Sirimongkhon’s Two-Division WBC Takeover
On August 10, 1996, Sirimongkhon Iamthuam defeated José Luis Bueno by fifth-round stoppage to claim the interim WBC bantamweight championship. The Thai fighter later won the vacant WBC super-featherweight title by knocking out Kengo Nagashima in the second round on August 24, 2002.
Career Milestones and Fight Results
He defeated José Luis Bueno in five rounds for the interim WBC bantamweight title on August 10, 1996, and was subsequently recognized as full champion after Wayne McCullough vacated. His reign ended with a seventh-round stoppage loss to Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in Osaka on November 22, 1997.
On August 24, 2002, Sirimongkol knocked out Kengo Nagashima in the second round in Tokyo to win the vacant WBC super-featherweight championship. He successfully defended against Choi Yong-soo in January 2003 before losing the title by decision to Jesús Chávez that August. WBC title chronology.
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Iamthuam’s two WBC championships were separated by almost six years and came in different divisions. His first opportunity began with an interim bantamweight title win over José Luis Bueno in 1996. When Wayne McCullough vacated the full championship, Iamthuam was recognized as the WBC titleholder. This distinction explains why the record includes an interim victory followed by a full championship reign: the status changed after the previous champion left the belt vacant (BoxerList record).
After losing the bantamweight title to Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in 1997, he later moved up several divisions. In 2002, he stopped Kengo Nagashima to win the vacant WBC super-featherweight championship, then defended it against Choi Yong-soo before losing to Jesús Chávez in 2003. The later title run demonstrates the range of his career and the difficulty of rebuilding after a championship loss. His story is unusual because he reached the top at bantamweight and then returned years later as a champion at super featherweight.
The later super-featherweight championship came after Iamthuam’s bantamweight title reign and a lengthy period in which he continued competing at professional level. The two WBC championships were therefore earned at very different weights and at separate points in his career. The first began as an interim title before McCullough vacated; the second was a later full-title achievement. Keeping that progression explicit avoids collapsing the interim and full championship details into one event. Sirimongkol’s bout history.
Success Across Different Weight Divisions
Sirimongkol’s two WBC championship runs came at substantially different weights. Bantamweight has a 118-pound limit, while super featherweight is contested at 130 pounds. His return to a major world title in 2002 therefore involved more than reclaiming a championship: he had rebuilt his career in a heavier division after the Tatsuyoshi defeat.
The successful defense against Choi took place at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on January 13, 2003, with Sirimongkol winning a twelve-round unanimous decision. The loss to Chávez followed in Austin, Texas, on August 15 of the same year. Those assignments put his second world championship reign in both Japan and the United States.
His international career continued after losing the super-featherweight belt. Later victories included a stoppage of Michael Clark in Las Vegas in May 2005, a win over Chad Bennett in Australia in May 2008 and a majority decision against Rogelio Castaneda Jr. in Las Vegas that November. These bouts show that his professional story extended well beyond the dates of his two WBC reigns.
Career reference: Sirimongkol’s bout history.
Sources
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Sirimongkhon Iamthuam, Boxing, Championship Fights, Boxing History
