Downunder Wrap-up: Kimweri clashes with Moonsri for WBC title, Pacquiao-Horn card shaping up, Davey Browne inquest raises safety concerns

“Lion Boy” Omari Kimweri 16-3 (6) has put the finishing touches on his preparation ahead of the biggest fight of his career when he faces longtime world champion Chayaphon Moonsri (AKA Wanheng Menayothin) 46-0 (17) this Saturday night in Thailand.

31-year-old Moonsri has made six successful title defences of the WBC minimumweight belt he won from Mexican Oswaldo “Gallito” Novoa in 2014. Both Boxrec.com and The Ring rate him number one at 105 pounds.

The undefeated champion has already fought twice this year. In January he defended his title against Filipino Melvin Jerusalem, 11-0 (7) going in to the bout, winning a razor-thin UD. If Jerusalem wasn’t deducted a point in the 8th for a low blow the bout would have been declared on draw on two of the three judges’ scorecards. Moonsri followed this up with a six round unanimous decision win over Jaysever Abcede in a non-title fight in March.

Tanzanian-born Kimweri defected to Australia after fighting for his home country at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. He trains at the Tarneit Boxing Gym under the guidance of Dave Hegarty and is promoted by Brian Amatruda.

In his last bout thirteen months ago, Kimweri won a hotly disputed 12 round split decision over Filipino Randy Petalcorin for the vacant WBC Silver flyweight title. Kimweri weighed in a full weight division below the flyweight limit of 108 pounds for that fight.

At the WBC’s seven day weigh-in for the fight Kimweri was just one pound over the contracted limit at 106 pounds, while the taller champion was heavier at 110 pounds.

Despite turning pro in the same year as Moonsri and being three years older than him, it’s actually Kimweri who is the fresher fighter. The lightly-raced 34-year-old has just 19 fights to his name against Moonsri’s 46. Coming off the back of his win over Petalcorin, expect a confident Kimweri to take the fight to Moonsri in the early going and keep up the pace in the later rounds as he tries to force the battle-worn champ to wilt.

If Moonsri is starting to show his age, Kimweri will exploit it.

LOMACHENKO OUT, JUDAH IN?

Olympic great Vasyl Lomanchenko has rejected an offer to visit Brisbane as a sparring partner for Jeff Horn ahead of the Queensland schoolteacher’s ambitious bid to wrest the WBO world welterweight title from global superstar Manny Pacquiao on July 2 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Zab Judah has been contacted with a sparring offer to take his place. The New Yorker is the former unified world welterweight champion after defeating Cory Spinks by TKO 9 back in 2009, but is perhaps best known to Australian fans as the Brooklynite who did the “chicken dance” at the end of Kostya Tszyu’s right hand in 2001.

29-year-old Horn is the leading contender for Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight world title according to the latest ranking for May. It’s a step up from the number two position he held last month after former number one Timothy Bradley was dropped to ten after being inactive for over a year.

Meanwhile, Horn has been sparring with WBA #4 junior welterweight Czar Amonsot, a Melbourne-based southpaw originally from the Philippines. Amonsot was one half of a brutal and bloody war with Toowoomba’s Michael Katsidis in a clash for the interim WBO lightweight title in 2007. He hasn’t lost a fight since.

“I think Czar will be great sparring for Jeff,” Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton told Grantlee Kieza of the Courier Mail. “He’s been undefeated for years and is a former Pacquiao sparring partner. He’s tough and aggressive and fight fit.”

PACQUIAO-HORN UNDERCARD TAKING SHAPE

Two intriguing international contests have been added to the Pacquaio-Horn undercard.

Light heavyweight Damien “Super” Hooper 12-1 (8) from Dalby in Queensland will take a big step up in class when he challenges Las Vegas-based Russian Umar Salamov 19-0 (14).

Salamov was last in action on the undercard of Joseph Parker’s WBO heavyweight title defence against Razvan Cojanu in New Zealand earlier this month when he faced Emil Markic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stopping him in the 4th. The win earned Salamov the vacant WBO International title, the vacant IBF East/West Europe title, and a world ranking of #8 with the WBO.

In Hooper’s last bout he defeated veteran Nader Hamdan by eight round unanimous decision. The lone loss on his ledger was a shock first round stoppage to former kickboxer Rob Powdrill, who nailed him with the second overhand right he threw in their November 2015 contest. Hooper pitched face first to the canvas and never regained his feet, getting counted out at 0:21 seconds of the first round. It remains the only KO on Powdrill’s boxing ledger.

Talented middleweight David Toussaint 10-0 (8) from Canberra will clash with Shane Mosley Jr 10-1 (7) of Pomona, California. The namesake of the brilliant Shane Mosley has been brought along slowly so far in his pro career. Toussaint meanwhile has been stepping up his level of opposition, defeating the experienced Junior Talipeau last November.

Both fights are welcome additions to the undercard.

DAVEY BROWNE INQUEST RAISES SERIOUS QUESTIONS FOR BOXING NSW

The coronial inquest into the death of New South Wales boxer Davey Browne in 2015 concluded this week with serious questions raised about the duty of care, regulatory effectiveness and athlete safety in the sport.

The 28-year-old Browne, who had a record of 22-1-1 (8) going in to the fight, was ahead on points against Filipino Carlo Magali in their bout for the vacant IBF Pan Pacific super featherweight title when he was knocked out in the twelfth and final round at the Ingleburn RSL in Ingleburn, NSW. He was rushed to Liverpool Hospital after the fight and died three days later from acute subdural haematoma when his life support was switched off.

Browne was married with two young sons, Rocklyn and Flynn. His wife Amy Lavelle made a heartfelt statement at the close of the inquest about how she felt betrayed by boxing officials who had been present at the fatal fight.

“David was a great role model and ambassador for such a brutal sport,” Lavelle said.

“And anyone close to him would agree that he had a heart of gold.

“The very sport he dedicated so much of himself to turned its back on him and left him for dead.”

The coroner will hand down her findings on June 22.