Manus Boonjumnong and Somjit Jongjohor will have the eyes of Thailand on them today as they fight for the highest title in amateur boxing, the Olympic gold
Story by WANCHAI RUJAWONGSANTI
A reformed playboy and a nice guy will be fighting to salvage pride for Thailand in the boxing finals today. Defending light-welterweight champion Manus Boonjumnong meets Felix Diaz of Dominican Republic while flyweight Somjit Jongjohor takes on Cuba's Andris Laffita Hernamdez.
Manus whipped Cuba's Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo 10-5 and Somjit gave Vicenzo Picardi of Italy a few boxing lessons in his 7-1 triumph in the semi-finals yesterday.
A self-proclaimed reformed man, Manus had a tough road to the final. He began his Beijing campaign in the round of 16 with an 8-1 win over Japan's Masatsugu Kawachi who defeated him at last year's World Championships in Chicago.
The Ratchaburi star edged hot favourite Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan 7-5 in the quarter-finals before thrashing Sotolongo. He will become Thailand's first two-time Olympic champion if he sees off Diaz.
On his mother's birthday, Manus' experience and skill were too much for his 20-year-old opponent who seemingly intentionally headbutted the Thai and was deducted two points in the third round.
The incident proved decisive and was a huge boost for Manus who gained an 8-3 lead before adding another point to make it 9-3 with one round to go. Manus then back-pedalled in the final round to win 10-5.
''Clearly it was ugly behaviour. He should not have resorted to an unsportsman-like conduct.
He should have fought by the rules,'' Manus said of the headbutt.
Sotolongo was not graceful in defeat. He believed he was the winner and attacked Manus and the match officials.
''He is experienced but not good,'' the Cuban said. ''He doesn't know anything about fair play. The spectators saw that but not the judges. They should have taken points from him but instead they took points from me.''
Manus dedicated his semi-final triumph to his mother and will give his all to clinch another gold for His Majesty the King who inspired him to win the title in Athens four years ago.
''I will fight to the death. I will give my life in the ring. I will try to get another gold medal for the King,'' said the 28-year-old star. ''I will do everything to make the Thai people happy.''
Manus received millions of baht in bonus he earned from the Athens gold medal, but squandered it on partying and gambling. During the Beijing tournament, he has repeatedly said he was a changed man.
''No beer, no gambling, only training. I feel 100% and am ready to fight. I want to protect the medal I won last time,'' he told yesterday's China Daily.
Somjit had a light workout against Picardi. Although the Italian took the first point of the bout, it turned out to be his only point of the contest as the Thai scored a 7-1 win.
''I felt relaxed,'' said Somjit. ''I think he only fought to not lose by a huge margin.''
At 33, the Buri Ram native said he felt a bit tired after two bouts in three days. While Hernandez is a dangerous opponent, Somjit said, he is not worried too much about him.
''He is a southpaw and moves fast. I will fight him cautiously. If I can't get a point then I must not lose one,'' he said. ''If he is two points ahead it will be difficult for me catch him. So I have to fight cautiously. The fans have to understand me.''
Somjit and Hernandez were 1-1 in their previous two meetings. The 30-year-old Cuban pipped Somjit on a count-back on his way to take silver at the 2005 World Championships. The Thai avenged the loss with a narrow victory in the World Cup a couple of years later.
Dubbed a ''nice guy'' in Thai amateur boxing for his strict discipline and hard work, Somjit said that personally he did not feel any pressure after beating Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan in the quarter-finals to clinch at least a bronze.
''But I will be under pressure to win gold for the Thai people,'' said Somjit, who has won just about everything in amateur boxing including world and Asian Games titles, but not an Olympic gold medal.
Somjit also defeated Eddie Valenzuela of Guatemala and Samir Mammadov of Azerbaijan on his way to the final. It will be the last fight of his career and he will get extra motivation as today is his son Kampan's (which means fist in Thai) birthday.
aweep Jantararoj, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand, said Manus would certainly win his second gold medal because his opponent is not so dangerous.
He feels Somjit has a 60-40 chance of beating the Cuban.
Although both fight the same style, Somjit looks a bit better, Taweep said.
He revealed that Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana had called Thai delegation chief Thana Chaiprasit and told him to tell Somjit and Manus to give their all to win gold medals.
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