Miel Fajardo Faces Acid Test versus Fellow KO Artist Thai Foe in Tokyo
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Feb 2024
Hard hitting Miel Fajardo is among the few Filipino boxers who we hope could be our next world champion.
Though a baker's dozen of pro bouts under his belt, Fajardo (10-1-2, 10 KOs) move near to a world title crack after winning the OPBF light flyweight crown late last year via crushing first round knockout of fellow Filipino John Paul Gabunilas.
Now he can fortify that bid with another impressive victory in an acid test against a fellow KO artist Thai challenger Thanongsak Simsri (32-1, 30 KOs) in defense of his OPBF crown to be held in Japan.
Though on paper Simsri looked formidable; he has built his record by fighting and beating mostly fellow Thais although he has two Pinoys in his list of victims namely Ricardo Sueno whom he stopped in four rounds and then unbeaten Christian Bacolod whom he beat by unanimous decision. The Thai is currently under a Japanese promoter.
Fajardo's only loss came very early in his pro career, a 4 round points verdict to ArAr Andales who would proceed to challenge for a world title in Thailand. He was also held to draw his pro debut.
Like Fajardo, Simsri only had one loss thus far but it came against a tough world rated Japanese Masimichi Yabuki who stopped him in the 7th round on September 2022.
If Yabuki's name rings a bell, it's because he was the first fighter to beat world's # 1 light flyweight Kenshiro Teraji and wresting his WBA and WBC titles by upset knockout in late 2021. Yabuki proceeded to lose to Teraji in their title rematch via 3rd round knockout.
The Simsri fight was Yabuki's comeback fight.
If Yabuki is any gauge, Fajardo could be in a dogfight against Simsri.
Fajardo though could be more than ready for the challenge as he is used to fighting and winning against foreign foes in foreign rings including TKO over world rated Mauro Gauto in Dubai and fastest KO over a Thai Sarawut Jiamthong in Thailand. He has also fought in China beating Xiang Li.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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