Friday night sees the return of one of the sport’s special stories. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (aka Wisaksil Wangek) makes his return to the ring in a mouth-watering rematch of his 2018 fight with Juan Francisco Estrada, with the WBC super-flyweight title on the line in Los Angeles on a Matchroom Boxing promoted show.
Sor Rungvisai catapulted into the limelight in 2017 as the Thai superfly edged out former pound-for-pound king Roman Gonzalez over a mesmerizing twelve rounds of action. This win, coupled with the capturing of the green and gold WBC strap gave the 32-year-old the recognition in boxing that he had been fighting for since turning pro in 2009; his story is one of humble beginnings and a long struggle to the pinnacle of the sport.
With just one win in his first five fight in the paid ranks, Sor Rungvisai’s potential looked limited in his early outings. Fighting to eat having been raised in one of the poorest parts of Thailand, Sor Rungvisai would often walk miles to the gym, going through bins on the way home just to secure himself a meal.
After stringing together an impressive run of victories a shot at the world title came in 2014 where he would lose a contentious TD to Carlos Cuadras, following a clash of heads resulting in a cut to the eye of the champion. The cards read 73-78, 74-77, 75-77 at the time of the stoppage, with the challenger left with nowhere to go. Fast-forward four years and a shot at “Chocolatito” comes the way of Sor Rungvisai, one that he grabs with both hands. Back-to-back wins over the famed Nicaraguan cemented his position as one of the best superflys on the planet, with a highlight-reel fourth round KO the cherry on the iced cake in the second fight.
Defenses against Estrada, Gil Bae and Iran Diaz followed, before the call for the Estrada rematch was made. Scores of 115-113, 114-114, 117-111 separated these two warriors in their first bout last year, with an all-action rematch expected on Friday night.
Rungvisai is a volume-puncher with terrific in and out movement. His swarming nature as well as tough chin allows the Thai fighter to pressure his opponents into making mistakes inside the ring, with Estrada failing to get on the front foot throughout the fight. The champion’s southpaw stance is expected to make life hard once again for Estrada on Friday, with Sor Rungvisai focusing strongly on planting his lead foot to the outside of his opponents, allowing work on the inside to flow.
Sor Rungvisai is a very technical fighter, but is he lets his left hand go, he can cause huge damage. His right hand holds huge power as well at the superfly limit, and was enough to lay Gonzalez out in their infamous rematch.
Sor Rungvisai is expected to have Estrada’s number on Friday, with a unification with Ancajas or Kal Yafai expected later this year.
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Wisaksil Wangek) to beat Juan Francisco Estrada @ 4/7 (BetVictor)
