All-Thai world title bouts are incredibly rare, despite the prolonged success of the country in world boxing. In total there has been only 12, in history, and have been dubbed "Bloodline Battles" in Thailand. On November 27th however we get another, in fact we get the first in over a decade. Not only that but was also get one that has gotten some international attention due to the defending champion, who despite being a Minimumweight has gotten international attention in recent years for his lengthy unbeaten record and reign. The bout isn't just interesting due to the champion however, but also the challenger, who is looking to grab the torch and rip it from one of the current flag bearers of the Thai boxing scene.
 
The champion in question is the WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (54-0, 18), who's winning run is the longest active run in boxing, exceeds that of former pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr and would, if he retires without a loss, set the new record for the longest 100% winning record of any boxing world champion. Not only is Wanheng boasting an excellent record, on paper at least, but also the longest active world title reign of any man in the sport. At the age of 35 he's ancient for a Minimumweight, and did retire during the summer, before changing his mind and having time to rest and recover from niggling injuries.
 
In the opposite corner to Wanheng is Panya Pradabsri (34-1, 22), also known as Petchmanee Kokietgym among other names. He's a 29 year old who has been knocking on the door of a big fight for years, but failed to land one. That's despite showing a willingness to fight at Minimumweight, Light Flyweight and Flyweight, even going as far as to call out Kenshiro Teraji a few fights back. Sadly he's been pretty much avoided by the top guys, and his most notable bout was a very controversial loss in China to Xiong Zhao Zhong in 2017. Had he won that bout he'd have been in line to face another Thai, Knockout CP Freshmart. Although much less well known than the champion he's someone that has long been viewed as a future champion by those in Thailand, who have seemingly accepted that, with Covid19, his options are limited and battling his countryman is the only option, unless he wants to wait even longer.
 
It's fair to say that Wanheng is very much a fighter who has had a lot of people looking at him in recent years, even since he had more wins than Mayweather. That has seen some trolling Mayweather and pointing out the raw numbers, something Mayweather himself did when he beat Rocky Marciano's long standing 49-0 record. It has also seen "Money" responding to the haters, further building Wanheng's profile among the wider boxing fan base.
 
An often mentioned complaint of the Thai is that his competition has been limited, and that does hold some weight, with his competition paling compared to the likes of Mayweather. It isn't however as bad as some suggest and he has scored wins over a number of notable fighters. They include former world champions Florante Condes, Oswaldo Novoa, Tatsuya Fukuhara and current world champion Pedro Taduran. As well as contenders like Melvin Jerusalem, Simpiwe Konkco, Saul Juarez and Ardin Diale.
 
Leaving his record, and competition behind, Wanheng is a fighter who is very much under-rated by those who don't follow the lower weights. He's a talented, educated, fighter who comes forward behind a tight guard, pressures and forces mistakes from opponents, which he counters. Unlike most counter punches he doesn't create space to open up counter opportunities, but instead gets in an opponents face, and capitalises on mistakes that he forces, often with eye catching combinations and bursts of shots. As he's aged he's slowed slightly, but still looks like a very tough man to beat and someone who has surprising power on his shots. Although his stoppage might suggest he's feather fisted it is worth noting that he is very consistent and every shot has a good bit of sting on it, chipping away at fighters, mentally and physically. When he has a point to prove, as he did in 2018 against Leroy Estrada, he also seems to find an extra gear to really dominate opponents.
 
Although very talented Wanheng isn't without faults. His style can see him being out worked, and is very much a slow methodical style, that can leave him being handcuffed. He's patient and accurate, but not able to set, or maintain, a high work rate. This has seen him have very close bouts with hungry fighters who set a pace, like his first bout with Tatsuya Fukuhara as well as his bouts with Pedro Taduran and Melvin Jerusalem. The key of setting a high work rate and pinning him behind his guard is a key gameplan, and something we almost saw actually work against Mayweather, with Marcos Maidana having success against the talented American with a similar tactic.
 
In Panya Pradabsri we have a very different type of fighter. The challenger is a big, tall, powerful boxer-fighter, who can boxer well behind his jab but has better success as a fighter, with a seek and destroy mentality. His body shots are brutal and wicked, and he has belief in his toughess and power. He's proven to be willing to take a show clean when he needs to, walking forward to get to his man. Technically he's a lot less polished than the champion but he's aggressive, younger, hungrier and the much heavier handed. Defensively he does look naive, and is caught a fair big coming in, but looks like he's always confident of landing the bigger single shot, and having the last word in any argument with his big, solid right hands. They might not be crisp and clean, but they look heavy, every time.
 
The challenger is a man who has waited patiently for his shot, and his chance to shine, and he'll know that a loss here will likely see him needing to wait a real long time for a second shot. With that in mind we suspect he'll not be wanting to leave anything to chance. This isn't just a world title bout, it's potentially his only world title bout and it's also a chance to grab the torch from Wanheng and run with it. With that in mind we're expecting to see Panya fight like a man possessed.
 
We know many see this, like many Wanheng bouts, as a foregone conclusion. We have feel that it's not. We will happily state that Wanheng is more talented boxer, the crisper puncher and the man with the better defense. That however isn't all it takes to win a fight, and it completely ignores a lot of intangibles. If a fight was purely based on skills, this would almost certainly be the 13th successful defense for Wanheng. At 35 years old, and with talk of retirement, lingering injuries and talk about a loss of desire we wonder whether Wanheng will be the fighter we've seen in the past. He may well see a loss as his chance to escape the sport, retire and move on with life. For the challenger this really is a huge chance to put himself on the boxing map, something he's wanted to do for years, and become one of the new faces of Thai boxing.
 
With that in mind we're picking Panya Pradabsri to pick up the win here, and do so with a close, competitive, but very fair decision. We see him having that toughness and hunger needed to over-come the 35 year old Wanheng. He'll have to work for it, and we've seen a lot of Thai veteran's in recent years make youngsters work for wins against them, but we see Panya having the tools needed to cope with Wanheng.
 
Prediction - UD12 Panya Pradabsri

It's fair to state the Minimumweight division hasn't had a great year in 2019. We've seen only 3 successful defenses so far this year, and whilst it has 2 new champions neither has yet to make a defense of their title. There has been activity in the division, and even one or two fantastic bouts, but on the whole it's really been a poor and unremarkable year for the division. And that's coming from us, and we are huge fans of the little guys!
 
Thankfully it does look like we could get a really exciting match up before the year is over as WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin (53-0, 13) defends his belt against South African challenger Simpiwe Konkco (19-5-0-1, 7) on October 25th. This bout, a mandatory for Wanheng, will be the Thai's 12th defense of the title he won almost 5 years ago. On the other hand it will be Koncko's second bout for a major title, though he has previously held the IBO belt twice.
 
At 33 years old the champion is old for a Minimumweight, but is still younger than some of the challengers around like Norihito Tanaka and Shin Ono, who are both in their mid 30's and Gabriel Mendoza, who is set to challenge for a world title at the age of 40. What's more impressive than Wanheng's age is his ring years. He has a been a professional for almost 13 years, has 53 bouts behind him and 425 professional rounds. For a fighter to have a 53 fight unbeaten run is rare, though has been done in the past, but for a world champion in today's era to have over 400 rounds, over 50 bouts and remain in 1 weight class is genuinely impressive. The dedication to fight at the same weight through his entire career has to be applauded.
 
Sadly what can't be applauded is Wanheng's competition. There are a number of solid wins on his record, such as victories over Florante Condes, Oswaldo Novoa, Tatsuya Fukuhara, Saul Juarez, Pedro Taduran and Melvin Jerusalem, but for a man with over 50 wins that's an unimpressive line up. 
 
In the ring Wanheng is incredibly talented. He's a smart fighter who applies pressure behind a tight guard, with good, clever footwork, he presses well, and defends well. When up close he lets his combinations fly, and his body shots are really eye catching. Whilst he does do somethings really well he does lack power, he's not the quickest, or the busiest and he has had some luck with judges in the past. He's a hard man to beat, but certainly not unbeatable, and we suspect the best way to beat him is to out work him, keep him behind his tight guard and get away before he gets close enough to set off his own combinations. It's something we've seen tried, and something that has really shown flaws in Wanheng's style, but the Thai has always done enough to get the nod from the judges.
 
On paper Koncko doesn't look like a qualified challenger, he's already lost 5 of his 24 bouts and has been stopped in 3 losses. What that doesn't tell you is anything in regards to context, with Koncko going 6-4 to begin his career before rolling off a 13-1-0-1 stretch over the last few years. That stretch of success has seen him lose on to Hekkie Budler, in a very competitive all-South African bout, whilst notching wins against the likes of Zukisani Kwayiba, Siyabonga Siyo, Nkosinathi Joyi, Lito Dante and Toto Landero. Maybe not murderer's row but still solid wins, and wins that show how misleading his record is.
 
In the ring Koncko is a very tough guy, the early KO losses shouldn't be seen a sign of a poor chin, but more inexperience at the time. What he's become is a smart fighter, able to counter well, set a high pace when he needs to and hit with much more power than his record suggests. He's notable a patient fighter, looking for the right time to strike, but when he gets on the front foot he is a solid guy, with a hard right hand. He gauges distance well and does find gaps will alarming frequency. Sadly though his work rate isn't as high or as consistent as we'd think it'd need to be to beat Wanheng in Thailand.
 
Stylistically this should be interesting, with Koncko being a skilled boxer who can hold his own with Wanheng on a technical level. The difference though is that Koncko is unlikely to be getting a decision in Thailand, against the ever hostile Thai conditions. He doesn't fight at a high enough pace to make Wanheng uncomfortable, nor does he appear to have the 1-punch power to hurt the Thai. Wanheng will almost certainly rack up the rounds, buoyed on by local fans and take a clear, but hard fought decision in a technically high level bout.

This may not be the most fun to watch, but it has the ingredients to be a very interesting contest.
 
Prediction UD12 Wanheng
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On August 29th Thai fans will get the chance to see WBC Minmumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (50-0, 18) look to go one better than Floyd Mayweather Jr, as he looks to move to 51-0 and takes on young Filipino challenger Pedro Taduran (12-1, 9). The champion will be looking to secure his 10th defense of the title and build on an outstanding mandatory defense from back in May, when he blew out Leroy Estrada. On the other hand the challenger will be looking to claim a title in his first world title shot, and become one of the youngest world champions at just 21 years old.

The 32 year old champion is looking to etch his name in to the records books and break the 50-0 record of Floyd Mayweather. Whilst there is some criticism of his competition Wanheng does have some good opponents mixed into his record, such as Florante Condes, Saul Juarez and Tatsuya Fukuhara. Sadly though he also has a lot of filler opposition, including the likes of Silem Serang and Jaysever Abcede, both of whom he beat in non-title fights whilst being a reigning world champion.

Although he's never unified or faced the stiffest of competition there needs to be a good dose of respect for Wanheng who has shown real commitment to the Minimumweight division. He is one of the very few fighters to have not really changed weight during his career. His first professional title was the WBC Youth Minimumweight title, which he won back in 2007, and all of his bouts of note have been at 105lbs. A real dedication to making weight.

In the ring Wanheng blows hot and cold. At his best he's a defensively tight, stalker with under-rated power, good combinations accurate counter shots. These were seen fantastically last time out, when he stopped Estrada in 5 rounds after dropping him numerous times. At his worst however he can be made to look tense, slow and unwilling to trade blows, as we saw against Fukuhara and Melvin Jerusalem. If a fighter is busy they can handcuff Wanheng who really needs to pick his moments and can't match the output of some younger fighters.

The once beaten Taduran made his debut in May 2015, 3 months after Wanehng won the WBC title, and was just 18 at the time. He would begin his career with 6 straight wins before suffering a razor thin decision loss to Joel Lino. Since then he has racked up 6 more wins and progressively faced stiffer and stiffer competition, with his most recent win coming against former world title challenger Jerry Tomogdan, for the GAB Minimumweight title. Sadly other than Tomogdan there is little quality on Taduran's record with his next between wins being against Phillip Luis Curedo and Ronbert Onggocan.

There is very little footage of Pedro Taduran but from his record it's clear he can punch. Sadly though that's never going to be enough against someone like Wanheng, and he'll have to find holes in Wanheng's defense, get in and out, and land the biggest shots in his arsenal. If he can do that he has a chance, though we suspect he'll lack the experience needed to really make the most of Wanheng's flaws.

We think Taduran will have some great moments, but in the end his lack of experience and ring time will be his undoing as Wanheng moves to 51-0 and leaves Floyd Mayweather's 50-0 record in the past. Few will compare the two in terms of achievement, with Mayweather winning multiple world titles, but few can question Wanheng's dedication and desire to have a long and lengthy reign in one division, whilst taking on all mandatory challengers along the way. A loss for Taduran won't be the end, and we suspect it will actually do his career more good than harm, be we can't see how he over-comes such an accomplished champion this early in his career.

This coming Wednesday fans in Thailand will see WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (49-0, 17) return to the ring for his first fight of the year, as he battles mandatory challenger Leroy Estrada (16-2, 6) in Nakhon Ratchasima. For the unbeaten Thai the bout is a chance to go 50-0, and match the unbeaten run of American icon Floyd Mayweather Jr, and would also be Wanheng's 9th defense of the title. As for Estrada the bout is a chance for him to announce himself on the world stage and claim his first world title.

The 32 year old Thai has been the WBC champion since November 2014, whenhe stopped Oswaldo Novoa, and has gone on to defend the title against the likes of Jeffrey Galero, Go Odaira, Saul Juarez, Melvin Jerusalem and Tatsuya Fukuhara. In a number of those bouts, such as the ones against Juarez, Jerusalem and Fukuhara, we've seen Wanheng pushed all the way as younger fighters have given him issues with volume and speed. Although on paper he won all 3 of those bouts they were very competitive and showed a number of flaws with the Thai.

At his best Wanheng is a calculated pressure fighter. He uses a tight guard, comes forward well and throws accurate, solid combinations. He's not a big puncher, but he's a solid hitter who will land clean and switch between head and body well. He's at his best at mid to close to range but has a decent jab at distance. Unfortunately for him he's a relatively small Minimumweight and at 32 he's not got the energy to fight at a high tempo and move through all the gears any more, and he can be out worked.

The champion's tight defense has kept damage down through his career, but with 394 already under his belt from an 11 year career he's clearly taken some punishment. His chin hasn't shown any real cracks but as he gets older the accumulation of those rounds may take it's toll and it's clear he hasn't been up against any of the division's really big punchers, like Hiroto Kyoguchi or Vic Saludar.

The 23 year old challenger is known as "El Sensacional" and proved to be a sensation early in his career, debuting at just 16 years old and reeling off 7 straight wins to begin his career. Sadly for him his 6th victory, a majority decision over Mercedes Concepcion, lead to a rematch which saw Estrada being stopped in the 6th round. The bout saw Estrada being out manned by Concepcion who dropped him several times to gain revenge for his narrow loss. That set back saw Estrada take time away from the ring before returning and looking even better as he strung together 5 more wins. Sadly that winning run would come to an end in 2014 when he was out pointed by Carlos Ortega, who also holds a win over Gilberto Pedroza.

Despite the set backs Estrada has gritted his teeth and is currently riding a 4 fight winning run, including a big 2017 win over Saul Juarez in a world title eliminator. Sadly for Estrada that bout is his only bout in the last 18 months. In fact he has only fought 17 rounds, combined, in 2016 and 2017. That isn't the activity a fighter needs heading into a world title fight, in fact that's the sort of activity that will really harm a youngster like Estrada.

The footage of Estrada shows a pretty talented boxer move with nice hand speed and good counter punching. Sadly though that same footage makes him look rather light fisted, negative and in some ways made to order for a fighter like Wanheng. Despite being young and fresh faced Estrada doesn't have a high work rate, instead choosing to be selective with his punches rather than overwhelming. Against Wanheng we suspect Estrada walked down, and broken down with body shots, before simply being stopped in the mid to late rounds.

Estrada is a talented fighter but we can't see him over-coming the highly skilled champion here.

The Minimumweight division is one of the most over-looked at the moment, yet has a number of interesting match ups coming up between now and the end of 2017. One of those is a WBC world title fight which will see long term unbeaten Thai Wanheng Menayothin (48-0, 17) risking his title, and unbeaten record, against former WBO and JBC champion Tatsuya Fukuhara (19-5-6, 7). For Wanheng the bout sees him potentially tying his record with that Rocky Marciano whilst the Japanese visitor will be hoping to become a 2-time champion, and create a little bit of history.

For the champion the bout will see him seeking his 8th defense, and look to continue a title reign that began back in November 2014 when he stopped Mexican Oswaldo Novoa. Since winning the title Wanheng has won 12 bouts in a row, including victories over Jeffrey Galero, Young Gil Bae, Go Odaira, Saul Juarez and Melvin Jerusalem. In the ring Wanheng is a defensively intelligent pressure fighter, who applied constant pressure and looks to out work and grind down opponents. His lack of power is notable, but he certainly his a lot hard than his record suggests and in his 9 world title fights he has scored 4 stoppages.

With Wanheng closing in on the 50-0 record of Floyd Mayweather Jr this is a really credible test for the champion. At 32 he is getting on for a Minimumweight and with 382 rounds under his belt he has certainly got miles on the clock. He has negated damage in many of his fights, due to his solid defense, but was cut a couple of fights ago by the head of Omari Kimweri, and it could be that his body is maybe starting to feel it's age, something that also seemed to be the case in January's win over Melvin Jerusalem.

The Japanese challenger has had a strange career. After winning his first 4 bouts he quickly slipped to 5-1-2 and really saw his momentum slow, despite reaching the 2009 Rookie of the Year final. Another winning run followed before a surprise stoppage loss to Hiroyuki Otsuka, and a draw with Koji Itagaki. In 2013 Fukuhara again saw his career falter with losses to Yu Kimura and Takuma Inoue, and by the start of 2015 Fukuhara had fallen to 13-4-5 (4) with his career seemingly going no where. Since then however he has gone an impressive 6-1-1 with with notable wins over Hiroya Yamamoto, Takumi Sakai, Genki Hanai and Moises Calleros, and a draw with Fahlan Sakrreerin Jr. The win over Yamamoto saw Fukuhara claim the Japanese title and the one over Calleros saw him become the WBO champion.

The problem for Fukuhara is that whilst he has had an impressive few years, he's not actually shown himself to be that talented. He's gotten far on toughness, energy and desire rather than skills, power and slickness. He's a handful for many, given that he has a never say die attitude and always looks to have have a fight, but against truly world class fighters it's hard to see what he has to offer. This was clear when he was widely beaten by a then debuting Takuma Inoue and is likely to be seen again here against the very talented Wanheng.

Whilst Fukuhara is travelling with hunger, and the chance to become the first Japanese fighter to claim a world title on Thai soil, it's hard to see him really testing Wanheng. Fukuhara will come to fight but we believe the sharper, smoother and tighter boxing of Wanheng will be too much for the challenger, who we think will start will be take a methodical beating in the later rounds, and potentially be stopped in the championship rounds.

The Middleweight division is in a period of relative flux with a number of champions who are likely to find themselves up against challengers who will fancy their chances over the coming year. The challengers, including the insanely exciting Hiroto Kyoguchi and the criminally under-rated Rey Loreto, are licking their lips however the champions are certainly looking out on the division on looking for easier contenders to face. That will be the case again this coming weekend when WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin (46-0, 17) defends his title against Australian based Tanzanian born Omari Kimweri (16-3, 6).

The champion is closing in on the magic 50-0 but was fortunate earlier this year when he was taken to a very close decision by Melvin Jerusalem, who came into the bout as a hungry fight and showed his desire by pushing the Thai all the way. That bout is as close as we've seen Wanheng to picking up a loss, and it's the first time he has really shown signs of being an “old” fighter. In the past he has always looked like the type of fighter who can control the tempo of the bout with his educated pressure and combinations.

Although relatively unknown outside of Asia Wanheng is a genuine joy to watch at his best. He's an intelligent but aggressive fighter, who uses a tight guard to come forward and breaks his opponents down, with his pressure and under-rated power. His record may not show it, but Wanheng can punch, and has stopped 5of his last 9 whilst making 6 defenses of the world title and scoring notable wins over Go Odaira, Saul Juarez and Young Gil Bae. The win over Juarez, last year, showed how good Wanheng was, though did see him turn off late in the bout, but he's not looked the same since with the close win over Jerusalem and a couple of simple victories.

Born in Tanzania and now based in Australia Kimweri is a well travelled fighter and one who has actually faced some pretty interesting competition. In just his 4th bout he battled Angky Angkotta, in 2013 he lost a controversial decision to Shin Ono and last time out, more than a year ago, he took a controversial win over Randy Petalcorin. Aged 34 he's no spring chicken and he has been in some tough, and draining bouts, particularly the Petalcorin one.

Although not the most sensational of fighters Kimweri is a decent boxer-mover, he's game and has a real desire to win. He got off the floor numerous times against Petalcorin, a razor sharp puncher, and kept looking to win as he looked to always fight back. He was out matched but showed no quit and seemed to get some help from the judges to escape with a much debated win.

Although Wanheng didn't look his best last time out, it does look like this bout is one for him to shine in. Kimweri is similar, in some ways, to Go Odaira and will lack the power to get Wanheng's respect whilst the Thai will almost certainly walk through him, and eventually get a stoppage late in the bout.

The first world title fight to take place in Asia this year is set for January 25th and takes place all the way down at Minimumweight where the under-rated WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin (44-0, 17) looks to make the 6th defense of his title. The talented Thai will be facing a fellow unbeaten as he takes on 22 year old Filipino puncher Melvin Jerusalem (11-0, 7) who is taking a huge step up in class to fight in his first world title fight, and his first fight outside of his homeland.

The champion is, in some ways, a typical Thai with a record that has been padded and is filled with less than notable names. He is however a fighter who is among the best Minimumweights on the planet, and is genuinely under-rated, due in part to the number of easy wins he has on his record. Despite the easy wins he does hold a number of notable victories over the likes of Florante Condes, Oswaldo Novoa, Jerry Tomogdan,Go Odaira and Saul Juarez.

In the ring Wanheng is a brilliant little pressure fighter. Defensively he is tight and reliable but it's his front foot pressure work that is key as he walks opponents down and breaks them up with combinations and solid body shots. He's not a puncher, as his record makes clear, but he's a talented pressure fighter who mentally and physically beats opponents until they eventually fold. That has seen him stopping 6 of his last 9 and he is 6-0 (4) in world title bouts with his stoppages typically coming in the later rounds.

At 31 Wanheng is probably at the end of his prime, especially given he's a Minimumweight, and with 346 rounds under his belt he is no spring chicken. However he's a fighter who has shown no real slow down in the ring and has looked after himself brilliantly. He may be on the slide but it's certainly not something we have seen in the ring during his fights.

Little known challenger Jerusalem has impressed on the domestic Filipino scene with some in the country viewing him as their new rising in the lowest weight class. He debuted back in July 2014, scoring a decision win over Michael Camelion, and then followed that up with 7 straight stoppages including a win over Crison Omayao. That stoppage run came to an end last year, when he took a decision win over veteran Florante Condes, and he has since taken decisions over Jonathan Refugio and Fabio Marfa.

In the ring Jerusalem looks to be a fun fighter with decent power, nice movement and clever defence on the back foot. He made Condes look like a foolish novice at times, in fact his movement saw Condes flail wildly before throwing himself to the canvas one point, but the lack of footage really does prevent us getting a great read on him, with only a few clips here and there being available. From what is available he does look promising, but there isn't a lot available.

Although Jerusalem is tipped for something big we have seen a number of similar fighters, unbeaten youngster tipped for stardom, fall short in recent years. That includes former Wanheng challenger Jeffrey Galero, who was 11-0 (5) when he challenged Wanheng but is now 14-3 (7) with his career on the rocks. He will need to be aware of just how much of a step up this really is, if he doesn't he will be eaten alive by Wanheng here.

What we're expecting is a strong start by the visitor, who will look to use his speed and movement to pick up a number of the early rounds. As the bout goes on however Wanheng will start to break him down and in the middle rounds we'll see Jerusalem slowing significantly before either limping over the line en route to a wide decision loss, or a stoppage loss as Wanheng turns the screw and uses his experience in the champiuonship rounds

It's not been a great few weeks for Thailand as Amnat Ruenroeng was beaten by Johnriel Casimero, with Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo was battered by Miguel Berchelt and Pungluang Sor Singyu being dethroned by Marlon Tapales. It's fair to say that the run isn't one that Thai fans will be wanting to see continue and on August 2nd they are hoping that it will come to and end when another one of their champions defends his title in a mandatory defence.

That champion is the unbeaten Wanheng Menayothin (42-0, 17) who defends his belt against in form Mexican challenger Saul Juarez (23-4-1, 12), the current mandatory challenger.

Wanheng's record is one of the longest unbeaten records in the sport, only a few fights behind that of Nicaraguan sensation Roman Gonzalez, despite that no one is proclaiming the Thai as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. That's due to his level of competition which has certainly not been great. In fact his best wins have come against the likes of Florante Condes, Oswaldo Novoa, Ardin Diale, Young Gil Bae and Go Odaira. They aren't terrible fighters but nothing exceptional for a man with 42 wins.

Of course it's not just the wins that stand out on Wanheng's record but also his apparent lack of power. In fact 17 T/KO's in 40 fights is a 40% stoppage rate, one of the least impressive in the sport today for any world champion.

What neither of those numbers, nor the names, do is actually tell you a lot about Wanheng who is developing his power and really does pass the eye test with flying colours. In the ring he's a very intelligent and aggressive pressure fighter, he has a solid guard, he's calculating with his footwork and throws some brilliant combinations, with his power being criminally under-rated. He's not a 1-punch KO artist but his' a vicious terrier like fight who grinds opponents down and barely takes a shot in the process. It's that grinding that has seen him stopping his last 5 opponents and claim 6 stoppages in his last 7 bouts.

On paper the challenger should be the under, surprisingly however boxrec.com rank Juarez as their #1 fighter in the division. That's due to their algorithms however Juarez has been on an impressive run on recent years with 2 wins over Adrian Hernandez and a victory, and a draw, against Oswaldo Novoa. Along with those 4 results he also has wins over Luis Ceja, Armando Torres, and early career wins over Martin Tecuapetla and another win over Novoa. In all honesty he has an impressive resume. On the other hand he has been beaten by Tecuapetla, Jose Argumedo, Juan Hernandez Navarrete and Milan Melindo, all highly regarded fighters themselves.

In the ring Juarez has shown lots of facets to his ability. He can box in a relatively technical fashion using his jab, holding when needed and using intelligent movement with crisp combinations, he can also go to war and enjoy a good old fashioned tear up. He's not an out and out warrior but like many Mexican fighters that it certainly something he has in his arsenal when needed.

Like the champion the challenger isn't a puncher, in fact he only boasts a 43% stoppage rate and has scored just a single stoppage in the last 36 months, that's 1 stoppage in 9 bouts. Despite that he does have solid pop and will keep fighters respectful of him given his ability to land clean.

Where're expecting a technically brilliant battle here. Juarez's movement and technical boxing against Wanheng's calculating pressure. Sadly however for Juarez the bout will be held in the hot and humid conditions of Thailand which will likely zap his energy if he tries to move too much whilst Wanheng will look to walk him down. If Juarez slows, as expected, we think Wanhneg will come away with a clear and wide decision win.

So far world title action in Asia has been lacking for 2016 with Thailand really stealing all the headlines at the world level. That changes in early March, however the first title bout of the new month is another from the Land of Smiles and is one that in all honesty looks like being a bit of a mismatch in favour of the champion, and one of the sport's most under-rated champions.

​That champion is 30 year old Thai Wanheng Menayothin (40-0, 15) who looks to defend the WBC Minimumweight title for the 4th time since ripping it out of the hands of Mexican Oswaldo Novoa in late 2014. The under-rated, and unbeaten, Thai will be up against a former title challenger in the form of Go Odaira (12-4-3, 1), a speed but feather fisted challenger.

Wanheng has one of the sports longest unbeaten records, and it's a record that dates back more than 9 years. Although he holds a long unbeaten record it's one that can easily be criticised with the Thai having only faced a couple of “names” in his 40 fights as a professional.

The first of those names was Florante Condes, who Wanheng beat way back in June 2011. Sadly it would take more than 3 years for him to then face Novoa, one of the poorest champions in recent memory. Since winning the title Wanheng has again failed to face notable opponents, and has instead beaten the likes of Jeffrey Galero, a promising but unproven Filipino youngster, Jerry Tomogdan and limited Korean slugger Young Gil Bae, none of whom deserved a world title fight.

Although Wanehng's record is very thin on names he really does pass the eye test. Defensively he's a very tough boxer to figure out, with a tight guard and an intelligent defensive game plan. Offensively he's a wonderful boxer to watch, applying grinding pressure from the early stages to eventually break his opponents, either mentally or physically. On paper one would assume he's not a puncher, but he has stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents and it seems that he manages to keep his grinding power into the later stages of bouts.

Of course with 40 bouts there will be some wear and tear, but given his tight defensive work Wanheng does look like a very young 30 year old, and despite having 319 rounds on his record he'll be around for a while yet.

Although the challenger it's fair to suggest that Odaira has mixed with better company than the champion. That's because Odaira has shared the ring with Katsunari Takayama, the only man to stop Odaira, with the two facing off at the end of 2014 in an IBF/WBO Minimumweight title bout. He has also fought Ryuji Hara and holds a notable win over former world title challenger Takashi Kunishige.

In the ring Odaira is all about speed, much like his mentor Susumu Hanagata, a former WBA Flyweight champion. Interestingly Hanagata will be one of the biggest helps that Odaira will have with the former champion having already experienced Thai conditions in a competitive loss to Chartchai Chionoi back in 1973, incidentally it was Chionoi who Hanagata beat for his world title in Japan the following year.

Blessed with incredible hand speed and brilliant movement Odaira's gameplan will be be based on getting his shots off and getting away. That sounds easy but in Thailand that's incredibly difficult so he actually spend extra days in Thailand getting used to the heat, humidity and other aspects of the weather. He'll be hoping that helps him prepare, but unfortunately for him the Thai conditions are only part of the problem, with Wanheng being another. Wanheng's style is one that will see Odaira working doubly hard to get out of range, and he will really have to work double hard to avoid the champion.

Although a wonderfully talented boxer this is a very uphill task for Odaira who seems likely to put into a small ring and chased down by Wanheng. We suspect the challenger will have a great start, and will looks sensational at times, but by the middle rounds he'll begin to slow and the champion will start to take over before forcing a stoppage in the second half of the fight.

(Image courtesy of The Champion - Thailand)