Angkor Youth Boxing Club boxer Saeng Ratana dropped a decision to an experienced Long Don on Sunday at CTN in the 60kg weight division. It was Ratana’s first return to the ring after a lay off of nearly 12 months.

In the first round Ratana worked to find his rhythm after the long absence, seemingly finding it at times and landing 2- and 3-punch combinations. Fighting from the blue corner, Long Don countered with shots from the back foot, but both fighters avoided slugging away too soon and used the first two minutes to feel each other out.

Ratana took the lead again in the second, moving forward with the left and occasionally landing a straight right. Long Don stepped up the counter attack, and the two fighters traded body shots inside. Ratana seemed to find his rhythm and range more often in the second, and worked more effectively on offense, but defensively blue probably landed more, cleaner punches.

In the third Ratana finally started to put his punches together, moving forward and landing clean straight lefts. The power-speed divide clearly fell to Ratana’s advantage as well. Late in the round he landed a few clean rights that knock Long Don back against the ropes, and as the round closed it looked like an 8-count might be in reach.

As the fourth opened Ratana looked to load up on the right hand, but blue evaded well, slipped the big shots and threw the occasional counter. Ratana kept stalking forward, but in the end it wasn’t enough to get the judges decision.