‘Hitman’ eyes world title

Early in his career, Rey “Hitman” Loreto was a whipping boy. Now, he’s gunning for the world title of unbeaten Thammanoon Niyomtron in Chonburi, Thailand.

Loreto, who lost his first four bouts and owned a woeful 8-win, 11-loss slate at one time, will battle Niyomtron (15-0, 7 knockouts) for the World Boxing Association strawweight crown on Saturday.

But make no mistake, Loreto, 26, is a worthy challenger. Fact is, the Davaoeño has stopped his last six opponents and has climbed to 23-13, 15 knockouts.

Among Loreto’s victims were former WBA titlist Pornsawan Porpramook and former International Boxing Federation champion Nkosinathi Joyi of Monaco in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Loreto’s last knockout victory came at the expense of Rungrit Sor Visetkit at Bangkok University last August.

Both Loreto, a former IBO 108-pound titlist, and Niyomtron, a former Muay Thai fighter who has held the crown since 2014, tipped the scales at the exact 105 pounds during Friday’s official weigh-in.

Puerto Rican Rafael Ramos will be the referee while judges are New Zealand’s Ferlin Marsh, Japan’s Takeshi Shimakawa and Panama’s Ignacio Robles.