Wonjongkam vs. Arce Scuttled
By Scott Mallon May 18th, 2006WBC orders Thai champ to fight South African
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam has been ordered by the WBC to make his mandatory defense against current WBC International champion and number one contender Monelisi Myekeni of South Africa. The long-awaited bout with Jorge “Travieso� Arce is not going to happen as Arce can no longer make the 112 lb. limit.
May 18th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Damn shame! Arce vs. Wonjongkam would have been intresting.
May 18th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Good. Now they can finally stop teasing everyone about such a fight ever happening. Top Rank could’ve made this one a done deal a long time ago if they REALLY wanted the fight.
May 18th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
I’m glad all the promising and BS has finally come to a head. They didn’t fight last July because the tickets for the Martin - Rijker fight weren’t selling well and Top Rank paid both of them off instead of going through with the card and their fight.
Now the thing is, there are very few in the WBC flyweight division whom Wonjongkam can fight or who can give him a fight - maybe Kameda but I don’t see it happening. He’s beaten alot of the others in the to fifteen so unless he jumps ship or is “allowed” to fight a champion from another of the ABC’s, he’s going to keep on fighting guys who look decent on paper but who really aren’t anywhere near the best the division has to offer.
May 19th, 2006 at 5:48 am
Surely Darchiniyan would be a goer. This fight would make a both men as much money as they are going to make at 112, especially if they fight in Sydney. Bangkok they may still make a good quid. At least in Oz, they will get a Pay per View audience on Main Event.
I have said all along that Wonjongkam would beat Arce and I still believe it. He is a desperately underestimated southpaw. I have seen him fight three times live and his work rate, movement and lefty stance would have given Jorge all he could handle. Hw would not stand in front of Arce like Hussy did.
May 19th, 2006 at 10:23 am
Arce would beat Wonjongkam, he reminds me of Hatton with more boxing skills but just as much heart.
May 19th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
it seems from this account that, when things came to a head, Arce/Top Rank blinked. Is this what you’re hearing, Scott? Arce had no problem making weight for the marginally relevant fight with Alvarez, but when he finally gets his “real” title shot, he all of a sudden can’t make weight? I understand that part of this may be that they didn’t want to go to Thailand, which may have happened with purse bids, but this still seems lame to me.