Manny Pacquiao vs Boonsai Sangsurat

Boonsai Sangsurat, the unbeaten Thai challenger more commonly billed as Medgoen Singsurat, won the vacant WBC flyweight championship by stopping Manny Pacquiao in the third round at Pakpanag Metropolitan Stadium in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, on September 17, 1999. Referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia ended the contest at 1 minute 32 seconds after a body punch had dropped Pacquiao, and he was unable to continue effectively.

Pacquiao entered with a record of 26 victories and one defeat, not 19 contests as has sometimes been reported. The 20-year-old Filipino had won the WBC championship nine months earlier by knocking out Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round, also in Thailand, and had defended it against Gabriel Mira. Sangsurat was 18–0 and fighting for a world title for the first time. Although relatively unknown outside his own country, the 21-year-old challenger was physically strong, well prepared and supported by a large home crowd.

The championship circumstances changed before either man entered the ring. Pacquiao weighed 113 pounds, one pound above the flyweight limit, despite stripping completely in an effort to make 112. He was therefore deprived of the WBC title at the weigh-in. Sangsurat could win the championship only by Sangsurat; a Pacquiao victory would have left it vacant. Sangsurat weighed exactly 112 pounds.

A poor performance followed Pacquiao’s failure at the scales in the ring. He retained the quick southpaw left hand and attempted to attack in sudden bursts, but there was little of his customary speed or energy. Sangsurat moved forward behind a compact guard and concentrated upon the body. Rather than being unsettled by Pacquiao’s left cross, the Thai boxer held his position, blocked or avoided the first attack and answered with punches beneath the elbows.

Sangsurat took the opening round by maintaining pressure and forcing Pacquiao to work while retreating. Pacquiao occasionally found him with the straight left, but his attacks lacked their usual force, and he was unable to keep the challenger outside. The second round brought the same pattern. Sangsurat continued striking the body and made Pacquiao increasingly uncomfortable at close range. Pacquiao’s movement slowed, his resistance weakened and he spent more time reacting to the challenger than imposing his own attack. Judges Dae Eun Chung, Ray Solis and Walter Schall each had Sangsurat ahead 20–18 after two rounds.

The end came midway through the third. Sangsurat continued pressing and delivered a succession of punches to Pacquiao’s midsection. A final heavy body blow caused the Filipino to collapse to the canvas in evident distress. Pacquiao could not recover sufficiently, and Garcia brought the contest to an end at 1:32. There was no dispute over the stoppage. Pacquiao had been weakened before the bout, and Sangsurat exploited the condition with a direct, disciplined attack.

The victory advanced Sangsurat’s record to 19–0 and made him WBC flyweight champion. He successfully defended the title against Masaki Kawabata before losing it to Malcolm Tunacao in May 2000. Pacquiao fell to 26–2, the second stoppage defeat of his career after his 1996 loss to Rustico Torrecampo. The failure to make 112 pounds confirmed that his time at flyweight had ended. He moved immediately to super-bantamweight, won the WBC International title three months later and did not box again in the flyweight division.

I don’t judge Pacquiao harshly for this defeat, but I won’t take anything away from Boonsai Sangsurat either. Manny failed to make 112 pounds, lost his title on the scales and entered the ring looking badly depleted. That was his responsibility. If you cannot make the weight properly, you give the other man an opportunity.

Sangsurat recognised the problem immediately. He didn’t stand at long range admiring Pacquiao’s speed; he walked him down, kept a tight guard and worked the body. Manny still threw the fast southpaw left, but there was no strength behind it and his legs weren’t carrying him out of danger. Sangsurat won both opening rounds and finished matters with another heavy body attack in the third.

Some people look back and treat this as an embarrassing loss because Pacquiao later became an all-time great. That’s hindsight talking. Sangsurat was unbeaten, fit and disciplined, while Manny was a 20-year-old flyweight whose body had already outgrown the division.

The defeat actually told Pacquiao what he needed to know. He moved up, stopped torturing himself to make 112 and began developing into a far stronger fighter. Sangsurat deserved the title because he handled the occasion correctly. Pacquiao lost because he arrived physically compromised and met a man good enough to exploit it.