Amnat confident of retaining IBF title

Amnat confident of retaining IBF title

Former Thailand national boxer will take on Japanese challenger Ioka to defend his flyweight crown in Osaka next month

Amnat Ruenroeng is confident that he will retain his IBF flyweight title when he takes on Japanese challenger Kazuto Ioka in Osaka next month.

Amnat Ruenroeng, right, fights against Rocky Fuentes in Nakhon Ratchasima in January.

The May 7 fight at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium will be the Thai’s first defence after beating Rocky Fuentes of the Philippines to win the vacant title in January.

Amnat and Ioka are unbeaten in their professional careers with the Thai registering 12 wins (5KOs) and the Japanese 14 victories (9KOs).

As amateurs, Amnat once defeated Ioka at the King’s Cup tournament in Bangkok in 2008.

While Amnat, 34, will be trying to keep his belt, the 25-year-old challenger is looking forward to winning his third world title in three different weight classes.

Ioka relinquished his WBA light-flyweight (108lb) title, having earlier given up his WBC strawweight (105lb) crown.

“His style is still like that of an amateur boxer,” Ammat said.

“It will not be as tough as my fight against Fuentes.”

Although the challenger will be backed by his home fans, Amnat said this would not be a problem for him because he has fought throughout the world since he was an amateur.

“His uppercut is great and has stopped many Thais but it is not too tough for me to handle,” said Ammat, a quarter-finalist at the 2008 Olympics.

“Also, I don’t think he will be very good in the 112lb division. I believe I can beat him.”

Ioka has beaten many Thais. He stopped Oledong Sithsamerchai to win the WBC minimumweight (105lb) title in February 2011 and 10 months later, he stopped Yodngoen Tor Chalermchai in his second title defence.

In the first defence of his World Boxing Association light-flyweight (108lb) title fight last May, he took a ninth-round knockout win over Wisanu Kokietgym and four months later stopped Kwanthai Sithmorseng in the seventh round.

As for Amnat, he must beat Ioka to set up a lucrative fight with two-time Olympic champion Zou Shiming of China later this year.

In another development, Pungluang Sor Singyu (46-2, 31KOs) will fight champion Tomoki Kameda (29-0, 18KOs) for the WBO bantamweight belt in a mandatory fight in Mexico on May 10.

Earlier, the fight was supposed to take place in the US but later moved to Mexico.

Pungluang stopped AJ Banal of the Philippines to win the vacant title in 2012 only to lose it to Namibia’s Paulus Ambunda in his first defence.

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