Lightweight title on the line

phnompenhpost.com

THURSDAY, 31 DECEMBER 2009 15:00 ROBERT STARKWEATHER

Commando 911 fighter Lao Sinath will meet Preah Khan Reach powerhouse Van Chanvey Sunday for a lightweight title match at the CTN Boxing Arena.

Photo by: Robert Starkweather

Commando 911 fighter Lao Sinath began his professional career with a storybook 22-0 run.

Photo by: Robert Starkweather

Fighting since the age of 15, Van Chanvey will make his first attempt at a title Sunday.

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AO Sinath will make his second title defense at 60 kilograms Sunday when he faces Battambang knockout artist Van Chanvey at the CTN boxing arena.

Lao Sinath holds titles in both the 60- and 63.5-kilogram brackets. He won the 60-kilogram title from Sarim Vonthon in 2008, which he then successfully defended against Long Sophy in February this year with a third-round knockout.

“Nobody wants to fight him,” said Hong Suen, Lao Sinath’s trainer at the Commando 911 Boxing Club, as his star protege worked the clinch with Chey Kosal during a recent training session.

An invitation to fight in France awaits Lao Sinath if he can beat Van Chanvey Sunday, which nearly everyone expects him to do. The three-month trip would likely see him fight three times, earning US$1,000 or more each fight which is 10 times or more of what he could earn in a typical bout at home.

A native of Kampong Speu, Lao Sinath, 25, picked up his new passport last week.

Club Preah Khan Reach fighter Van Chanvey will be making his first attempt at a title. The 23-year-old from O’Cha, Battambang, beat out eight other fighters in a round-robin tournament to earn the title shot.

Van Chanvey lost once early in the tournament to Kao Roomchang, but he finished the competition with a seven-fight winning streak, which included five knockouts, to take first place.

Van Chanvey scored a huge upset decision over Long Sophy in the semifinals, and an even bigger upset decision over Kao Roomchang in the final.

Still, Hong Suen, wearing a black t-shirt with a dagger, machine guns and a cobra emblazoned below the words “Special Forces,” hardly appeared worried.

“Do you think he can run with Lao Sinath?” he asked, then answered his own question with a hearty laugh. “We’ve got the height advantage, and probably the speed advantage,” he asserted. “We’re going to be okay.”