by Cliff Rold

Just as things were heating up, 31-year old WBA Flyweight titlist Juan Carlos Reveco (35-1, 19 KO) of Las Heras, Mendoza, Argentina, ended matters with authority in the fifth round on Friday night at the Polideportivo Gustavo Toro Rodriguez in San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina against 23-year old interim WBA titlist Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep (34-3, 20 KO) of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. 

Reveco, dropped in the second round, responded feverishly to retain his belt.  Including interim title fights, it was Reveco’s eighth successful title defense and third stoppage win in his last five starts.

Reveco weighed in for the contest spot on the division limit of 112 lbs.  Saengthep came in at 111 ½.  The referee was Roberto Ramirez Sr.  Reveco is also a former interim WBA titlist at 108 lbs.  Reveco’s lone defeat came in 2007, via decision, in a challenge of then WBA 108 lb. titlist Brahim Asloum.  

The first round was mostly a battle of jabs.  Reveco occasionally moved forward with flurries.  A clash of heads drew no blood.  Business picked up in the second.  Saengthep dropped Reveco early in the frame with a perfect counter right as Reveco attempted a hook.  Reveco beat the count and both men battled down the stretch.  Reveco worked to get back into the round.  Saengthep looked for another right and mixed in a quick uppercut.

The taller, longer challenger remained a hard target for Reveco in the third, picking off a lot of wide rights and lefts.  Reveco found his range in the fourth, getting his blows around the guard and continuing to rip downstairs.  Late in the round, Saengthep seemed hurt by a body shot, foretelling the finish.

Letting his hands go hard, Reveco landed a right directly on the waistline and Saengthep dropped to a knee.  Saengthep was up right away, taking a deep breath as the referee followed him to tick off the count to eight.  Saengthep stepped back into the mix and Reveco was all over him. 

Firing with abandon to the head and body, Reveco forced Saengthep to the ropes.  Saengthep held his elbows tight to the ribs to protect his tender sides.  Reveco went upstairs.  Single, token punches came back from the Thai challenger but he was simply overwhelmed.  Ramirez saw enough and stepped in to halt action, a weary Saengthep stumbling forward with little complaint.  The official time of the stoppage was 1:40 of round five.

The WBA’s current “Unified,” or primary, champion is Juan Francisco Estrada (31-2, 22 KO).  Estrada also holds the WBO belt at Flyweight.  Reveco has held a WBA title at Flyweight since 2011.  Estrada has held his titles since 2013 and defended three times.  Whether the WBA will require them to meet at some point in 2015 is anyone’s guess.     

The card was broadcast in the US on TyC as part of its “Boxeo de Primera” series.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com