It appears that WBC strawweight titleholder Panya Pradabsri will now be fighting Filipino boxer Lito Dante (20-11-4) in Chonburi, Thailand. The fight is scheduled to take place on June 28. Pradabsri, who goes by the alias Petchmanee CP Freshmart and sits at No. 2 in The Ring’s 105-pound ratings, was supposed to have defended his title in Tokyo against up-and-coming challenger Yudai Shigeoka on April 16. Unfortunately  the fight fell through after the champion fell ill. 

Pradabsri (39-1, 23 KOs) was most recently in the ring with a unanimous decision win over Norihito Tanaka in August 2022.

Dante, who fights out of Manilla, is currently ranked No. 17 by the WBC in the strawweight division and last fought in February. He’s coming off a fourth-round stoppage of countryman Mike Kinaadam.

On paper, this does not look like a tough fight for the champion, but Dante has been in the ring with some of the best in the division, such as Simpiwe Konkco and Victorio Saludar, and he even managed to stop former title challenger Tsubasa Koura in the 12th round of their bout in March 2019. Dante also went the distance with Yudai Shigeoka.

The Filipino, who goes by the nickname Naruto, has never been stopped in 35 fights. I think he is the type of fighter often slept on but has the potential to create an upset. Rumor has it that if Pradabsri gets through Dante, he will face Shigeoka later in the year.