Pongsaklek Wonjongkam Retains Flyweight Championship in Thailand

Thailand's Pongsaklek Wonjongkam successfully defended his world flyweight championship (and WBC belt) today at home with a 12-round, unanimous decision win over Japan's Takuya Kogawa. Wongjongkam won on scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Pongsaklek (81-3-1, 44 KO) is now likely to await a challenge from Mexico's Edgar Sosa (42-6, 25 KO), who has been the mandatory challenger for a while now. Both fighters have been dancing around the matchup for a while now, with the Thai star defending his title just twice since beating Koki Kameda for the vacant championship in March 2010. He has fought six times overall since then, but four of the bouts were of typically disgraceful Thailand showcase nonsense variety, and frankly neither of the two title defenses have been all that impressive, either.

Sosa is in line mostly because he held the WBC's junior flyweight title for years and was a top contender at 108 pounds. Since returning from an injury suffered in a controversial loss to Rodel Mayol in late 2009, Sosa has beaten a series of mediocre opponents and been installed as the top contender by the WBC in a show of rather typical and obvious favoritism.

Sosa fights what he says is a final tune-up on Saturday night against Julio Paz (12-1, 4 KO).