Wednesday afternoon at City Hall Ground in Khon Kaen, Thailand, WBA World interim minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart (13-0, 6 KOs), from Surin, Thailand,  decisioned reigning and defending WBA World minimumweight world champion Byron “El Gallito” Rojas (17-3-3, 8 KOs), from Matagalpa, Nicaragua, to claim the title.

The fight was close. The judges had it 115-113 in favor of Freshmart. It was hard to score. There was a lot of holding, hugging and wrestling, which seemed favor neither fighter.

Rojas was riding high after defeating longtime WBA champion Hekkie Budler three months earlier. He drew first blood in the second round with an accidental clash of heads, at which point the fight turned ugly.

Both men can box. Both men landed clean punches at various points in the fight. But the grappling continued. The referee, Mark Nelson, issued several warnings but deducted no points. It appeared the fighters agreed to look good in their next fight.

In this fight, the object was to win.

This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.