Cuello wary of hard-hitting Thai

MANILA, Philippines – Denver Cuello yesterday vowed to dispose of Samat “3K Battery” Chaiyong in a non-title fight on Saturday in Angono, Rizal as he primes up for another crack at a world boxing championship.

“I want to fight again so that I’ll be ready if a title fight comes because I want to be a world champion too,” said Cuello in Filipino during yesterday’s media briefing hosted by GMA Network at its Quezon City office.

Cuello is out to improve on his 25-4-6 (win-loss-draw) record that includes 15 KOs, confident of annexing his fifth straight victory against the Thai fighter.

The 24-year-old Cuello has been looking for a title fight since he lost to Hernandez in the WBC title eliminator in Mexico City last year. The loss cost him a crack at a world title fight.

It was a match Cuello felt he was robbed of, insisting the referee in charge stepped in and gave the Mexican a standing eight count even if he was the one who got the raw end of the deal.

But since that setback, the Cabauatan, Iloilo native has strung up four straight victories – all via knockouts – in a span of less than a year, including a nine-round stoppage of former champion Muhammad Rachman of Indonesia in Iligan City and a sensational two-minute demolition of Kongkrai Kiatpracha of Thailand in Pasig City.

But against the 26-year-old Chaiyong, Cuello will be facing a fighter that has fought 200 times both as a muay thai artist and an amateur boxer. Like Cuello, Chaiyong has racked up five straight wins heading to their showdown, including a six-round stoppage of Rachman recently.

“He (Chaiyong) shouldn’t be taken for granted because he’s got a knockout punch too,” said Cuello.

Meanwhile, the Filipino slugger threatened to bolt the World Boxing Council if the boxing body fails to give him the fight that he wants – a duel against the winner of the showdown between reigning WBC minimumweight champion Kazuo Ioka of Japan and challenger Juan Hernandez of Mexico.

“We want the winner of that fight between Ioka and Hernandez because if they don’t give it us, we will be forced to leave the WBC and find a title fight somewhere,” said Aljoe Jaro, Cuello’s manager.