WBC orders Srisaket rematch
The World Boxing Council has ordered a rematch between super-flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Nicaragua’s Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.
The Thai dethroned Gonzalez at New York’s Madison Square Garden with a majority decision last month.
Two judges scored 114-112 in favour of Srisaket, while the third saw it 113-113 following a bloody, 12-round slugfest.
After suffering the first defeat of his glittering career, Gonzalez, 29, said he thought he won and called for an immediate rematch.
In a statement published on the WBC website, its president Mauricio Sulaiman said: “The WBC Board of Governors considers that due to the extraordinary fight, which was extremely close and considering that the WBC championship rules regarding accidental head butts were not used, but most importantly, considering a public demand to witness once again a great match between these 2 great fighters, the WBC has granted the request by unanimous vote to order the rematch between Sor Rungvisai and Gonzalez.”
It said the WBC had received a request from Teiken Promotions and K2 Promotions, which promoted the March 18 fight, asking the organisation to order a rematch.
The WBC also ordered an interim championship between Carlos Cuadras and Juan Francisco Estrada, both of Mexico.
The winners of both fights, Srisaket v Gonzalez and Cuadras v Estrada, must fight each other next, Sulaiman said.
Srisaket first won the WBC super-flyweight title in 2013 after beating Japan’s Yota Sato. The following year, he lost the crown to Cuadras.
Gonzalez became a world champion in his fourth weight division in September after a unanimous-decision victory over Cuadras.
PACQUIAO TO FIGHT HORN
Philippine world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is to fight undefeated Jeff Horn on his home turf in Australia, the Filipino star’s camp said yesterday.
The announcement of the July bout ends months of speculation on who the 38-yearold Filipino would face next as he seeks to prolong a stellar career that saw him win world titles in eight different weight classes.
“We signed the Jeff Horn contract this morning. Fight is July 2 in Brisbane, Australia,” Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz told AFP by text message.