Mar 10 - Bangkok,
Thailand (No U.S. TV)
Veeraphol Sahaprom vs. Adan Vargas
This should prove to be the most action packed card of the week. Unfortunately,
it takes place in Thailand and will not be televised stateside.
Veerphol won his first WBA belt by going the distance with Dawrung Chuvatana and taking
the nod in only his 4th professional fight! In his first defense of the title, he was
stopped by the heavy handed Nana Konadu in the 2nd round. 16 fights later in Dec 98 he
stopped the WBC champ Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in 6 rounds for his second world title. Since
then he has defended the title twice, (both by KO) and has won 2 non title bouts. (both by
KO) His latest KO victim was Nathan Barcelona via 9th round stoppage this past Jan.
Veeraphol is a tough 2 time world champion who is defending against the #1 contender Adan.
Adan is a little banger in his own right. He sports a 32-1-1 and 22 ko record. He has yet
to win a world belt, but was the former Mexican Bantamweight champ and a former NABF
Bantamweight champ. He has fought tough opposition to get that number one ranking, and
this is his chance to shine. But will it?
They do both share one thing in common. In both of their only losses they were stopped
ironically in the second round. Weird huh . . .
I see Veeraphol opening quick on Adan. They will both get off the canvas inside the first
3 rounds, but Veeraphol will end on his feet with his hand extended inside of 6 rounds.
This will be an all offensive with no regard for defense action packed barnburner.
Sahaprom inside 6
Mar 11- HBO 10:30 pm
Naseem Hamed vs. Vuyani Bungu
I only read about the infamous Prince for about 2 years before his first
fight in the states. He had a reputation as a big banger, and was letting it all hang out
in Dec of 97 against Kevin Kelley at MSG. In a non stop 4 rounds, they both got of the
canvas a couple times then the Prince landed a shot that made me a believer. A shot that
had Kevin twitching on the floor and the Prince a proven power puncher. Prince clownboy in
recent memory has given mediocre performances and longer ring entrances. In his last bout
against Cesar Soto, he went the distance with a slow, lethargic Soto who was telegraphing
all his punches and scored a couple interesting take downs. I was less than impressed. He
had to give up his WBC belt because the WBC would not allow their champ to hold the WBO
belt. No matter, this kid has natural talent. He has awkward balance and generates much
power from the oddest angles.
The Prince is, in a nutshell . . Awkward, off balance and DEADLY!
Vuyani will have his hands full, considering Prince has beat 9 former champions.
Vuyani is the former IBF Jr Feather champ, and has been in the ring with some major
competition. During his reign as the IBF jr. featherweight champion, he defended his title
13 times and has beat 4 former world champions. He owns impressive wins over Kennedy
McKinney (twice), Jesus Salud, Enrique Jupiter and Danny Romero. All distance wins, but
impressive none the less. Vuyani relinquished the 122-pound world title to move up in
weight to challenge Hamed, only problem is Vuyani is past his prime. His last fight was in
Feb 99 against a nobody. He's been inactive for over 12 months. A perfect pigeon for the
Prince. An impressive win against a former champ like Vuyani would lend credence to
Prince's validity as a champion and would open the door to big money unification bouts.
Perhaps a rematch with IBF champ Paul Ingle or even matchup with Fred Norwood or Luisto
Espinosa.
Make no mistake about it, money talks. Prince will prevail inside 9 heats.
Hamed inside 9
In Retrospect:
Veeraphol Sahaprom vs. Adan Vargas
Almost as expected. I expected the Thai to stop Adan, but he did conduct a boxing
clinic on Adan's face. The judges saw it 117-111, 118-111 and 120-110 all for Veeraphol. A
one sided match in which one judge thought he won all 12 rounds!
I'll keep an eye on this Thai banger.
Side note: Veeraphol's name is now Veeraphol Nakhonluang-Promotion . It is
customary for Thai fighters to adopt the name of the house they fight for as their last
name. Strange huh?
Naseem Hamed vs. Vuyani Bungu
As expected. I figured Vuyani would of lasted longer, but
he couldn't weather the power of the Prince. Prince went in with a no nonsense approach
and took care of business. He demonstrated he has power in both hands, and he can take a
punch from world class opposition. This should of made believers out of his many
detractors. He stated he wanted Eric Morales, and by last nights performance, I believe
this would be an explosive match up. As arrogant as he is, he did prove his championship
caliber and worthiness to be viewed as one of the worlds pound for pound best.
