Poonsawat's fight date set

BOXING

Thai super-bantamweight star Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym will fight WBA champion Bernard Dunne in Ireland on September 26.

Poonsawat

Brian Peters Promotions, who control Dunne, won the purse bids to hold the fight for $120,000.

Niwat Laosuwanwat, who promotes the Thai challenger, had initially said he would contest the bid process but has since changed his mind.

A source close to the deal said that a squabble between the Galaxy camp and foreign middlemen caused Poonsawat's handlers to miss out on submitting a bid.

The Thai camp will receive 45% of the winning amount ($54,000 or about 1.89 million baht), a relatively low figure for a fight of this nature.

The mandatory fight of the 122-pound division is likely to take place the O2 stadium in Dublin where Dunne (28-1 with 15 KOs) stopped Ricardo Cordoba in his last defence in March.

Niwat believes Poonsawat can spring an upset, especially as the Thai outpointed Cordoba in Bangkok in 2005.

"Dunne and Poonsawat are not much different in style," said Niwat.

"Dunne's only dangerous weapon is the lead left hook but Poonsawat has never been put down in his fighting career, let alone knocked out."

Sakon Nakhon native Poonsawat (38-1 with 27KOs) won the "interim" title in April by stopping Venezuela's Rafael Hernandez in nine rounds in Pathum Thani.

Poonsawat hopes that 29-year-old Dunne will feel the pressure of boxing in front of his own fans.

It will also be the second time the Thai has contested a world title. He was outpointed by WBA bantam champ Wladimir Sidorenko in Germany in 2006. That is the only loss on his record.

"I am ready for the challenge," said hard-punching Poonsawat.