It appears that Manny Pacquiao isn't the only hard-hitting Filipino sensation that can explode onto the scene and shock the world. In what is no doubt the current Upset of the Year, long-reigning WBC flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (83-4-2, 44 KOs) was stopped in the 6th round by Sonny Boy Jaro (34-10-5, 24 KOs) earlier today in Chonburi, Thailand. It was a classic matchup of styles between a more technically skilled boxer and a hard-hitting slugger who continued to press forward looking for a knockout. In the end, following three knockdowns, it was the slugger who came out victorious.
From the beginning, Wonjongkam looked like he was going to be in for a rough night. Just seconds into the first round, Jaro landed a right hook that wobbled the champion followed by a left hook to the temple that knocked him off his feet. He got up quickly though, shook it off and took the count. After that, Jaro proceeded to throw bombs, the majority of which were missing, allowing Wongjongkam to maintain his composure and get back to fundamental boxing, landing his jab and connecting with combinations. That being said, the more muscular Jaro continued to walk him down, landing enough big shots to clearly have an impact. Jaro's punches would stray south of the border from time to time, earning him warnings from the referee, but when they didn't, he hurt the champion on several occasions. After 4 rounds, WBC open scoring showed that all three judges had it scored 38-36 in favor of the challenger.
In the 5th round, Jaro again received warnings for low blows, and Wongjongkam was starting to look to the referee more and more to complain about them, as well as headbutts. Nevetheless, he continued to try and outbox the less technically skilled Jaro, who looked like he was starting to tire from all the bombs he was throwing. Still, Jaro was connecting with heavy shots. In the 6th round, he would land another low blow, and the referee would take a point, but that only seemed to fuel his fire. When the action resumed, Jaro landed a right hook that backed Wongjongkam up to the ropes and then unleashed a flurry of punches before landing a flush right hook to the jaw that sent the champion crashing to the canvas. Wongjongkam would again quickly get up, but he was definitely on shaky legs. Jaro calmly walked over and proceeded to batter Wongjongkam against the ropes, landing a 20 unanswered punches that again sent the champion slumping to the canvas before the referee called it off.
Prior to the fight, Jaro was ranked #8 by the WBC while many had Wongjongkam in their top 10 pound-for-pound lists, including Ring Magazine, who had him at #8 above WBO jr. welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Since 1996, Wongjonkam had only suffered 1 defeat, a narrow unanimous decision loss to Daisuke Naito, while racking up 71 more wins over the course of 16 years. Considering those credentials, it's going to be tough to beat beat this victory as the Upset of the Year, unless, of course, Miguel Cotto or Timothy Bradley can pull off something spectacular.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW FOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIGHT
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