Canizales vs Pradabsri title fight set for Dec. 26

Top light flyweights Carlos Canizales and Panya Pradabsri are officially set to fight for WBC gold in Bangkok

It’ll come a little later than expected, but ESPN KnockOut announced that Carlos Canizales will face Panya Pradabsri for the vacant WBC light flyweight title on December 26th in Bangkok.

There’s a very strong argument to be made that Canizales (27-2-1, 19 KO) is Venezuela’s best active boxer. He first broke into the scene with a title-winning 2018 decision over Reiya Konishi, following up with a finish of record-chasing Chinese standout Lu Bin and a wide decision over former titlist Sho Kimura.

After two years on the sidelines, Canizales returned to face Esteban Bermudez, only to suffer a massive upset defeat. Undeterred, he clawed his way back into contention and put on a terrific scrap with Kenshiro Teraji in January, falling just short but putting himself in position to challenge for the belt after Teraji vacated.

Pradabsri (43-2, 27 KO) famously ended Wanheng Menayothin’s 54-fight winning streak to win WBC minimumweight gold, ultimately defending four times before falling to Yudai Shigeoka last year.

Not a bad scrap for boxing day.