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Published on August 16, 2007

World Boxing Council (WBC) light-flyweight champion Siri-porn Thaveesuk came out swinging in her title defence against Japan's Anri Nakagawa to emerge the winner at a makeshift arena at the Mall's Ngamwongwan branch yesterday.

It was the first fight outside of jail for the pint-sized Siriporn, alias Samson Sor Siriporn, who became the first prisoner to win a world championship when she claimed the vacant title in April. The victory helped the convicted drug smuggler an early release on parole.

The Lopburi-native stepped into the ring against her No 13 challenger with a record of eight wins and two losses. Both fighters were tentative in the initial stages of the first round before the champion took the fight to the Japanese by landing a series of left-right combinations to Nakagawa's face.

Siriporn looked comfortable as the bout wore on while her opponent struggled against the superior speed of the champion. The Thai was 40-36 ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the end of the fourth round.

Sirporn kept battering her rival and Nakagawa developed a swelling on her left eye. In the seventh round, Siriporn floored her challenger with a big right that caught the Japanese's face. However, Nakagawa managed to survive the count and later the bell.

Nakagawa launched a late rally in the 10th and final round but Siriporn had done enough to seal her victory.

The final score of 98-91, 98-91 and 99-91 reflected Siriporn's dominance in the fight, even though a knock-out win would have been much more appropriate.

Trinidad is back

nIn Miami, Felix Trinidad will end a two-year retirement to fight Roy Jones next January, fight promoter Don King announced, in a match-up of former champions trying to recapture past glories.

No site or date was announced for the bout, to be fought just above the super middleweight limit at 170 pounds, but it could come around the birthdays of each fighter.

US veteran Jones turns 39 on January 16.

Puerto Rican legend Trinidad turns 35 on January 10. Trinidad, 42-2 with 35 knockouts, walked away in May of 2005 after losing a 12-round decision to Winky Wright.

"It is true in the past that I was saying I wasn't coming back," Trinidad said. "But I've led a clean life and I'm healthy. I have too much boxing still inside of me... I've said I always wanted to fight the great fighters and I want to fight Roy Jones."

Jones, who won his last fight by decision over Anthony Hanshaw, is 51-4 with 38 knockouts.

He was to have fought Trinidad in 2001 but de-

layed the bout to fight in

 unification tournament that saw him lose to Bernard Hopkins.

"Tito is a great champion," Jones said. "Somebody like that is going to challenge you, you would be stupid to turn it down."