By Napoleon Fly
10/03/2024
ESPN Knockout reporter Renato Bermudez has confirmed that former WBA regular light flyweight Champion Carlos “CCC” Canizales (27-2-1) will face former WBC strawweight champion Panya “Petchmanee CP Freshmart” Pradabsri (43-2-0) for the vacant WBC light flyweight title. The title was vacated after Kenshiro Teraji move to flyweight. Canizales is ranked #1 in the WBC rankings, Pradabsri #2. The fight is confirmed for Thailand in November, however, the exact date and location have not yet been certified and will be announced shortly.
Canizales went pro in 2014, fighting in Venezuela until his shot at WBA light flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi in 2016. Canizales and Taguchi fought to an extremely contentious split draw, which many viewers felt Canizales won. Following his draw with Taguchi, Canizales rebounded by facing regional contenders on the South American circuit until taking a shot at the vacant WBA regular title against Reiya Konishi. Canizales beat Konishi in a back and forth war, then followed up by defending against amateur prospect Bin Lu and former WBO flyweight champion Sho Kimura, whom Canizales put on a backfoot masterclass against. After beating Kimura, Canizales went inactive, incapable of maneuvering himself to force a consolidation between his title and the WBA super title held by Hekkie Budler and Hiroto Kyoguchi. Canizales made his return two years after beating Kimura, only to be mugged in a shocking TKO loss to the much bigger, more physical Esteban Bermudez. After Bermudez, Canizales returned to contendership, knocking out former WBC light flyweight champion Ganigan Lopez and beating mobile Cuban technician Daniel Matellon by technical decision to secure a mandatory shot at WBA and WBC champion Kenshiro Teraji. Teraji and Canizales fought in Japan this January, putting on a fight of the year contender and one of the best fights in light flyweight history. Teraji won a majority decision over Canizales, but the fight could have gone either way, with both men showing a deep bag of skills and heart throughout. Since losing to Teraji, Canizales bounced back in July against Ivan Garcia Balderas. Canizales won a hard fought majority decision, where, despite fading in the later rounds, his jab, movement and explosive left hook edged him over the rugged Garcia to win the WBC silver light flyweight title.
Panya Pradabsri went pro in 2014, switching over from an accomplished Muay Thai career. Pradabsri fought in Thailand at strawweight against low level competition until losing his first step up in 2017 in a controversial decision loss to former WBC strawweight champion Chaozhong Xiong. Following his loss to Xiong, Pradabsri continued plying away against regional level opposition before getting a title shot at WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin. Pradabsri would dethrone the 54-0 Menayothin in an extremely close upset where Pradabsri’s left hook and reach advantage made the difference. A year and a half later, Menayothin and Pradabsri rematched. This time Paradabsri won clear, showing improved timing and head movement. Following the Menayothin rematch, Pradabsri defeated the tough Norihito Tanaka by unanimous decision in August of 2022. After Tanaka, Pradabsri was ordered to face his mandatory: rising talent Yudai Shigeoka. However, illness beset Pradabsri, cancelling his fight with Shigeoka. Shigeoka instead faced Wilfredo Mendez for the WBC interim strawweight title. After recovering from illness, Pradabsri rematched Tanaka in June of 2023, stopping him in eight. After the Tanaka rematch, the WBC ordered Pradabsri to face newly crowned interim WBC strawweight champion Shigeoka. Pradabsri fought Shigeoka in October of 2023, losing to the more dynamic, hard hitting and physical Shigeoka. Pradabsri certainly didn’t disgrace himself against Shigeoka, but he lost convincingly. Since losing to Shigeoka, Pradabsri has stayed busy, beating three nondescript cans in Thailand at light flyweight and flyweight.
The style matchup is fascinating. Canizales is 5’3” with a 64.5 inch reach, Pradabsri is 5’4” with a 63.8 inch reach. Both are orthodox. Pradabsri is a rangy boxer with a high volume jab, sneaky left hook, an iron chin and a good backfoot game. Canizales is a versatile boxer who can do anything: box and move, maul on the inside, and break down behind the jab. However, Canizales is also vulnerable to fading late. While there are many variables in picking who wins (notably unanswered questions of how much left they each have in the tank), I expect Canizales to win a close unanimous decision where his offensive variety will edge him over.
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