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Best of BKK Muay Thai: fights you missed, My End of Year Awards: vol 4 (Jan, 2021)
🕑 Added 2021-01-04 11:06:40 +0000 UTCOur Note: With the passionate support we've gotten from patrons we are always looking to find ways to give everyone better, in-depth content, and also to help support others who are passionate in their work in Muay Thai. As a continued experiment we've starting this "Bangkok Muay Thai" column, written by Phan Kế Sơn who covers Bangkok Stadium Muay Thai on Twitter (follow him for the latest of what's happening in the stadia, and highlights: @MTLevG). We want you to be able to jump right into the best fights that recently happened, and be able to look forward to what to watch coming up, giving everyone a better sense of the divisions and top talents. This Patreon does a lot to record the legacy of Muay Thai, but that legacy will not survive unless people enjoy today's stadium Muay Thai as well. Let us know if this is something you enjoy! It's free for everyone, patrons and non-patrons alike. This week's column substitutes End of Year Awards for coming up fights as Covid has sidelined Thailand's Muay Thai for a bit.
- See the best fights you missed
- In this column Phan picks his End of Year Awards
- Learn about the best fighters in the best divisions
This calendar tells you when up coming shows are happening, and how to watch them when the fights get going again.
At the bottom of this article you'll see all the links to the fights, and how you can watch the best BKK stadium Muay Thai from where you are.
Volume 4 | 23-11-20 to 31-12-20 (back), My Awards For 2020
Introduction:
In this article, I will break down six of my favorite fights from the past month and, as there was a serious Covid outbreak in Samut Sakhon just two weeks ago, all January shows have been cancelled, so, instead of covering anticipated fights, I will make my picks on who I think is the Fighter of the Year, Young Fighter of the Year, as well as Promoter, Gym, and Show of the Year.
Links:
Last article’s anticipated fights recommendations:
- Nuathoranee (red) vs Rungsaengtawan (blue) 2
- Ronachai (red) vs Fahpennueng (blue)
- Sangmanee (red) vs Capitan (blue)
- Kulabdam (red) vs Shadow (blue) | Starts from round 2
Looking back:
- Rungkao (red) vs Detsakda (blue) 4
- Narak (red) vs Bigbang (blue) | Starts at 57:10 mark
- ThahanEk (red) vs Anantachai (blue) | Starts at 2:28:00 mark
- Puenkon (red) vs SaoTho (blue)
- Kompatak (red) vs ET (blue) 2 | Starts from round 2
- Prabipop (red) vs Fahsiam (blue)
Looking Forward:
- [Covid lockdown, fights cancelled until further notice]
Looking back (all fights linked above and at the end):
1. Rungkao Wor.Sangprapai vs Detsakda SorJor.TongPrachin 4 | 132lbs | 27 Nov.
The only fight from November I’ll cover in this article, Rungkao Wor.Sangprapai vs Detsakda SorJor.TongPrachin (P.K.Saenchai) on Petyindee’s weekly Muaymumwansuk show at the end of November. This fight is part 4 of a rivalry that has spanned nearly four years, a rivalry that was led 2-1 by Detsakda before this fight.
In the last five years, Songkhla native, Rungkao has slowly built himself up as a consistent elite fighter in the middle divisions (126-135lbs) of the Petyindee circuit. In the last three years alone, the 21-year-old has won the CP-Meiji Tournament, the True4u title (both 126lbs) and just last year, he won a major upset against Superlek Kiatmuu9 for the Rajadamnern Stadium 130lbs title. As of this fight, Rungkao is coming off a huge win over 19-year-old 130lbs ace, Samingdet Nor.Anuwatgym.
Rungkao is a tall and long knee fighter, undoubtedly one of the best clinchers of 2020. His style of fighting is built on relentless pressure to stuff his opponent’s offense at distance and, most importantly, to smash his incredibly damaging knees into the body or head of his opponent. At mid and close-distance, Rungkao has a wide range of knees to pick from jumping body knees to spear knees to the simple side knees. Accompanying his knees are strong elbows and kicks. His limbs are so long that most stationary knee defenses are rendered useless as he can just knee over the block. Rungkao’s defense in the clinch is nearly impregnable, outside of the clinch, he takes away space from his opponent with pressure so that their offense becomes very limited. Though, PetUtong - the only person to have won decisively against Rungkao in the last two years - used his footwork to get away from the ropes and kick, the long guard, long clinch, and frames to avoid getting elbowed by Rungkao and to hurt Rungkao in the pocket with jabs, and elbows. Superlek Kiatmuu9 did the same as PetUtong, but he won by a hair in the rematch. Even though PetUtong never had this success against Superbon Tded99, who has a very similar style to Rungkao but is 4-0 against PetUtong.
On the other hand, as of this fight, Detsakda was on a 3-1 run, with a hot streak of wins over Petmorakot Tded99, former Rajadamenrn Stadium Champion Yodkritsada Yutchonburi, and former Rajadamnern Stadium champion Kongthoranee Sor.Sommai (who was up in weight). But, his last fight was an elbow knockout loss to Samingdet Nor.Anuwatgym.
Detsakda is a good distance fighter comfortable pressuring and almost always composed while under pressure himself. He is mainly a puncher, with an especially good rear cross (the right). His jabs serve him well to keep distance, as well as his light teeps to the hips of his opponents. His primary offense also includes strong clinch knees, which have not been very useful in his fights against Rungkao. Detsakda rarely kicks but his work with the long guard is effective in the clinch against any opponent. He defends against knees without using a stationary “knee shield”. Detsakda would regularly block knees by timing his own knee to hit the inside thigh of his opponent’s knee. He defends elbows and punches by framing and though his lineal head movement is generally very good, his lateral head movement is nearly non-existent. Another weakness of Detsakda is that, at 132lbs, he gives up his strength advantage.
As Rungkao looks to even the score against Detsakda, Detsakda looks to end the rivalry once and for all (or for a few more years). If Detsakda takes the lead from the earlier rounds and protect it later on by punching off the long clinch and pushing Rungkao away but Rungkao could find an easy way through this with straight and spear knee.
2. Narak Siwatcharatchai vs Bigbang Chor.Koyuha-Isuzu | 130lbs | 01 Dec.
Young star Narak Siwatcharatchai faced off against veteran Bigbang Chor.Koyuha-Isuzu in the main event of the Kiatpet show at Lumpinee Stadium on the 1st of December. Before the fight, Narak was - rightfully - a big 2/1 favorite to win.
As of this fight, 18-year-old Narak had gone 16-2 since he joined the Kiatpet circuit in January of 2018. Even more impressive is that he had KOd all four of his last opponents, including notable names such as Petsaifon Erawan (on 4-1 run, and coming off a win over Superjeng), and a strong Petrapha Sor.Sopis.
Narak is very much a fundamentalist counter striker. His best weapon is his left elbow, accompanied by his excellent timing. Right behind the left elbow is usually a barrage of crisp punches. At long-distance, Narak has a very strong left kick, and has decent teeps from both legs. He likes to keep his opponent away from punching range so that they would overreach. This is where Narak scores the most. As his opponent overreaches on a punch, he would either pull or slip (rarer) and counter with a big elbow. Another lesser known part of his game is his clinch game, though not often used, Narak has the physical advantage over most of his opponents and can control the clinch very well. Though he is generally very composed, he can get frustrated and go on offense too much. He struggles particularly against fast kickers and those who shut down his elbow/punching with the long guard and frames.
In very sharp contrast to Narak, 23-year-old Bigbang is a much more experienced fighter, but was on a 1-5-2 run prior to this fight having won his first fight in over a year just a bit over one month before facing Narak, though most fans would argue that he won the fights that were scored draws. The fighter he beat though, was 21-year-old, 1m88 giant Yodpet Por.Jaroenpet, who was on a hot 8-fight win streak. So, despite his very spotty record as of late, Bigbang is no pushover.
Bigbang is a very fast fighter with good hands. He works well off the long guard, stuffing his opponent’s top offense and striking off the guard with short-ranged elbows and crosses or hooks of his own. A southpaw, Bigbang excels with lift rear side, with particularly good rear crosses and left kicks. His kicks at range are arguably his best strikes as they are fast and he can throw them off checks and defend off of the kick. Bigbang has relatively good footwork which allows him to circle away from strikes and catch his opponents off guard before they pivot to follow him. He is also a very tricky fighter, often feinting to draw a reaction then strike, which often score very well. The only place where he struggles is the clinch, and even then, he circles away from most strikes and/or time his defense so he doesn’t get hit much. Of course, as indicated by his recent record, he is not invincible. He gives up leads often and gets out-pointed regularly.
This is a very intriguing fight, especially for Narak. On one hand, he has beaten objectively better fighters before but almost none had the amount of experience that Bigbang has. On the other hand, Bigbang looks like a bad matchup for Narak, a tricky, fast technician, and looked like another fighter in his last outing against Yodpet Por.Jaroenpet.
3. ThahanEk Nayok-A-Thasala vs Anantachai Kittymuaythai | 108lbs Raja title fight | 03 Dec.
My third choice features a fight for the Rajadamnern Stadium 108lbs title that was stripped from Praewprao PetyindeeAcademy after the Petyindee promotion left Rajadamnern Stadium. This fight for the vacant title pits ThahanEk Nayok-A-Thasala against Anantachai Kittymuaythai on the inaugural Suk T.B.M (promotion) show at Rajadamnern Stadium, with ThahanEk leading pre-fight odds a close 11/8. Keep in mind that the decision was not entirely well received.
18-year-old ThahanEk was coming off of a hot streak of four wins on a 9-1 run as of this fight. Though, his last fight against 15-year-old rising star Lomchoi Or.Saknarin ended in a somewhat controversial decision for ThahanEk.
ThahanEk is a rare case of a modern elite frontfoot fighter, though he is comfortable switching to backfoot while retreating or while getting ready to enter the clinch. He has a fast snappy rear kick at distance, a kick that gets very sloppy as the distance closes between him and his opponent. Additionally, his defense at distance is relatively good. ThahanEk possesses good clinch entries. He would regularly punch off of an often sloppy rear kick and subsequently grab the neck to enter clinch. Another entry that he often uses is a counter in which he waits for his opponent to close distance, then elbow his opponent while they try to take his neck, this is particularly reminiscent of Kaonar P.K.Saenchai. In the clinch is where ThahanEk is most comfortable. There, his favorite strike is the left elbow, especially when it is on top of the guard/clinch hold. Then comes the barrages of knees and the occasional dump or sweep. The weakest area of ThahanEk’s game is his defense in the clinch, especially against knees/(big) knee clinchers and his balance.
Conversely, 18-year-old Anantachai Kittymuaythai was on a bad 2-2-1 before this fight. In fact, the reason that he was given the title shot at all was because, in a completely unprecedented upset, in his last fight, Anantachai knocked out 16-year-old rising star Sator PetpacharaAcademy and broke his 5-fight win streak.
Anantachai has a developed outside game as a kicker. He is a proficient kicker and can use both of his legs well. His switch kicks with his lead leg is a strong weapon that catches many of his opponents off guard. A big part which he lacks at distance is perhaps his distance management. He has a difficult time keeping his opponents away, and so, he is easily clinched up. Which brings me to his clinch game. It isn’t the best but he stands well in the clinch against the vast majority of his opponents. His clinch locks and transitions, including defense against transitions in the clinch leave much to be desired. Though his knees are good, his clinch game is far from developed.
Neither of these two I consider the best 108er in the Palangmai (Sor.Sommai) promotion, though ThahanEk is certainly up in the top 3. Nevertheless, this is a title fight and relatively good matchup, not an exciting one though.
4. Puenkon Tor.Surat vs SaoTho Sitchefboontham | 118lbs | 11 Dec.
My fourth pick is a much more interesting and exciting matchup than the last, between Puenkon Tor.Surat and SaoTho Sitchefboontham. This fight was the TV main event on Petyindee’s weekly Muaymumwansuk show at Rangsit Stadium.
Just four years ago, Puenkon was undoubtedly on top of the Muay Thai world as he went on a 13-fight win streak spanning over 16 months. During the period, he won and defended the 115lbs Rajadamnern Stadium title, and won 2016 SAT Fighter of the Year. But, since 2018 and up until just a few months ago, Puenkon has looked like less than a shadow of his former self, perhaps due to being forced up to 116-118lbs from his natural weight of 114lbs.
Puenkon is one of the most well-rounded and experienced fighters in the lower divisions. He is most known for his incredibly accurate left kicks and the left elbow, thrown from mid-range with great timing, and sometimes set up with a jab. Puenkon also has a good 1-2, notably to the body. At shorter distance, he has powerful knees, and again, his versatile left elbow. He is great at the underarm catch, which is a great way to score with dumps. He is also good at avoiding long clinch exchanges by tying up his opponents or stopping his opponent from entering the clinch by manipulating their guard. On defense, he is good at circling away from the ropes and has adequate head movement which allows for good counter opportunities. Though, he does struggle in certain areas like defending against head kicks, teeps, and fighting against bigger and stronger opponents. Otherwise, he is one of the most complete fighters under 118lbs.
On the other hand, SaoTho was on a deceptively bad 1-3-1 run, with his only win coming against a surging Ekalak Sor.Samangarment, his losses were against a surging Kumandoi Petcharoenvit twice), arguably the best of 118-122lbs Suesat Paeminburi on a week’s notice, and the draw was also against Suesat, but SaoTho was well-prepared this time. Prior to this bad run, he went unbeaten in 11 fights.
SaoTho is a fighter who strikes in blitzes, proficient with knees and elbows. He has powerful rear kicks out of the orthodox stance. In the clinch is where he works best as he is known for his long knees, and he regularly turns and off-balances his opponents to land strong knees to the back, and for his control in the clinch. At close distance, he has sharp chopping elbows and elbows off of the opponent’s guard just before clinching up, and good punches. He sometimes frames to stop punches. Additionally, SaoTho’s knee defense is up there with the best. Though, his defense in general isn’t the best. He enters the clinch recklessly, open to counters, his head movement is nearly non-existent, he can easily get overwhelmed by a good pressure puncher who doesn’t exclusively headhunt.
This fight is sure to deliver, both are exciting offensive fighters of high level. The intrigue of this fight comes from the weight it is set at 118lbs. Historically, Puenkon hasn’t done too well above 115lbs, having lost most of his fights there (above 115lbs), and now he takes on SaoTho, who had just gone toe to toe with Suesat Paeminburi. Still, Puenkon is the clear favorite, given his form as of late.
5. Kompatak Sinbimuaythai vs ET Tded99 2 | 129lbs | 18 Dec.
This fight is an absolute must-watch, easily one of the best fights of the year. It is an immediate rematch between Kompatak Sinbimuaythai and ET Tded99, which was the first of three main events on a huge show in Songkhla Province promoted by the Singmawin promotion. ET upset the odds to win their last fight at Channel 7 Stadium in somewhat controversial fashion amongst fans (gamblers) as the fight was very close (highlight). Despite the loss, Kompatak comes into this fight a 11/8 favorite.
Kompatak had just recently moved up to the 130lbs division after spending over a year at 124-126lbs. As of this fight, he had lost his last two, a controversial decision against ET, and another decision loss to the young star View Petkhoson. Prior to this, he had gone 3-1 with his only loss coming against Kongthoranee Sor.Sommai, one of the former top fighters at 122lbs.
Kompatak is a southpaw, renowned for his fast body and head kicks from both legs. On the outside, he also has a decent lead teep and jabs. Aside from the aforementioned weapons and some good head movement against punches and elbows, he is fairly limited at distance. Ironically for a kicker, he is much more versatile in the clinch where, with his size and strength, he is able to stand with the very best of any division in the clinch as he famously beat a top-form Yothin F.A.Group twice. He is highly skilled with transitions in the clinch in particular, as well as with defending against transitions to less favorable positions from his opponents. Moreover, Kompatak has strong knees in the clinch. His biggest weak point is his balance as he is easily swept, tripped, or off-balanced in the clinch into bad positions.
On the other side, Channel 7 Stadium 130lbs Champion ET Tded99 has been in remarkable form lately. In his last 8 fights (before this fight), he has only lost once, to Hercules Petsimuen. In this current run, he has notably beaten Tito Hoywanpotchana by first round flying knee knockout, Nakrob Fairtex by decision, and Kompatak Sinbimuaythai by decision to defend his title.
ET is primarily known for his flying knees and exciting style. He is a very intelligent fighter at any distance, with an extensive skillset. He has a good rear kick, a great jab and closes distances well. ET holds onto caught kicks to kick out his opponent’s leg or knee the caught leg, and of course, also at distance, his famous flying strikes, notably the knee. His steady pressure coupled with clinch entries that are effective as well as damaging as he usually elbows, kicks or knees his way into the clinch. In the clinch, he elbows well off of frames, and due to his strength and skill, he often dominates the knee exchanges, and can tie up his opponents to break up the clinch. His knee arsenal is extensive, and his transitions are also very good. His weakness is in his defense on the outside as he is slow to check kicks and often leave his hands too low, which isn’t usually a problem as he has good head movement and a relatively good chin.
I love this matchup, even before I saw their first fight the month before, ET and Kompatak are both exciting fighters and are elite in the clinch and very highly skilled on the outside as well. Aside from this being my favorite fight this year, it is an interesting matchup.
6. Prabipop Erawan vs Fahsiam Sitthailand | 121lbs | 27 Dec.
And finally, my last pick is on the last show before all other shows were cancelled due to the second Covid outbreak. The semi-final of the 20th annual Tiger Cement (Poon Seua) Tournament, the biggest tournament in all of Muay Thai. On this side of the bracket features Prabipop Erawan against Fahsiam Sitthailand.
This will be the second time that I have talked about Prabipop in my column, he is truly one of my favorite fighters today. The 20-year-old has been the only undefeated fighter in this year’s Poon Seua tournament (4-0 before this fight). He even overcame his stylistic nightmare and rival, PetAothai Pitaktangluang by right cross KO in the group stage of the tournament.
Prabipop is a wonderful fighter to watch. He has beautiful footwork and a near-perfect lead teep that can literally send his opponents flying across the ring or onto the ground. An incredibly versatile, and graceful outside striker. He has a great rear kick out of southpaw, and has decent hands, though his head movement against punches is not very good. He is also a decent counter striker with good timing, a strong knee, and elbows. His clinch is alright, he isn’t the best in there but ties up his opponent’s well and has an excellent knee shield, he can off-balance most of his opponents very well too. His main flaws comes from his difficulty fighting against overwhelming pressure and his conditioning in general which was extensively tested in his first fights against PetAothai and against the fast-rising star Chatpet P.K.Saenchaigym who knocked out Prabipop with leg kicks. Short highlight of Prabipop.
On the other hand, 20-year-old Fahsiam, who trains under Kru Thailand Pinsinchai, had gone 3-1 in this tournament, with his loss coming against PetAothai, one of the favorites coming into the tournament, who barely scraped by and flipped over 15/1 odds to win.
Fahsiam is a dynamic fighter that likes to put on steady pressure and keep his opponents at the ropes and clinch them up in a good position. He is capable of putting together good combinations with punches and kicks. He doubles up on his kicks regularly in the form of leg kick/body kick-head kick combinations. His strongest area is his fast kicks from both legs. Additionally, he is good at catching kicks and taking advantage of it by throwing his opponents off-balance and striking. He is a complete fighter with good fundamentals. In the clinch, he has good knees but lacks the skill to transition positions, though he can dump his opponent’s quite well. Though, his main weaknesses also lie mostly in the clinch as he is bad at defending transitions, he can easily be elbowed from the inside and he struggles when he can’t pin his opponents at the ropes.
Prabipop is the clear favorite in this fight. Though Fahsiam’s leg kicks and steady pressure may be a problem, it is nothing that Prabipop hasn’t dealt with before. This was bound to be an interesting fight.
My End of Year Awards:
- Fighter of the Year: Ronachai Tor.Ramintra
The 23-year-old veteran Ronachai Tor.Ramintra is my pick for 2020 Fighter of the Year. Ronachai comes from Ubon Ratchathani and currently trains out of the renowned Pangkongprab-Paeminburi camp. Nicknamed “The Lotus City Southpaw” (“Saimuangdokbua”), Ronachai is a 3-weight Lumpinee Stadium Champion, at 105lbs, 112lbs, and 118lbs. He is a defensive clincher with unbreakable “ruup” (composure), as well as a wonderful counter fighter.
In this year, he won 5 fights and lost once, against Chailar Por.Lakboon, a loss which he would avenge in dominant fashion just months later.
His results this year and his opponents’ records this year:
- Win over Pet Or.Pimonsri (4-1)
- Loss against Chailar Por.Lakboon (3-1)
- Win over Kompet Sitsarawatseua (3-2, SAT FOTY candidate)
- Win over Chailar Por.Lakboon (3-1)
- Win over SaoEk Sitchefboontham (5-1, SAT FOTY candidate)
- Win over Fahpennueng Por.Lakboon (3-2)
Kongklai Ennymuaythai won the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) Fighter of the Year award, a well-deserved win I might add, as he went undefeated this year, while also winning the Isuzu Cup Tournament and the Siam Omnoi Stadium 140lbs title. But, Ronachai had the much better record against more elite and top form fighters.
Honorable mentions: Kongklai Ennymuaythai
- Young Fighter of the Year: Rittidet Sitkrudet
My pick for 2020 Young Fighter of the Year is the 16-year-old phenom, Rittidet Sitkrudet and in my mind, there was no one even close to him this year, resume wise. The Buriram native has dominated the majority of his opposition this year, fighting against some of the best of the 105lbs division. He is a highly-skilled backfoot counter fighter adept with left kicks, knees and even punches. He is also a strong fighter in the clinch. In this year, he went undefeated in 6 fights, won, and defended the Rajadamnern Stadium title just two months after he had won the title.
His results this year, with his opponents’ 2020 record:
- Win over Yokngern Detpetsitong (2-2, Omnoi 105lbs Champ)
- Win over Somwang Kiatkasem (1-1, was 6-1 last year)
- Win over Anantachailek Por.Phikannes (3-3)
- Win over Superbright Por.Phikkanes (4-2-1, for Raja title)
- Win over Petdet Singtai (3-2)
- Win over Yokngern Detpetsitong (2-2, Omnoi 105lbs Champ, Raja title defense)
Rittidet’s resume this year has been nothing short of excellent, his best win is no doubt his title win against 14-year-old rising star, Superbright Por.Phikannes. With this win, not only did he even the score against his biggest rival to 2-2, he also won the Rajadamnern Stadium title. Coming in at close second is his second win against Yokngern Detpetsitong, who had just won the Siam Omnoi Stadium 105lbs title in September. In this fight, he beat Yokngern comfortably to defend his title and won his camp one of the largest Stadium sidebets this year, 1.5 million baht (50 thousand USD).
Honorable mentions: Jom Parunchai (3-0-1), Oleylek Sor.Kianjai (3-0), Narak Sitwatcharatchai (3-1), Petsila Wor.Auracha (6-1)
Promoter of the Year: Boat Petyindee
Boat Kiatpet is my pick for this year’s best promoter, narrowly beating out Chun Kiatpet of the Kiatpet promotion. Aside from running one of the most talent-filled and storied promotions in the sport, Sia Boat has consistently put on the best fights that the fans demanded and signed one of the best fighters of the year, Capitan PetyindeeAcademy, who slimmed down from 154lbs back down to 140lbs as he came to the Petyindee gym, where he instantly became a superstar after knocking out Pettanong Banchamek in 6 seconds in ONE Championship.
Sia Boat made a big decision right after the lockdown as he decided to leave Rajadamnern Stadium for Rangsit Stadium, and he made it work wonderfully as Boat’s True4u Muaymumwansuk show was one of the most popular shows among boxing fans.
Gym of the Year: Petyindee Academy
This year has been an absolutely amazing year for Petyindee Academy. From the success of their now most popular fighter, Capitan (Diesellek) PetyindeeAcademy, an explosive year for Boonlong Klongsuanpluresort, a great year for Petyindee’s international star, Petmorakot, a relatively good year for Petdam, a great year for the Muay Khao star, Rungkao, and lastly, a relatively good year for Petdam.
Show of the Year: Muay Jet Si at Channel 7 Stadium
Since, for the only 8 months of activity that Muay Thai has enjoyed this year, Lumpinee Stadium - where most of the best Kiatpet shows are usually held - was only open for less than 4 months, Channel 7 Stadium regularly got some of the biggest names in the sport to fight there, and had some of the best matchups in the Kiatpet promotion. Something else to note was their ever-simplistic production, and good camera quality. The Poon Seua Tournament roster was filled with young talent and as exciting as always.
2020 pound for pound rankings
15 - Kumandoi Petcharoenvit (กุมารดอย เพชรเจริญวิทย์, 3-2) - 119lbs
14 - ET Tded99 (อีที ทีเด็ด99, 4-1) - 130lbs
13 - Chokpanlan Por.Lakboon (โชคพันล้าน ภ.หลักบุญ, 3-1) - 115lbs
12 - Rodtang Jitmuangnon (รถถัง จิตรเมืองนนท์, 4-0) - 135lbs
11 - Petsomjit Jitmuangnon (เพชรสมจิต จิตรเมืองนนท์, 5-2) - 115lbs
10 - Nuathoranee Samchaivisetsuk (เหนือธรณี สามชัยวิเศษสุก, 5-0) - 135lbs
9 - Puenkon Tor.Surat (ปืนกล ต.สุรัตน์, 5-2) - 118lbs
8 - Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaigym (ตะวันฉาย พี.เค.แสนชัยมวยไทยยิม, 2-0) - 143lbs
7 - Capitan PetyindeeAcademy (กัปปิตัน เพชรยินดีอะคาเดมี่, 4-0) - 139lbs
6 - Suesat Paeminburi (ซื่อสัตย์ แป๊ะมีนบุรี, 3-0-2) - 118lbs
5 - Samingdam Chor.Atchalaboon (สมิงดำ ฉ.อจล.บุญ, 5-1) - 125lbs
4 - Petphutai Sitsarawatseua (เพชรภูไท ศิษย์สารวัตรเสือ, 4-0) - 126lbs
3 - SaoEk Sitchefboontham (เสาเอก ศิษย์เชฟบุญธรรม, 5-1) - 119lbs
2 - Kongklai Ennymuaythai (ก้องไกล เอ็นนี่มวยไทย, 4-0) - 140lbs
1 - Ronachai Tor.Ramintra (รณชัย ต.รามอินทรา, 5-1) - 123lbs
My criteria:
- Results: most objective criteria, a fighter’s record
- Performance: how a fighter won their fight(s)
- Track record: recent past, quality of opposition
- 365-day period: P4P judges the activity of a fighter in a one-year period
Final thoughts:
This year started out as every other year, with great shows on a packed schedule, which was derailed by the Coronavirus pandemic in March and everything shut down. Muay Thai competition once again resumed in July after several delays. It ran smoothly again, until just two weeks ago, when there was another outbreak of Covid in Samut Sakhon Province. Now, it would be optimistic to say that Muay Thai competition will come back before March.
These lockdowns have hurt everyone in the industry very much. Sinbimuaythai Gym, a prominent fighter-producing gym in Stadiums closed down. Some fighters retired and took jobs in other industries, such as the military, or created their own businesses such as restaurants or amulet-sale (in the case of Yamin P.K.Saenchai), or motor shops (Muangthai). Major stars of the sport, such as Saeksan Or.Kwanmuang was regularly paid 50 thousand baht to fight guys like Kongklai. Jomhod EminentAir took a more than 50% pay cut (relative to his usual purse), and was only paid 30 thousand baht to beat Petsommai Sor.Sommai (one of the top of the division).
It has been a hell-year for the sport, it has dealt major damage to the industry, damage that will take years to recover from. As a final thought for the year, I can only say that I hope, after this lockdown, that boxing can resume indefinitely. This is very optimistic but what else can we really do but be optimistic in these trying times?
It’s been a great year for me as I finally got into covering the sport that I’ve fallen in love with for two years now, and was offered to write a regular column for Sylvie and Kevin Von Duuglas, and for that, I thank them for making this year all the better.
Have a great 2021!
Links:
Last article’s anticipated fights recommendations:
- Nuathoranee (red) vs Rungsaengtawan (blue) 2
- Ronachai (red) vs Fahpennueng (blue)
- Sangmanee (red) vs Capitan (blue)
- Kulabdam (red) vs Shadow (blue) | Starts from round 2
Looking back:
- Rungkao (red) vs Detsakda (blue) 4
- Narak (red) vs Bigbang (blue) | Starts at 57:10 mark
- ThahanEk (red) vs Anantachai (blue) | Starts at 2:28:00 mark
- Puenkon (red) vs SaoTho (blue)
- Kompatak (red) vs ET (blue) 2 | Starts from round 2
- Prabipop (red) vs Fahsiam (blue)
Looking Forward:
- [Covid lockdown, fights cancelled until further notice]
Once fights get going again:
How to watch Stadium (BKK) Muay Thai?
Some people find it hard to find a place to watch elite circuit fights and there are many reasons for this, whether it be the language barrier, significant time zone differences, even the names or whatever else. In fact, it has never been easier to watch shows live than today. Nowadays, there may be about a dozen shows per week but only two shows are behind paywall (Chefboonthum, no way to pay the iPPV without a Thai credit card) and only one requires a VPN (Channel 7). Otherwise, the rest are all either on Facebook or Youtube (or adintrend).
Currently, the only show behind paywall is the Chefboonthum show, that was scheduled to come back at the beginning of January but that was derailed by Covid. They were scheduled to come back with three shows a week, so I don’t know what their specific schedule is yet. Their shows are typically shown on their FB page.
The big shows not under paywall include -in somewhat chronological order - Kiatpet Lumpinee Stadium shows - live at 6:30 PM local on Tuesdays - have two parts to them, the first part is on Muaysod FB page, and the second part shown on Channel 5 FB page or CH5 adintrend (only live), exceptions to this only on Birthday shows or special events. Rajadamnern Stadium shows that go live - at 7 PM local time on Wednesdays and Thursdays - and are published on the Palangmai promotion’s Youtube channel,
I assume with the exception of Suk Jitmuangnon shows at Rajadamnern Stadium, that should go live on the Jitmuangnon FB page. Sia Boat Petyindee’s Muaymumwansuk show at Rangsit Stadium on Fridays at 6 PM local time, shown on the Petyindee YT channel. Suk Jao Muay Thai at Siam Omnoi Stadium, every Saturday at 12 PM local, on the Sukjaomuaythai (ศึกจ้าวมวยไทย) FB page. The Suk Jitmuangnon show at Or.Tor.Gor.3 Stadium on Saturdays at 4:30 PM local, on the Jitmuangnon FB page. The Muay Jet Si show at Channel 7 Stadium on Sundays at 2 PM local, shown on CH7’s official page (VPN needed). And lastly, the Kiatpet AmarinTV show at Or.Tor.Gor.3 Stadium, live at 6 PM local, on the AmarinTV FB page.
Following the sport has also gotten significantly easier with the advent of websites like Muay Thai 2000 (English version). and English speaking pages dedicated to the sport on essentially all major social media platforms besides Youtube.
Highlighted Legend in the Muay Thai Library:
Samson Isaan - 1991 Fighter of the Year
Samson Isaan not only was an unstoppable Muay Khao fighter with relentless knees and heavy hands, after he left the stadia of Bangkok he had an undefeated pro-boxing career as well,
Samson Isaan has two sessions in the Muay Thai Library in which we document the secrets of his pressure style, and his joyousness as a fighter as well:
Browse the over 110 hours of documented commentary video of the Muay Thai Library here. Even a $1 pledge of support gets you unprecedented access to the biggest archive of Thailand's Muay Thai in the world (suggested pledge $5).
Comments
These are perfect, please keep them coming!
