A strawweight title fight more than a year in the making remains in limbo as deadlines near.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that ongoing efforts are being made to get Thammanoon Niyomtrong to the U.S. and his title consolidation bout with Erick Rosa into a boxing ring. The two were originally due to meet in October, with three separate dates—October 7, October 14 and October 19—provided to the WBA.
While it is obvious there is no likelihood of that any longer taking place, it comes as the WBA-imposed deadline of October 19 is now upon us with no hope in site for a bout that was originally ordered last year.
One version explained to Boxing Scene is there is a hang up in the visa status regarding Thailand’s Niyomtrong (24-0, 9KOs), the reigning WBA ‘Super’ strawweight titlist and the sport’s longest-reigning male titleholder. Shuan Boxing, Rosa’s promoter, won a July 21 purse bid hearing with the minimum amount of $80,000 presented to promote the fight on any of three mentioned October dates. Rosa holds the sanctioning body’s ‘Regular’ strawweight title.
Originally, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and Showtime were due to run an event on October 7 but those plans rapidly changed as rumors continue to swirl of Showtime’s potential exit from the sport. The network is presenting a show this weekend, though from Australia with the Tim Tszyu-Brian Mendoza WBO junior middleweight title fight.
The last remaining date called for Shuan Boxing to present the event on October 19 in Haiti. No plans were revealed for any such show to take place, which at minimum puts the fight at risk of entering a default and headed back to a purse bid.
The WBA can take extreme action and strip both boxers of their respective titles for failure to defend, which would remove both belts from existence per the sanctioning body’s ongoing title reduction campaign. That type of move would then result in the next two highest ranked challengers to fight for the standard WBA strawweight title.
Niyomtrong (24-0, 9KOs) has held the WBA ‘Super’ strawweight title since June 2016. Dominican Republic’s Rosa (6-0, 2KOs) won the interim WBA title in a July 2021 points win over unbeaten Ricardo Astuvilca. He upgraded to WBA ‘Regular’ titleholder with a win over Vic Saludar in their December 2021 bout to determine the final mandatory for Niyomtrong.
Niyomtrong-Rosa first went to a purse bid hearing last December in Orlando, Florida, held during the WBA’s annual convention. Petchyindee Boxing Promotions posted $140,000, outbidding Shuan Boxing ($122,000) who hoped to bring the fight either to D.R. or on a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) card in early 2023.
The fight was budgeted to take place March 1 in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. As previously reported by Boxing Scene, their March 1 bout ran into trouble when Rosa (5-0, 1KOs) was detained by Thai immigration officials upon arrival in Bangkok. Rosa’s passport did not meet the requirements for Dominicans to travel to Thailand, though it remains unclear why he was not stopped upon boarding a plane en route to Thailand.
A breakdown in communication between his team–led by promoter Belgica Pena of Shuan Boxing—and Petpiya Fight left Rosa’s travel status in limbo before receiving permission to return home. The development thus killed plans for the fight, to the detriment of Petpiya who invested heavily into the event.
It was determined by the WBA that both parties were at fault prior to ordering a fresh round of talks with an assigned March 28 date for a purse bid should the two sides fail to reach terms. A deal was reportedly reached that would see the fight land on a summertime PBC event.
Unresolved issues forced the WBA to go back to the well. The July 21 purse bid hearing came with the stipulation that the fight could not take place in the home country of either boxer.
Niyomtrong has made eleven successful title defenses, along with four wins during his interim title reign. He has not fought since a twelve-round, unanimous decision over countryman, close friend and former long-reigning WBC titlist Wanheng ‘TBE’ Menayothin last July 20 in Chonburi, Thailand.
Rosa ended a 20-month inactive period with a sixth-round knockout of Orlando Pino on August 25 in his Santo Domingo hometown, where all six career pro fights have taken place.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox