Long-reigning WBC strawweight titleholder Wanheng Menayothin will look to make the 13th defense of his crown against compatriot Petchmanee C P Freshmart at a temporary arena in Nakhon Sawan in Thailand (roughly 150 miles north of Bangkok) on Friday.

Menayothin, who is rated No. 1 by The Ring at 105 pounds, will return to action for the first time in 13 months.

“I am looking forward to fighting again,” Menayothin (54-0, 18 knockouts) told The Ring through stablemate Wanchana Menayothin. “It has been a long time since I fought because of the coronavirus.

“I think [Freshmart] is a worthy opponent and it will be a good fight. He’s a good fighter. If he wasn’t good, they wouldn’t let him fight with me.”

The 35-year-old Menayothin is a quiet man and he wasn’t eager to open up on what his rival might bring to the fight.

“We’ve got enough information about our opponent, but we take it with us in the ring.” said the defending titleholder.

Although Menayothin has achieved a lot during his six-year reign, he isn’t content just yet.

“My goal is to defend the title internationally, any country, any opponent,” he said. “I want to win more, not just 54-0 (his current record), I want to keep on winning and fighting until I can’t fight anymore.”

However, he refuses to engage with comparisons to Floyd Mayweather Jr. whose unbeaten record he overtook a couple of years ago.

“I never think about comparing myself with Floyd Mayweather Jr. but of course, fans will,” Menayothin said. “I just want to do my best in the fights. Every fighter has their own fighting style, and he is the best.”

WBC representative Kevin Noone, who lives in Bangkok, believes this will be a stern challenge for the defending titleholder.

“This matchup is a fascinating one for many reasons,” said Noone. “This will be the first time that Wanheng will defend his title against a boxer from Thailand, and a boxer who has competed in the same weight class for most of his career. [Petchmanee] is naturally bigger, and will look to offer a competitive challenge to the crown of the long-reigning world champion.

“This contest is the talk of the town in Thailand due to the fact that the showdown will have an all-Thai panel of ring officials for the first-time in WBC world championship history, and with the added conversation that it has the potential to spring a major upset victory for Petchmanee, who is guided by the former WBC world [flyweight] champion, Chatchai Sasakul.”

C P Freshmart turned professional in 2014. He won his first 18 fights before dropping a 12-round majority decision to former WBC 105-pound beltholder Chaozhong Xiong in China in October 2017. Since then, the now 29-year-old has been very busy, ratcheting up 16 wins to take his record to 34-1 (22 KOs).

Wanachana Menayothin helped translate this feature. The Ring appreciated his assistance.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @AnsonWainwright

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