Thailand fighter's failure scraps world title bout

Thailand's Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym saw his latest bid to reclaim the World Boxing Association super-bantamweight crown end Thursday when a bout with champion Guillermo Rigondeaux was canceled. The Thai fighter failed a pre-fight medical exam and was not approved to compete by Texas state officials in what was to have been an undercard fight to Thai star Nonito Donaire's light-featherweight title bout against Jorge Arce. "The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation notified us today that they would not issue a license to Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym," promoter Bob Arum said. "I feel very badly for both fighters who trained very hard. Top Rank's matchmakers are working to returning Guillermo back to the ring as soon as possible." Poonsawat's American debut would have given him a chance to reclaim the crown he held in 2010. The Thai fighter is 48-2 with 33 knockouts. It would have been his fourth bout of the year and his second within three months. Cuban-born Rigondeaux, 11-0 with eight knockouts, would have been making the third defense of a crown he won last January over American Rico Ramos.