By Ted Sares – In 2006, Jimrex “The Executioner” Jaca from the Philippines gave Juan Manuel Marquez a reasonably competitive fight before he was iced in the 9th stanza. You may recall this was a televised fight in which the referee told the badly cut JMM that he was well ahead so he did not have to continue. For his indiscretion in plain sight, the referee in question was suspended for a period of time..
This year (2008), former WBA super featherweight title holder Yodsanan “3-K Battery” Sor Nanthachai, stopped Jaca in Thailand in the 6th round. 3-K, no slouch, has beaten such notables as Lakva Sims, Steve Forbes (at Foxwoods Resort),, Walter Hugo Rodriguez, Lamont Pearson, Won-Bo Chun, Ryhhei Sugita (in Japan), and many more. An equal opportunity abuser (from Tanzanians to New Zealanders and everyone in between), he has lost only once in his last 51 outings and that was a UD to the rugged Panamanian Vicente “El Loco” Mosquera at Madison Square Garden in a fight for the WBA super featherweight title. “El Loco” was decked for the first time in his career. “Loco” later gave Edwin Valero his toughest fight before succumbing in the tenth stanza in Panama City two years ago.
Bottom line: “3-K” is one very tough fighter. But just last night (12-19), “3-K Battery,” 57 (KO 46)- 3 (K02) -1 and with a gaudy KO percentage of 75.41 (two of his three losses came back in 1994), met Ali Muzvai in his pro debut. That’s right; Ali was 0-0 coming in. Ali was iced in 4.
The sad truth is Thailand refuses to have venues that feature evenly matched fighters. In this regard, it refuses to follow the lead of countries like Japan and Mexico. By scheduling these kinds of blatant mismatches, the sport of boxing is the real victim, for such “fights” will only result in a tragedy–sooner rather than later.