Thai dynamo punching above his weight – again
THAI boxer Wanheng Menayothin clinched his 50th straight victory yesterday, stopping a Panamanian challenger to hold onto his WBC minimumweight belt.
The win ties him with the undefeated record of great Floyd Mayweather Jr. The 32-year-old Thai, nicknamed the “dwarf giant”, reached the milestone in the fifth round as Leroy Estrada failed to recover from a powerful upper cut.
The Panamanian was the busier of the fighters in the early rounds, leaving a cut above Wanheng’s left eye. But the veteran Thai was unruffled, knocking Estrada down twice in round three with withering rights and again in the fourth, before the stoppage in the fifth.
Wanheng’s quest to equal Mayweather has stirred intrigue between the unheralded, soft-spoken Thai and the brash, vastly wealthier American.
“I’m happy that I can make the same record as him [Mayweather],” the champion said after the fight.
Asked about his next move, he said he was not yet thinking about it. But one more win would bring Wanheng level with Mexican boxer Ricardo Lopez, who retired with 51 wins, one draw and no losses.
The bout was hosted in a parking lot, under an awning in the blistering afternoon heat of the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, far from the glitz and air-conditioning of Mayweather’s favoured Las Vegas.
Analysts have taken note of his achievement but point out that Wanheng dominated rivals are undistinguished compared with Mayweather’s, who took out greats like Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. Wanheng’s rivals have been a mixed bag – one had 44 losses, another in 2014 had 24. In December, he tied Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 tally with a win over Japanese contender Tatsuya Fukuhara.
Still, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, who attended yesterday’s bout, applauded the feat.
“The world is going to get to know him better, and great opportunities will open for him,” he said.
That may bring a boon to Wanheng, who has fought since he was 12, and despite his prowess is notably less wealthy than Mayweather, who emerged from retirement to fight MMA star Conor McGregor for a $100-million purse.
Given the lack of finances, Thai fighters often compete under the label of their gym – Menayothin is Wanheng’s Bangkok gym. — AFP