As you learnt in our previous blog, Thailand is a country fascinated by the art of fighting. The Thai people are so big on fighting as it provides discipline to many people and gives them a focus and a goal to achieve.
Thailand has tournaments in their prisons. This programme is known as “Prison Fight” with winners getting reduced sentences. The idea of this programme is to help reintegrate prisoners back into society before their eventual release.
Although Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand, Thailand is also the home to many boxers who have held or fought for the prestigious world title belts that every boxer dreams of having.
In this blog, we will discuss some of the best Thai boxers and their biggest achievements so read on to find out more!
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai- 49-5-1
Wisaksil Wangek or better known as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is a Thai professional boxer who is the former 2 time WBC Super-Flyweight Champion. Sor Rungvisai came from a poor family in Thailand and arrived in Bangkok at the age of 13. When he arrived, he could barely afford food.
Sor Rungvisai turned professional in 2009 and became world champion for the first time in 2013 in Thailand. He defended the belt once before losing the belt to Carlos Cuadras in a thrilling fight in Mexico City.
In 2017, Sor Rungvisai became a huge boxing star when he fought the previously undefeated 46-0 WBC King, Roman Gonzalez. This fight was the co-main event to Gennady Golovkin vs Daniel Jacobs so this led to Sor Rungvisai getting a lot of exposure. Sor Rungvisai knocked Gonzalez down in the 1st round and constantly came forward showing his power and aggression. The fight was a thriller with Sor Rungvisai causing a huge upset and winning a Majority Decision.
In the rematch 6 months later, Sor Rungvisai proved to be a great at his weight class by knocking out Gonzalez in the 4th round which again was unexpected. Sor Rungvisai went on to also add The Ring Belt alongside his WBC Title until he lost them in 2019.
Sor Rungvisai signed a multi-fight deal with British Promoter Eddie Hearn in 2019. This proves how hard that Sor Rungvisai had worked from living in poverty to fighting for luxurious amounts of money. I recommend that everyone goes and looks at his fights as they are all explosive with a lot of drama.
At the age of 34, Sor Rungvisai is firmly into his prime so it would be great to see him in another top fight for more belts!
Apinun Khongsong-16-1
At 25, Khongsong is still a relatively young prospect in terms of a boxer but he has already challenged at the elite level at such a young age.
Khongsong hasn’t always been a boxer. He was a kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter with over 100 fights before turning professional as a boxer in 2016.
Khongsong’s long frame allows him to carry a strong jab, which is a vital part of success as a boxer.
Khongsong boxed on the regional circuit in japan picking up IBF Pan Pacific Titles which put him on course to the global rankings.
The IBF is one of the 4 main boxing governing bodies along with the WBA, WBC and WBO. In 2020, Khongsong became the mandatory challenger to British unified WBA and IBF Super-Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor. The fight was meant to take place on 5th May but due to Covid-19, the fight was cancelled.
The fight occurred eventually on the 26th September at an empty BT Studios in London. Khongsong was knocked out in the 1st round by a vicious body shot.
Only being 25, Khongsong has a potential to strive for great things in boxing and hopefully one day, he does get another shot at a world title.
Wanheng Menayothin 54-1:
Wanheng Menayothin is one of the most dominant Thai champions of all the time.
He won the WBC Strawweight Title in 2014 and went on to make 12 defences before losing his belt in November 2020.
Wanheng is a relatively unknown fighter to the world as all his fights have taken place in Thailand. Many Thai boxers have other fights in between world title fights which is what Wanheng did but 12 title defences is very impressive.
His record before his sole loss was 54-0 which eclipsed Floyd Mayweather Jr and his perfect record perfect record of 50-0 which does take a lot of grit and natural talent to accomplish.
Conclusion:
From this blog, it is evident that Thailand isn’t just a perfect country because of its scenery and atmosphere but that it produces some exceptional fighters that put Thailand on the world map as a fighting country!