Boxing manager Niwat Laosuwannawat is confident WBA flyweight champion Denkaosan Kaovichit will beat Daiki Kameda in their rematch in Japan in early February.

Denkaosan defeated Kameda in his title defense in Osaka on October 6 last year. The head of Kameda’s gym made headlines as he announced he would protest the result to the WBA, leading to both sides agreeing to hold a rematch, scheduled on February 7 in Kobe, Japan.

Niwat said Denkaosan is in prime conditions but will continue to train himself as the bout against Kameda will be crucial to his world champion career. He has assigned former world champion Khaosai Galaxy and long-time trainer Durong Apollo to supervise the training.

WBC flyweight champion Koki Kameda will defend his title against Thai “interim” title holder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in Japan within a few months, say Pongsaklek’s promoters.

Thai promoters Wirat and Piyarat Wachiraratanawong initially wanted the WBC match to be held in Thailand but later agreed with their Japanese counterparts to have Kameda and Pongsaklek fight in Japan in either late March or early April this year.

In addition, they also agreed to let WBC stawweight champion Oleydong Sithsamerchai, another of their top boxers, fight challenger Yasutaka Kuroki in the same event, although Kuroki is scheduled to fight fellow Japanese boxer Takumi Suda on February 1.

WIBA international flyweight champion Samson Tor Buamad of Thailand has returned to professional boxing after a hiatus and apologized to her manager for refusing to fight in her bout last year.

Samson, who was Thailand’s first female world title holder, was reportedly engaged in a conflict with her manager Dam Buamad as she refused to fight in a planned match last September and eventually left Tor Buamad gym.

The pugilist, however, has returned to the gym earlier this month and is now training for her bouts.

“Recently, I have had quite a number of personal problems, which caused me to stray off tracks, but now I’m back to train at the gym. I’m glad and grateful to Dam who gave me a second chance. I intend to create even more fame for myself. My conditions are about 50-60% ready and my weight is 49 kilograms,” she said.

WBA flyweight champion Denkaosan Kaovichit is 90% ready for a rematch with Japanese boxer Daiki Kameda in early February, says his trainer.

Denkaosan defeated Kameda in his title defense in Osaka on October 6 last year. The head of Kameda’s gym made headlines as he announced he would protest the result to the WBA, leading to both sides agreeing to hold a rematch this year, currently scheduled on February 7 in Kobe, Japan.

Denkaosan said he considers the title defense a great “burden” with the country’s reputation at stake. He promises to not underestimate Kameda although he was able to beat the Japanese boxer last year.

Promoter Songchai Ratanasuban claims muaythai fighter Noppakrit Nampla Tra Hoimook will enjoy a golden year in 2010 as he arranges the fighter a match against the more senior Pakorn Sakyothin on February 11.

Noppakrit recently beat Kongnakornban Sor Kitrungroj and is now scheduled to fight Pakorn in the Onesongchai event at Ratchadamnern Stadium on February 11. The Muaythai event will be jointly organized by Songchai and fellow promoters Niwat Laosuwannawat and Termsak Pitithanasarnsombat.

Songchai is asking the muaythai fans to monitor Noppakrit’s development this year, claiming that he will “definitely become the magnet of this sport”.

Boxing and muaythai promoter Naris Singwangcha of Thailand is hoping the Filipino boxers he recently recruited into his camp will help boost his international fame.

According to Naris, a number of Filipino boxers have agreed to fight under him and used “Singwangcha” as part of their ring names, which is customary for many Thai boxing camps.

Naris, upon returning to Thailand from his Philippines trip last week, said his new Filipino boxers such as “Donald Singwangcha” and “Ryan Singwangcha” have a good chance to gain international recognition in the footstep of Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao.

Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court is expected to rule on the status of the two rival muaythai associations in Thailand within a few months, likely putting an end to the rivalry that has troubled the sport for five years.

The court decided it would accept no more evidence and witnesses after January 21, while legal expert said the ruling would come with a few months. Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa said he would disband the association that was not supported by the court, which he said would unify the sport and boost long-term development.

According to him, the Sports Authority of Thailand cancelled the permit of the Muaythai Association of Thailand (MAT) because it did not include “amateur” in its title. Subsequently, it endorsed the Amateur Muaythai Association of Thailand (AMAT), which prompted MAT’s Santipab Intarapat to file a case to a lower court. The court ruling was favor of AMAT but did not end the rivalry of the two associations.

Prab Kaiyang Hadao has again failed to make weight to fight Lertpetch Por Worasing despite Omnoi Stadium’s earlier decision to controversially postpone the match.

According to earlier reports, the match of Prab vs. Lertpetch on January 2 was postponed at the last minute after the former failed to pass weigh-in. Muay Siam newspaper suggested that the dubious decision of the stadium may come from its connection with Prab's manager Wirat Wachiratanawong, who helms a large and well-known muaythai camp.

Prab, however, still failed to make weight for the rescheduled match on January 7. He was disqualified, although the stadium plans another match for the two fighters on January 16.

The beginning of 2010 will see title bouts of several Thai boxers including WBC flyweight “interim” title holder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam who will fight real champion Koki Kameda of Japan in a mandatory bout.

The Japanese and Thai promoters are currently in negotiation with a planned revenue sharing scheme that allows Koki Kameda to take 55% of the earning and Pongsaklek the remaining.

If the two camps could not reach an agreement within early January, they would have to submit bids to the WBC. The bid winner would be required to hold the match within three months.

Thailand’s Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym has retained his WBA super bantamweight title by beating Japanese challenger Satoshi Hosono by split decision in Japan on Monday.

Poonsawat and Hosono aggressively exchanged punches early on from the first round of the action-packed bout held in Tokyo in the evening of January 11. Neither of the two pugilists was able to put the other down to the canvas, but the taller Thai was able to score better in later rounds with uppercuts as well as hits to the body and face.

At the end of 12 rounds, Poonsawat emerged as winner, receiving scores of 114-114, 117-113, and 117-113. His success at the first title defense has added one more win to his impressive record of 40 wins with 28 knockouts and one loss, while the former OPBF champion Hosono suffered his first loss after 16 wins with 12 knockouts.