Amnat Ruenroeng beat McWilliams Arroyo by split decision in Thailand this afternoon to defend his IBF 112-pounds title in a scrappy fight during which neither fighter was able to gain a clear advantage.
Arroyo came into this world title bout, which took place at the Liptapanlop Hall in Korat, with a reputation as a heavy hitter and he landed the most effective punch of the fight when he put the champion down in the sixth with a hard left hook followed by a glancing right.
Ruenroeng was badly hurt and barely beat the count but he rallied well and came out in the seventh hanging his lead left hand low and strafing the challenger with straight punches, although by this stage the hugging and holding was becoming increasingly prevalent.
In the earlier rounds Arroyo had appeared to be looking to land one big shot as he allowed Ruenroeng to take control with his superior punch output and quick combinations, although the Puerto Rican did land a clean left hook in the fourth.
Arroyo was not able to capitalize on the momentum behind him after the knockdown and Ruenroeng continued to score with straight punches in the eighth and ninth rounds although the referee was becoming increasingly involved due to continual clinching, mainly at the instigation of the Thai.
In the 10th round the champion received what appeared to be a final warning for clinching, and moments later he and Arroyo tangled, and the Puerta Rican ended up flat on his back and mounted by the Thai which caused the referee to finally lost patience and follow through with his threat to deduct a point from Ruenroeng.
With a knockdown and a point deduction against him, he came out with a sense of urgency in the 11th and Ruenroeng was unfortunate to get warned again for pushing as a left hook had clearly contributed to Arroyo losing his footing and falling to the canvass at the start of the round.
The final three minutes were perhaps the ugliest of the entire fight with plenty of slipping, stumbling and holding but precious few clean punches being landed by either flyweight which made for a nervous few minutes as the scorecards were tabulated.
In the end two of the three judges scored it for Ruenroeng who successfully defends his belt for the second time and moves up to 14-0 while Arroyo drops to 15-2 with the scorecards reading 115-114, 113-114, 114-113 in favor of the Thai.
Earlier in the afternoon Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (24-3-1) and Tatsuya Fukuhara (13-4-5) fought to a draw after eight rounds in the light flyweight division.
