Some of the most well-respected independent world rankings in boxing have put several Thai fighters in interesting positions.
Nine of the kingdom's pugilists are included in UK-based magazine Boxing News' top 10 listings across 17 divisions.
The weekly magazine, which will be 100 years old next year, is distributed around the world and is regarded as the trade "bible".
The rankings were published in this week's issue and are also available online at http://www.boxingnewsonline.net.
I should mention that I cover the Thai boxing scene for the publication, but I haven't had any part in compiling the rankings. They provide a rational glimpse into how Thailand's boxers are perceived abroad and are free of interference from the sanctioning bodies and promoters.
The biggest surprise lies at flyweight where Denkaosan Kratingdaenggym is ranked fifth, one place above Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.
For many years Pongsaklek has been considered the best boxer in Thailand - and arguably the best flyweight in the world - but his stock has slipped considerably.
Last year he lost his WBC belt when he was outpointed by previous victim Daisuke Naito in July and there was a sense that the gravy train had finally come to an end.
Maybe he can reclaim his mantle when the pair meet again in the Japanese capital on March 8.
Denkaosan gained worldwide respect with a draw against Takefumi Sakata in Saitama, Japan in November.
Sakata is ranked fourth by BN but was lucky to retain his WBA title against Denkaosan after the Thai was deducted a point in the final round for holding.
Without that the Samui-born boxer would have been victorious as two of the judges had him winning the final session. A rematch needs to take place in 2008.
Unsurprisingly, WBC champion Oledong Sithsamerchai achieves the highest placing of all the Thai boxers with third in the strawweight division.
Oledong has been ranked so highly because of his excellent points win over Japan-based Thai Eagle Den Junlaphan which bagged him the title in November.
Eagle is in sixth place with Pornsawan Porpramook 10th.
At bantamweight, veteran Veeraphol Sahaprom is still incredibly well-respected by the international press and is placed at fifth.
The former WBC champion is set to meet Vusi "Marvellous" Malinga in an eliminator as he tries to get a shot at the crown which Hozumi Hasegawa took off him in 2005.
Hasegawa is the top-ranked bantamweight.
The super-bantamweight top 10 is fair reflection of the division, which is totally different to how most of the sanctioning bodies have it.
The highest-rated Thai is Somsak Sithchatchawal (eighth) with Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym placed 10th.
Napapol Kiatisakchokchai is nowhere to be seen, despite being the WBC's mandatory challenger to champion Israel Vasquez.
Vasquez (BN's number one) meets Rafael Marquez (number two) for the third time on March 1 so Napapol is unlikely to get a shot anytime soon.
Yodsanan Sithyodthong completes the highly-rated Thais with ninth spot at super-featherweight.
That is perhaps a little higher than I would have put him as he suffered a bad defeat in Muay Thai last March but on boxing ability alone it is easy to see why he is in there.
Ibelieve the major problem with boxing at the moment is the number of bogus belts and champions, which are confusing to casual fans.
Mediocrity is regularly sold as excellence and that strips credibility in the long-term.
These rankings look a good place to start when shameless promoters try to dress mutton up as lamb.
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Nine of the kingdom's pugilists are included in UK-based magazine Boxing News' top 10 listings across 17 divisions.
The weekly magazine, which will be 100 years old next year, is distributed around the world and is regarded as the trade "bible".
The rankings were published in this week's issue and are also available online at http://www.boxingnewsonline.net.
I should mention that I cover the Thai boxing scene for the publication, but I haven't had any part in compiling the rankings. They provide a rational glimpse into how Thailand's boxers are perceived abroad and are free of interference from the sanctioning bodies and promoters.
The biggest surprise lies at flyweight where Denkaosan Kratingdaenggym is ranked fifth, one place above Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.
For many years Pongsaklek has been considered the best boxer in Thailand - and arguably the best flyweight in the world - but his stock has slipped considerably.
Last year he lost his WBC belt when he was outpointed by previous victim Daisuke Naito in July and there was a sense that the gravy train had finally come to an end.
Maybe he can reclaim his mantle when the pair meet again in the Japanese capital on March 8.
Denkaosan gained worldwide respect with a draw against Takefumi Sakata in Saitama, Japan in November.
Sakata is ranked fourth by BN but was lucky to retain his WBA title against Denkaosan after the Thai was deducted a point in the final round for holding.
Without that the Samui-born boxer would have been victorious as two of the judges had him winning the final session. A rematch needs to take place in 2008.
Unsurprisingly, WBC champion Oledong Sithsamerchai achieves the highest placing of all the Thai boxers with third in the strawweight division.
Oledong has been ranked so highly because of his excellent points win over Japan-based Thai Eagle Den Junlaphan which bagged him the title in November.
Eagle is in sixth place with Pornsawan Porpramook 10th.
At bantamweight, veteran Veeraphol Sahaprom is still incredibly well-respected by the international press and is placed at fifth.
The former WBC champion is set to meet Vusi "Marvellous" Malinga in an eliminator as he tries to get a shot at the crown which Hozumi Hasegawa took off him in 2005.
Hasegawa is the top-ranked bantamweight.
The super-bantamweight top 10 is fair reflection of the division, which is totally different to how most of the sanctioning bodies have it.
The highest-rated Thai is Somsak Sithchatchawal (eighth) with Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym placed 10th.
Napapol Kiatisakchokchai is nowhere to be seen, despite being the WBC's mandatory challenger to champion Israel Vasquez.
Vasquez (BN's number one) meets Rafael Marquez (number two) for the third time on March 1 so Napapol is unlikely to get a shot anytime soon.
Yodsanan Sithyodthong completes the highly-rated Thais with ninth spot at super-featherweight.
That is perhaps a little higher than I would have put him as he suffered a bad defeat in Muay Thai last March but on boxing ability alone it is easy to see why he is in there.
Ibelieve the major problem with boxing at the moment is the number of bogus belts and champions, which are confusing to casual fans.
Mediocrity is regularly sold as excellence and that strips credibility in the long-term.
These rankings look a good place to start when shameless promoters try to dress mutton up as lamb.
Discuss
Add this link to...
Tell a friend
Bury
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