2010 Comeback of the Year in Boxing:
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam is the winner of ProBoxing-Fans.com’s Comeback of the Year award for 2010. His distinction is based on his unlikely reclaiming of the World Flyweight Title—a crown he first won in 2001. After making 17 defenses, he lost his laurels to Daisuke Naito in 2007. After failing to win the title back in a 2008 rematch, it seemed safe to assume that Pongsaklek’s days were behind him.
After all, he had previously beaten Naito twice—once by a 34-second knockout. Struggling mightily with an opponent he once mastered was a bad sign. After such a long reign and now on the wrong side of 30, we have been conditioned by history to figure such a champion would ride off into the sunset. Pongsaklek, however, had other ideas.
The Thai legend showed he still had some fight in him with a 2009 win over Julio Cesar Miranda, a top-flight flyweight contender. But much of his other interim work was uninspiring. During his comeback, the veteran beat one fighter with a record of 0-1 and three others making their pro debuts.
In March 2010, Pongsaklek was the underdog when he faced Naito’s conqueror—the undefeated and flamboyant champion Koki Kameda in Japan. Pongsaklek was masterful; befuddling the new king with skills he developed to a fine-point over an 80+ fight career. It wasn’t as close as the scorecards indicated, but Pongsaklek was given the win.
The best flyweight of the past decade is amazingly still at the top of the pile. It’s a bit strange that despite such a great body of work, Pongsaklek needed the Kameda win to cement his greatness. In springing the upset, Pongsaklek has forced onlookers, particularly in the west, to acknowledge his sterling legacy. He is probably one of the greatest flyweights of all-time. He has suffered only one loss in his last 76 fights, that loss being against a man he beat twice.
His win over Kameda, however, might have been his greatest triumph. All but written off, he showed an irrepressible spirit in once again becoming champion and this year’s comeback fighter of the year.
Thanks for checking out this installment and be sure to check out the complete list and collection of the ProBoxing-Fans.com 2010 boxing awards!
