ONE-TIME world title challenger Vincent Astrolabio earned himself another world title shot after stopping veteran Thai Nawaphon Kaikanha in the 11th round of their World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight world title eliminator on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar in Ratchadaphisek, Bangkok, Thailand.
Astrolabio landed a solid counter right hook that sent Kaikanha to the canvas. Kaikanha beat the count but was still wobbly. With Kaikanha still hurt, Astrolabio unleashed an onslaught of lefts and rights that forced referee Yuji Fukuchi to stop the fight at the 1:09 mark of the 11th round.
The 26-year-old Astrolabio is now 19-4 with four knockouts, while Kaikanha fell to 58-3-1 with 48 knockouts.
Coming into the fight, Astrolabio was ranked No. 2, while Kaikanha was rated No. 1 by the WBC.
Astrolabio earns a shot at newly crowned WBC bantamweight champion Alexandro Santiago, who won the vacant belt last July 29 with a unanimous decision over Filipino legend Nonito Donaire Jr.
Astrolabio fought for a world title last May 13 against Jason Moloney for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight strap in Stockton, California. He lost to Moloney by majority decision in a close fight.
Meanwhile, former Olympian Charly Suarez (16-0, 9 KOs) had a successful US debut with a lopsided unanimous decision over Dominican Yohan Vasquez (25-4, 20 KOs) at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma last Sunday, Aug. 27.
Suarez got the nod of all three judges with scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93.
The 35-year-old Suarez is ranked No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation, No. 10 by the WBO and No. 15 by the WBC. / EKA