WBC flyweight champ Pongsaklek to fight Japanese challenger

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) - World Boxing Council flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam will take on Japanese challenger Noriyuki Komatsu on January 29 in Osaka, ring promoters revealed.
"It doesn't mean a thing if you don't win in a world title match," said 25-year-old Komatsu, who is ranked second. "I will stake all my life to become world champion."
But the Thai champion, 27, is a tough-nosed fighter who has not lost in his last 44 matches over eight years. His career record stands at 53 wins, 29 of them by knockout, against two losses.
Pongsaklek has defended the WBC title 10 times since he wrested it from Malcolm Tunacao of the Philippines by a first-round technical knockout in March 2001.
It will be the first crack at the world crown for Komatsu, a former Orient and Pacific flyweight champion, who has a record of 19 wins, eight of them inside the distance, one loss and five draws.

11/15/2004 - 13:44 GMT - AFP