Vicelles fails in world title bid

Mark Vicelles failed in his bid to become a world champion on Saturday when the Filipino got knocked out in two rounds by defending champion Thanongsak Simsri of Thailand in their International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight title match in Fuji, Japan.

Simsri, 26, sent the southpaw Vicelles, 30, crumbling down for the first time with a right straight and it didn’t take long for him to score another knockdown — courtesy of another right straight — that had the challenger hitting the deck anew.

Sensing blood, Simsri went on the attack and he eventually landed several more solid shots that compelled Japanese referee Koji Tanaka to intervene right in Vicelles’ corner with 55 seconds left in the second canto.

Vicelles, ranked No. 12 by the IBF, and his corner didn’t protest the referee’s decision to call a halt to the scheduled 12-rounder.

Simsri could end up making a defense of the title against Regie Suganob of the Philippines early next year.

Suganob became the IBF’s mandatory challenger in the 108-pound class following his knockout win over Sivenanthi Nonthshinga of South Africa recently in their title elimination match in Bohol.

As for Vicelles, the future looks bleak.

Before becoming active once again, Vicelles, a native of Sultan Kudarat, was working as a trainer in Fuji.

The victory boosted Simsri’s win-loss-draw record to 41-1-0 with 36 knockouts while the defeat dropped Vicelles’ mark to 21-3-1 with 11 knockouts.