion he would prefer to fight, Sor Nanthachai replied flatly, “I don’t care who I fight or whether it’s at 135lbs or 140lbs. I’ll fight anyone; I just want a title shot.”

Also on the card, superb prospect Saddam Kietyongyuth (14-0, 10 KOs) faces JR Sollano (13-7, 9 KOs) of the Philippines for the vacant ABCO title. In his last bout, on the undercard of Chris John-Roinet Caballero, Kietyongyuth engaged in an all-out war with Indonesia’s Alex Bajawa (36-3-2, 11 KOs) before finally knocking out the veteran in the fifth round. Kietyongyuth hopes to land a bout with Australian-based Filipino fighter Ranee Ganoy.

This event is the first staged by fledgling promoter Asia Box Promotions.