The 29-year-old Thai-born Wanheng Menayothin defended his WBC Minimumweight championship (105lbs/48kg) for the second time on Tuesday.

Menayothin fought the 21-year-old Filipino, Jerry Tomogdan (17-6-3), who was unbeaten in his past seven bouts. From the beginning of the fight, Tomogdan couldn’t find an angle as Menayothin pressured forward. Menayothin worked inside, throwing power punches with increasing volume as the rounds passed. Through the fourth round, two of the three judges had the Thai fighter winning all four rounds. Menayothin increased his output and subsequently increased his striking accuracy, landing at will on the young Filipino boxer. A brief stoppage for a dropped mouthpiece was Tomogdan’s only rest in the round. Menayothin applied heavy pressure, landing single shots at a high rate, but failed to land in combination.

Menayothin’s output slowed to start the sixth round, allowing Tomogdan to land some offense, getting off with his jab. Just a minute into the round however, Menayothin started to land consistently with his overhand right. The work to the head opened up the body in the 6th round. Menayothin threw his right hand straight into Tomogdan’s gut, causing a delayed drop with no knockdown called. The sixth round ended in the Thai’s favor again, slamming his right hand into the left side of Tomogdan’s head over and over until the round ended. Menayothin cemented his dominance in the seventh round, tossing the Filipino fighter around in the clinch, against the ropes and wherever the fight took place. Menayothin followed up his movements by capitalizing on every opening Tomogdan gave him. Chasing Tomogdan around the ring with heavy right hands, the relentless pressure of Menayothin drew big cheers out of the Bangkok crowd. The pressure and power striking output continued through the seventh, eighth and into the ninth round.

Going into the ninth round, the judges had the bout unanimously for Menayothin (80-72, 80-72, 79-73). The Filipino fighter hung tough throughout the bout, showing why he would be hard to put away. Menayothin decided to switch his target when he couldn’t get the finish from head strikes. A straight right hand followed by a digging left hook to the body would finally put Tomogdan down and out of the fight. The win was Menayothin’s 38th in 38 fights, improving his undefeated streak and placement in the 48kg division worldwide.