Menayothin-Fukuhara delayed to April 24th
Menayothin defeated Fukuhara by decision in 2017
Those of you excited to see TBE compete tomorrow will be sorely disappointed. Minimumweight king Wanheng Menayothin’s WBC title defense against Tatsuya Fukuhara has been pushed back to April 24th, though it will still take place in Chonburi, Thailand.
The fight will be Menayothin’s (52-0, 18 KO) eleventh defense since stopping Mexico’s Oswaldo Novoa for the belt in 2014. It will also be his second time facing Fukuhara (21-6-6, 7 KO), having won a competitive but poorly scored decision over the Japanese veteran in 2017.
Menayothin appears to be in cruise control for the moment; he’s shown no interest in fighting outside of Thailand or against WBA champ Knockout CP Freshmart. Newly crowned IBF champion Deejay Kriel wants a crack at him, but doesn’t want to do it on Menayothin’s home turf for fear of wonky scorecards. His current #1 contender is South Africa’s Simphiwe Khonco, but like Menayothin, Khonco has never fought outside his home country.