The current World Boxing Association (WBA) Asian light heavyweight champion, the Thai Tewa Kiram, returned to the ring this Saturday in Bangkok to defend his belt against his countryman Sirimongkhon Lamthuam, whom he defeated by technical knockout in six rounds.

Lamthuam, a veteran of a thousand battles, did not come out for the round because of the punishment received from Kiram, who was always in control of the fight to make his first defense of the crown in this category.

Kiram is a former welterweight world title challenger who has been moving up in weight in recent years. He is remembered for his visit to America to face Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse in 2018 and now has a string of victories in Asia that allow him to own the 175-pound regional belt.

The WBA Asia-hosted event also had the South Asian bantamweight title fight. Nonthasith Petchnamthong dominated Suradech Ruhasiri by unanimous decision to retain the belt and move forward on his intention to fight China’s Jun Zhao, who is the WBA Asian champion.

It was an evening full of excitement and great local talent, in Bangkok. In Kiram’s case, he improved his record to 45 wins, 1 loss and 32 knockouts. While Petchnamthong improved his to 3 wins, no losses.