Vincent Astrolabio. | Facebook and Boxrec photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world title challenger Vincent “Asero” Astrolabio will return to the ring on August 26 in Bangkok, Thailand.
This time, he aims to earn another world title shot by taking on Thai Nawaphon Kaikanha for the World Boxing Council (WBC) world bantamweight title eliminator.
The 26-year-old Astrolabio, the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental bantamweight champion last fought in May this year.
He fought for the vacant WBO world bantamweight title against Australian Jason Moloney but lost via majority decision in Stockton, United States.
The scores after the 12-round seesaw battle were 115-113, 116-112 in favor of Moloney, while judge Tom Carusone scored the bout even at 114-all.
Astrolabio currently has 18 wins with 13 knockouts and four losses.
Before losing to Moloney, he was on a six-fight winning streak.
Meanwhile, Kaikanha, 31, is a former WBC Asian bantamweight and WBC Asian Continental super flyweight champion.
He fought for the WBC world flyweight title in 2017 against Mexican Juan Hernandez Navarrete, but lost via a third-round technical knockout in Bangkok, Thailand.
Still, Kaikanha is a more experienced ring warrior than Astrolabio with 58 wins, two defeats, one draw, and 48 knockouts.
He is on a back-to-back winning streak since last year against Brandon Alejandro and Attanon Kunlawong which both ended in TKO victories in Bangkok, Thailand.
Despite the disparity between their fight records, Kaikanha and Astrolabio have one thing in common— they both lost to Moloney.
Moloney defeated Kaikanha via unanimous decision in October last year in Melbourne, Australia in a 12-rounder bout.
If the results of their fights against Moloney were to be the gauge, then Astrolabio has a slight edge. /rcg
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