Lakva Sim Meets Espinosa in San Jose

ByCurtis McCormick
Lkhagva Dugarbaatar, better known as Lakva Sim, fought his way out of the toughest boxing rings that Thailand and South Korea had to offer and took the WBA Super Feather belt from Takanori Hatakeyama in 1999. In just his 13th pro outing Sim became the first Mongolian fighter

to win genuine world honors but the celebration was short lived. Making his first defense, Sim was unable to retain his belt, losing a dodgy decision in the backyard of Jong Kwon Baek. Five wins and two and a half year later, the Mongolian adventurer was at it again, this time in Thailand. Thai fighter Yodasanan Sor Nanthachai, also known as “3K Battery”, was riding the crest of a spectacular 31 fight unbeaten streak and was just too much for Sim enroute to taking the vacant WBA title. Undaunted, the native of Ulan Bator returned to hand defeat to one of the toughest operators in any weight division, the late Luis Villalta, in April of 2003 before taking the vacant WBA Lightweight strap from an overmatched Miguel Callist.

Once again the reign proved short lived with Sim getting outfought a year later in his first defense by the Texas wonder kid Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz. Now Sim must turn back ex WBA Bantam and longtime WBC Featherweight king Luisito Espinosa in style tomorrow on Fox Sports’ broadcast from San Jose, California if he is to have hope of contending once again for a major world trophy.

Espinosa, 47-13 (26), is an ex- WBA Bantam and WBC Feather champion but has been on the slide for at least five years. The definite turning point was a fourth round stoppage defeat at the hands of Augie Sanchez, a chinny banger who went on to seriously trouble Naseem Hamed. Espinosa has a puncher’s chance against Sim but at 38 no longer has the reflexes to avoid the brunt of the Mongolian’s pressure style.

Should Sim, 20-4-1 (17), emerge victorious as expected, a return with Diaz could be in order. In their title fight last year the challenger outworked Sim and had the best performance of his career. Diaz simply couldn’t miss as Sim looked for the perfect opportunity for a knockout shot. When Sim did let his hands go he traded on equal terms with his rival but too often held back.

Lakva Sim can’t afford a mis-step of any kind against Espinosa and must put on a brutal search and destroy show against the aging Phillipino if he is to have any chance of offering a credible challenge to Diaz or any
other lightweight title holder.

Contact Curtis McCormick at thomaspointrd@aol.com