Japanese challenger Tatsuya Fukuhara arrived in Bangkok yesterday brimming with confidence that he will dethrone WBC minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin when they meet in Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday.
"I have been training for more than two months and am ready for the fight," said Fukuhara.
"I have studied tapes of Wanheng's fights. I am confident that I will take home the belt."
It will be the 28-year-old Japanese boxer's second crack at a world title. He was beaten by compatriot Ryuya Yamanaka in his first defence of the WBO minimumweight belt in August.
Wanheng, 32, has won all 48 of his career bouts, 17 of them by knockout, and has defended the crown seven times.
He will move closer to matching Floyd Mayweather's unbeaten record if he beats the Japanese challenger.
Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in August for a record 50th straight win, but the feat is not accepted in some quarters as McGregor is an MMA fighter.
Promoter Piyarat Wachirarattanawong admitted that the fight could be tough for Wanheng.
"We chose a dangerous challenger because we want Wanheng to prove that he is the best among all champions of the 105-pound division," he said.
"We want him to match Mayweather's record of 50 successive wins. Beating a fine boxer would make his record look good."
Wanheng last fought in August when he comfortably beat Indonesia's Jack Amisa with a unanimous decision in a warm-up bout in Chon Buri.
The Thai, known in his country as Wanheng Kaiyanghadaogym (Five-Star Grilled Chicken Gym), is one of the Kingdom's only three world boxing champions at the moment along with WBA minimumweight title-holder Knockout CP Freshmart and WBC super-flyweight king Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Meanwhile, Japan's Ryoichi Taguchi will defend his WBA light-flyweight title for the seventh time in a fight on New Year's Eve against IBF champion Milan Melindo.
In the under card, Hiroto Kyoguchi will defend his IBF minimumweight championship against Nicaragua's Carlos Buitrago, the division's third-ranked challenger.
"I want a resounding win that will make this card an amazing one," said the 30-year-old Taguchi, who has a 26-2 record with two draws and 12 wins by knockout.
His 29-year-old opponent is 37-2 with 13 knockouts.
Kyoguchi said: "I want to enter the New Year as the champion."
The 23-year-old Kyoguchi is undefeated in eight fights (6KOs) while Buitrago, 25, is 30-2 with one draw and 17KOs.
Ali's 'Fight Doctor' dies
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali's physician and cornerman, "Fight Doctor" Ferdie Pacheco, died on Thursday at his home in Miami, his family announced. He was 89.
Pacheco, who earned a medical degree from the University of Miami, met Ali in the early 1960s at Miami's Fifth Street Gym when the future icon was known as Cassius Clay and working with legendary trainer Angelo Dundee.
Working in Ali's corner with Dundee in the 1960s, Pacheco kept his place in Ali's inner circle during most of the superstar's reign as boxing's heavyweight champion.
Pacheco, an American of Cuban and Spanish heritage, played a key role in Ali's 1964 title fight against Sonny Liston.
Ali's blood pressure rose at the weigh-in and Pacheco was asked to examine the fighter away from the rowdy atmosphere. Ali admitted to Pacheco he was acting "crazy" to scare Liston and when Pacheco examined him, Ali's reading was normal. He went on to win the fight. bangkok post/agencies
