by Redjie Cawis

 The boxing pride of Besao, Mt. Province took down his foe from Thailand during their toe-to-toe slugfest at the capital town of La Trinidad, Benguet, Friday night.

World Boxing Organization (WBO) oriental bantamweight champion Dayer Gabutan retained his crown when he knocked down Meechai Kiatpracha in the third round of the scheduled 12 rounds of boxing at the jampacked La Trinidad municipal gym.

A shattering upper cut followed by a powerful straight to the face of Kiatpracha ended the bout in round 3 of the main event of the night dubbed Unleashing the fury of Cordilleras: For Pride and Glory.


The 22 year-old Gabutan has 12 victories, including five knock outs, one loss, and two draws in his professional boxing career.

Gabutan is ranked world number eight. This was his second title defense after successfully defending the crown last December.


Kiatpracha, the 28-year-old native of Bangkok, Thailand, ranked as the number two oriental bantamweight contender, had been eyeing this fight for his 12th victory overall but was stopped by the boxer from Besao.
Kiatpracha has a record of 11 wins and four knockouts with one loss.

Before their fight, Kiatpracha took down eighth Filipino victim in his boxing career since turning pro in 2004.
Kiatpracha is coming off from a big loss against another Thai and had his 10 fight winning streak broken prior to his bout against Gabutan. (RC - PIA CAR)