Mongkol Charoen

Mongkol Charoen

Personal information
Nationality	Thai
Born	Prasit Sripromtai (1978-04-30) April 30, 1978 Ban Phai, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Height	5 ft 2½ in (159 cm)
Weight	Minimumweight Junior flyweight
Boxing career
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	29
Wins	25
Win by KO	8
Losses	4
Draws	0
No contests	0

Mongkol Charoen (Thai: มงคล จ.เจริญ, born April 30, 1978, Khon Kaen) is a Thai former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He held the minor organization WBF junior flyweight title in 1996.

Career

Mongkol was considered one of Thailand's most promising young boxers in 1995, with many believing he had the potential to become a future world champion. He rose through the ranks alongside his stablemate, Wandee Charoen, also known as Wandee Singwangcha, who later captured the WBC minimumweight title in 1999 after Ricardo López relinquished the belt to campaign in a higher weight division.

In 1994, he captured the Rajadamnern Stadium mini flyweight title, a championship widely regarded as the equivalent of Thailand's national title. The following year, he claimed the WBF junior flyweight world championship and successfully defended it three times. In his first title defense, he won a unanimous decision over veteran Thai boxer Pornchai Sit Phraphrom after 12 rounds at Fashion Island, Bangkok in 1996.

On March 29, 1997, he challenged undefeated Mexican champion Ricardo López for the WBC minimumweight world championship at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The fight was featured on the undercard of a Don King promotion headlined by IBF heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, who defended his title against Vaughn Bean. It marked the 19th defense of López's WBC title and was Mongkol's first professional bout outside Thailand. Although he lost by unanimous decision after 12 rounds, with scorecards of 120–107, 119–108, and 120–107 in López's favor, he became the only Thai boxer among the seven Thai opponents López faced during his career to go the distance without being knocked out. Following the bout, López praised Mongkol as a highly skilled boxer. Nevertheless, some observers felt that Mongkol had adopted an overly defensive approach throughout the fight.

A technically skilled southpaw, Mongkol Charoen was known for his defensive style of boxing. He fought his final professional bout in 2014 before retiring from boxing due to urinary stones.

External links

• Boxing record for Mongkol Charoen from BoxRec (registration required)