Drian Francisco (20-0-1, 16 KOs) became the WBA interim super flyweight champion as he scored a tenth round TKO over WBA #2 Duangpetch Kokietgym (52-2-1, 21 KOs) on Tuesday at the Bungkan school in Nongkhai, Thailand. This was an impressive victory of a hot Filipino prospect over an experienced Thailander who had not been beaten since 1997. This bout was a closed affair in the opening round with Francisco being considered a little better with his more accurate punches. But the show turned to Duangpetch starting in round two when he displayed vicious body attacks, although a low blow caused referee Steve Smoger to pause the contest for a minute in round four.

Francisco dominated again in round five as he used his effective uppercuts to frustrate Duangpetch’s aggression. The turning point actually occurred in round six when the Thai fighter displayed a low blow again, so referee Smoger unhesitatingly deducted a point and gave a minute to the Filipino to recover. After a minute pause, Francisco came back and displayed well-timed right uppercuts which dropped careless Duangpetch twice and he almost destroyed the local veteran in this round.

From round seven, the Thai fighter paid his full attempt to turn the tide but nothing changed unless a low blow in round eight could interrupt the Filipino’s show only a minute.

Finally, the action was terminated in round ten when Francisco landed a vicious right straight following by a big right uppercut which dropped Duangpetch again and forced the referee to stop the bout at 2:01