Some of the greatest WBC Flyweight champions
Charlie Edwards will make the first defense of his WBC crown against Spanish challenger Angel Moreno this weekend at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Ahead of Saturday’s title clash, we name some of the greatest WBC flyweight champions from the 41 fighters to have held the famous green and gold belt since 1963.
- Miguel Canto (1975-1979) failed in his first world title attempt when he lost a close decision to Venezuelan legend Betulio Gonzalez in 1973. The Mexican, renowned for his tactical and defensive skills, bounced back to win the WBC and lineal titles 17 months later by defeating reigning champion Shoji Oguma in Miyagi, Japan. “El Maestro” made 14 defenses, including two further victories over both Gonzalez and Oguma, before losing to Chan Hee Park in South Korea.
- Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (2001-07, 2010-2012) floored Malcolm Tunacao three times to secure the WBC and lineal titles with a first-round TKO. The Thai fighter knocked out Daisuke Naito in 34 seconds in his fourth defense to set the record for the fastest knockout in division history. After a record 17 defenses, Wonjongkam lost his titles in a shocking points defeat to Naito. The southpaw defeated Koki Kameda to regain his titles and made four more defenses before Sonny Boy Jaro dropped him five times and stopped him in six rounds.
- Chartchai Chionoi (1966-69, 1970) climbed off the canvas twice before stopping Walter McGowan in nine rounds to become the second world champion to hail from Thailand. Chionoi, dubbed the “Little Marciano” due to his fighting style, made four defenses, including defeating McGowan in a rematch in London and travelling to Mexico to stop Efren Torres in a bloody brawl. After losing his title to Torres in a rematch, Chionoi regained the belt in the rubber match with the Mexican brawler but lost the title to Erbito Salavarria in his first defense.
- Efren Torres (1969-1970) become world champion at the third attempt when gained revenge over defending champion Chionoi in a one-sided rematch in Mexico City. “El Alacran” defended the belt once before suffering a second defeat to Chionoi.
- Yuri Arbachakov (1992-1996) stopped two-weight champion Muangchai Kittikasem in eight rounds to become the first Russian to win a world title. The former amateur star made nine defenses before suffering the first defeat of his career during a rematch with interim champion Chatchai Sasakul and retiring afterwards.
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