Boxing’s longest reigning male titleholder is absolutely set for his subsequent protection.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the Thammanoon Niyomtrong-Erick Rosa WBA strawweight title consolidation conflict will happen on March 1 in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. The date comes greater than a month after Petchyindee Boxing Promotions claimed promotional rights by a handbag bid listening to held through the WBA conference in Orlando, Florida.
Niyomtrong fights beneath the Petchyindee promotional umbrella, by Piyarat Vachirarattanawong’s Petpiya Combat Promotions out of Thailand.
Rosa (5-0, 1KO) will struggle outdoors of his native Dominican Republic for the primary time in his formidable profession. The 22-year-old southpaw from Santo Domingo—the place all 5 professional fights have taken place—went all ten rounds in his October 2020 professional debut and upgraded to 12 rounds by his fourth professional struggle, when he outpointed unbeaten Ricardo Astuvilca to win the now defunct interim WBA strawweight title.
An improve to the secondary ‘Common’ title got here in Rosa’s most up-to-date struggle, a twelve-round, break up resolution victory over Vic Saludar in December 2021. He went all of 2022 with no struggle, with a lot of the ultimate three months hoping to lure Niyomtrong to the U.S.
There was as soon as a plan in place for Niyomtrong-Rosa to land on the undercard previous the December 17 Frank Martin-Michel Rivera Showtime telecast. Visa points nixed these plans, to the purpose of the WBA calling for a handbag bid because the struggle reached overdue standing.
Petchyindee Boxing Promotions posted $140,000, outbidding Shuan Boxing ($122,000) who promotes Rosa and hoped to deliver the struggle both to D.R. or on a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) card in early 2023.
The purse bid consequence meant that Niyomtrong (24-0, 9KOs)—greatest identified in boxing circles as Knockout CP Freshmart—doesn’t have to go away Thailand. The 32-year-old from Surin has spent everything of his eleven 12 months profession in Asia, all with the lone struggle outdoors of his house nation coming in a July 2018 unanimous resolution win over former WBC titlist Chaozhong Xiong in Qingdao, China.
Niyomtrong upgraded his secondary WBA title reign to full title standing following a June 2016 resolution win over Nicaragua’s Byron Rojas. Eleven title defenses have adopted, most not too long ago in a twelve-round win over countryman and former WBC titlist Wanheng ‘TBE’ Menayothin on July 20 in Chonburi, Thailand.
It additionally got here with the understanding that Niyomtrong was very more likely to subsequent face Rosa.
By that time, Niyomtrong emerged because the longest reigning lively male titlist. He earned that distinction final January, after Gary Russell Jr’s WBC featherweight title reign—which dated again to March 2015—got here to an finish with a twelve-round defeat to the Philippines’ Mark Magsayo.
Jake Donovan is a senior author for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox