Friday, December 24, 2010

Jongsanan Fairtex vs Sakmongkol Sitchuchok

I posted a longer version of this over on Headkicklegend, whose editors have now moved to Liverkick.com.

According this interview at Muaythaionline, Jongsanan Fairtex earned the name "Wooden Man" as a young fighter by training his ass off "7 hours a day," only eating and sleeping besides. Apparently, kicking him felt like kicking a tree. His exceptional toughness in a sport that, as we've seen, demands exceptional toughness made him something of a crossover star in his era. He held titles from both Lumpini and Rajadamnern. Jongsanan now teaches Muay Thai for Fairtex in California. He fights in red in this match.

Sakmongkol Sitchuchoke fights with very apparent intensity. He is a southpaw whose hallmark is his brutal, whipping left kicks. A match in 1999 with Perry Ubeda on the King's Birthday card in Lumpini helped propel him to fame. With his exciting, tough style, he became quite popular internationally, and met the likes of John Wayne Parr, Jomhod Kiatadisak, and Farid Villaume after leaving Thailand. He fights in blue in this match.

Both Sakmongkol and Jongsanan are relatively heavy fighters. Sakmongkol moved up from around 135 lb when he fought Dekkers in 1991 to 154 against Parr in 2004. Jongsanan is similarly built, though he did not stay active as long. They met in the ring 8 times, with Jongsanan winning 5, and both becoming good friends after the third fight. This is their 5th and most famous match.

This match is classic '90s Muay Thai.


Thursday, December 23, 2010

Genki Yamamoto vs Kaew Fairtex 2005

Genki Yamamoto and Kaew Fairtex are both fighters we've visited before on this blog. Both fight around 135 lb and, at least on paper, seem similar in being strong punchers. Of course, that's not taking into account the rest of the weapons available in Muay Thai.

Kaew's tools reflect his pedigree on the Thai circuit. He is known for strong punches, but is very well-rounded, as you can see in his fight against Jomthong Chuwattana.

Genki's output comes much more from his hands. That's not to say his other weapons aren't refined, but he seems to find the most success favoring punches and low kicks. His power is quite evident in both.

This match takes place in Japan under full Japanese kickboxing rules, which allows all Muay Thai weapons. It's the first time they meet. They meet again in the U.S.A. in a match that looks remarkably similar to this. Forgive the ads. Youtube only has the rematch and I find this the more entertaining of their bouts.

Part 1

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Neungthep Eminent Air vs Panomrunglek Kiatmuu9 2010

I posted a version of this on Head Kick Legend.

Stadium champions in Muay Thai tend to be very active. Ducking is rare in Thailand and rematches may continue as long as the fight generates interest. Fighters will match up 7 or 8 times if promoters deem it necessary or profitable. Differences in skill or standing are negotiated by having the favorite give up weight, usually 1 to 5 lb, to their opponent at the weigh-ins. This evening of the odds provides for closer fights that gamblers are more likely to bet on. Saenchai Sor Kingstar, for example, gives up weight to his opponents in nearly every fight. Note that Saenchai is also special in that, despite frequent title fights, he is able to hold on to, or consistently win back, stadium belts.

Neungthep Eminent Air is the current Lumpini champ at 115 lb super flyweight. He'd been a top ranked fighter in his division for a couple of years but hadn't quite reached the very top until beating Ponsawan Lukprabat this September. This match is his first defense of the title, coming about a month after he first won it. He fights in red in this bout.

Panomrunglek Kiatmuu9 has been fighting in the top ranks of 115 lb for a while longer than Neungthep. He almost seems to hold a perennial status as close contender for the belt. The the title actually came his way earlier this year in May, also from Ponsawan Lukprabat! The top ranks, as I've said, are very competitive, and belts can change hands very quickly with title bouts every one or two months. Panumgrunlek, being the challenger for the belt, fights in blue.

Expect fast exchanges of technique from fighters at this weight. To get an idea for which way the match is swinging, pay attention to who wins the individual exchanges as well as the overall rhythm of the fight. For a more in depth explanation of scoring, refer to this article.


Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Samart Payakaroon vs Jaroenthong Kiatbanchong

This fight likely took place in the mid to late '80s, around the time Samart made the transition to English boxing. He's in southpaw stance here, a change he adopted in every one of his English boxing fights.

Samart Payakaroon I've introduced before. The short of it is, if you ask anyone in Thai Muay Thai to name the greatest fighter of all time, Samart will likely be named. He was at his prime in the '80s and moved to English boxing in 1986 after winning the Lumpini 126 lb featherweight.

Jarontheong Kiatbanchong is one of the top fighters in Samart's era, what's generally considered the Golden Age of Muay Thai, from the '80s to '90s, when interest in the sport was at a peak. He's also shortlisted one of the greatest fighters of Muay Thai, having beaten a number of champions like Chamuekpet Hapalang, Langsuang Panyupathum, and Panumtuanlek Hapalang.

Samart is in red, Jaroenthong blue.


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Tyrone Spong vs Joerie Mes 2006

In 2008 Tyrone Spong took his plunge into heavyweight, following a weight increase from 75 kg to 95 kg over about 1.5 years. This match was about a year before he would start his rise through cruiserweight to fight in the K-1 WGP.

Spong is a technical fighter now as a super-heavy, but at 75 kg he was fast and technical. Spong's game now looks very similar to his game then, but a little less busy. He employs a variety of punches, mixed with well-executed teeps, knees, low kicks, and the occasional middle or high kick. One thing I really enjoy seeing in Tyrone is his excellent deployment of rhythm that allows him to roll with strikes and land his own with precise timing.

Joerie Mes was a strong contender in the Dutch 70 and 75 kg in the mid '00s and has met most of the big names in Holland, like Nieky Holzken, Andy Souwer, and even Ramon Dekkers. His CV contains an interesting mix of older generation and new Dutch names. He hasn't fought since dropping a decision to Yoshihiro Sato in K-1 in 2009.

This fight took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands under Muay Thai rules modified with no elbows. Spong varies a little from the usual Dutch style, but this is a good example of Dutch Muay Thai, a very effective school of boxing. Spong wears the red gloves and Mes is the skinhead in camo shorts who looks like a Neo-Nazi. He's not, but the resemblance is frightening and hilarious.

[The first round is missing a few seconds. I chose this upload out of preference for Youtube's less intrusive ads. You can watch the complete fight on Dailymotion here: Spong vs Mes.]

Part 1

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Yoddecha Sityodtong vs Shannon Forrester 2007

This fight is special to me because I stumbled on it very early in my travels with Muay Thai. It shows what very good technical, powerful, and elegant Muay Thai could look like.

Yoddecha Sityodtong is a former champion at Lumpini, likely at 147 lb, the heaviest category there until 154 lb was introduced this year. He was trained at the Sityodtong camp by Kru Yodtong, like Samart. Currently he teaches at Evolve-MMA in Singapore and is, by all accounts, a very nice person. As a child, he actually lived on the streets as an orphan and was taken in by the Sityodtong camp.

You may remember him from the Muay Thai/ Muay Boran episode of Human Weapon in which he sparred Jason Chambers.

Watch for his beautiful high kicks. He fights in white trunks in this bout.

Shannon Forrester is an Aussie Muay Thai fighter. The Australian Muay Thai scene is thriving and produces some very good fighters. I am not sure if Forrester is still active, but even since 2007, Australian Muay Thai has advanced a long way and produced excellent fighters like Dane "Daddy Kool" Beauchamp/Beecham (according the the commentators), Eli "Mad Dog" Madigan, Michael "Tomahawk" Thompson, and Eugene "Boom Boom" Ekkelboom. Of course, John Wayne Parr, Bruce McFie, and Soren Mongkongtong are still around, though I believe Soren has semi-retired from fighting.

Australian Muay Thai is more faithful to Thai Muay Thai than most other international scenes. Full rules are the norm and most fighters choose to do the Wai Kru and Ram Muay. The general style produces a lot of knockouts with strong punches and elbows. There is not so much clinching as in Thailand and punches score significantly more. International fighters compete there with good frequency.

Forrester seems experienced in the different aspects of Muay Thai. Most of his offense comes by way of punching. He also looks to be a little heavier than Yoddecha, though Yoddecha has an edge in experience. Forrester wears the red shorts.

The uploader took the liberty of replaying two critical junctures in the fight, but it's done in a way that can help viewers parse the action, especially for those new to Muay Thai.

Part 1

Monday, December 6, 2010

Ponsaneh Sitmonchai vs Chatchainoi Sitbenjama

I mentioned before that Ponsaneh often gets the short end of judges' decisions because of his style and, certainly, the way he fights involves an intense risk from himself and his opponents, especially at the opening of a bout. He has to step up the gas enough to get a knockdown or knockout in the early rounds when opponents are warming up, but still has to save enough, and protect himself well enough, for the possibility of later rounds where he has to catch up on points or defend a lead.

Chatchainoi, like most of Ponsaneh's opponents, fights a more conservative game. He's a well-rounded fighter who prefers fighting slightly further out than Ponsaneh. Notably, he's beaten Pakon Sakyothin, the fighter who warred with Ponsaneh for the 2010 Fight of the Year at Lumpini. Chatchainoi is a quality fighter who, in the rankings now, is about 2 weight divisions below Ponsaneh, which suggests Ponsaneh moved higher sometime after this. As in English boxing, it's common to go up in weight over a career and Ponsaneh's most recent jump, to 128 lb, is actually quite recent.

This was probably contested in the late 00's. Ponsaneh is in blue, Chatchainoi red.


Samart Payakaroon vs Panumtuanlek Hapalang 1989

There's a bit of a legend surrounding this one. Samart, after losing to Jeff Fenech in English boxing in 1987 became very unpopular in Thailand. After coming back from Australia, he lived as a forest monk for over a year before being matched with Panumtuanlek Hapalang.

Samart hadn't trained for over a year and was coming off the loss of his WBC 122 lb super-bantamweight title. Panumtuanlek, from the same gym as legendary Chamuekpet Hapalang, held the no. 1 ranking at the stadiums.

Samart is in red, Panumtuanlek blue.


Ponsaneh Sitmonchai vs Pakon Sakyothin 2010

This was the first fight between the two. It was hailed as Fight of the Year when it went down and was just awarded that status at Lumpini for 2010.

Ponsaneh is the master of go-go-go. At first sight, he looks to be employing a Dutch style but, while the tools are the same, the rhythm and application are entirely his own, (or his camp's. I've heard all Sitmonchai fighters specialize in hands and lowkicks). Ponsaneh's style is the same in every fight so I won't spoil anything by saying that he comes out in this one throwing bombs and chopping trees. Bouts with him are intense affairs, the opponent always having to grit their teeth and intensify their own game just to make it into later rounds. The drawback of Ponsaneh's style is that punches do not score that much in Thailand so, unless they do some obvious damage or the low kicks really accumulate, he loses on points. He also has surprisingly little head movement for a fighter who uses so much boxing. He normally fights at 124 lb but has been fighting as high as 128 lb. He wears red in this bout.

Pakon or Pakorn Sakyothin became a big name and a contender after this bout. I assume he was reputable already in order to earn a bout with Ponsaneh, but the closeness and intensity of this match meant his stock shot way with promoters and especially gamblers. Pakon's style is much more conservative. He keeps his defense strong and utilizes a powerful base to counter and impose his game on opponents. In the clinch, he is very strong, though there is less of that in this bout, and his game of jab, teep, left kick is very solid. Pakon is ranked at 126 lb in the stadiums and wears the blue shorts in this bout.


Part 1

Rambaa Somdet vs Yamaguchi Genki 1999

Many MMA fans will be familiar with Rambaa Somdet after his conversion to MMA. He fights at at 125 lb in Japan because of a lack of opponents at his optimal 115 lb. For a fighter in his 30s, (he fought in Lumpini nearly 2 decades ago), he has been doing very well on the MMA circuit.

This is a Japanese Kickboxing bout allowing all the weapons of Muay Thai, though they don't all come into play. Rambaa is a small, explosive fighter who fights with an entertaining flair that endears him to audiences. His flamboyance in the ring seems particularly popular in Japan, though I don't doubt that it would export well to the U.S. or other markets, provided he backs it up with wins. While his popularity in Japan is quite explicable, his fighting style is something of an anomaly. He abandons the conservative Thai style and sticks to powerful punch and kick combinations at the middle range. It certainly reflects the strength of his hand techniques, but could also be intelligent gameplanning on his camp's part, compensating for his reach and height disadvantage.

Yamaguchi Genki is relatively unknown to me. His kickboxing career does not seem to have taken off since this bout. His techniques have decent power, but lack the finesse seen in more experienced fighters.

Ramba is in black shorts, Yamaguchi white.


Sunday, December 5, 2010

Lim Chi Bin vs Su Hwan Lee 2009

Here is the promised bout between Lim Chi Bin and Su Hwan Lee.

This was in the finals of the K-1 MAX Korea tournament in 2009. Korea produces very technically refined fighters, though no very dominant ones. Perhaps they lack the brutality and toughness characteristic of most high level Muay Thai fighters. This video is actually a good place to start inquiring into that because these two are Korea's finest home grown kickboxers.

Lim Chi Bin has been fighting K-1 and Muay Thai for a long while. His first major fight was against none other than Masato in the round of 16 for the K-1 MAX tournament in 2005. He came up short then and has had a mixed record in K-1 since. Lim shows improvement throughout his fights, particularly in his boxing, and is a mainstay in the K-1 lineup because of his popularity in the Korean market. As mentioned in the Kido vs Lim post, he is a little small for 70 kg, and his last superfight at the MAX Final 16 2010 in Seoul, where he put on a very good showing, was at 67 kg. His technical style and decent power means even top opponents have to be on their game to beat him convincingly.

Su Hwan Lee is a big Korean lad, standing at a broad-shouldered 180 cm (5'11"). He has the ingredients to pose problems for a lot of fighters because, on top of his size and technicality, he is a southpaw with a penchant for distance fighting. We saw an example of a devastating distance fighter in Nong-O Sit-Or in the last post, and fighters like Masato and Badr Hari would be considered distance fighters in the K-1 ruleset, though under Muay Thai rules, Buakaw Por Pramuk and Gevorg Petrosyan are more typical, using kicks, teeps, and jabs, and the occasional long knee before utilizing a powerful clinch game to force the fight back to a distance.

These fighters had met twice before with Su winning by 1st round KO in 2007 and Lim winning by 3rd round TKO in 2006. In this bout, Lim fights out of the red corner and Su the blue.


Nong-O Sit-Or vs Petchboonchu FA Group 2010

Nong-O Sit-Or just won Lumpini Stadium's Fighter of the Year award, which is about as prestigious as they get in the sport. He's had a dominant year, winning 9 fights and losing 1 to Saenchai. Last year, the award came down to a bout between him and Saenchai and Saenchai took the win by KO and the award. Nong-O is extremely talented, one of those rare fighters who's well rounded in nearly all aspects. He's also quite unique in that he's southpaw who fights orthodox and sometimes switches back, in a world of orthodox fighters switching to southpaw. Recently, he's developed quite a punching game on top of his smooth, powerful kicks.

Petchboonchu FA Group is the quintessential power clincher. He's traded the Lumpini 135 lb belt with Saenchai a couple of times and has been in perennial contendership for both the lightweight 135 lb and super-featherweight 130 lb belts along with Sagetdao Petpayatai and Nong-O for the past 2 years or so.

Nong-O won the super-featherweight from Petchboonchu by first round TKO in 2009. This fight is for a charity even co-promoted by Lumpini and Rajadamnern promoters so the belt is not on the line. Petchboonchu does have a chance to redeem himself, however, as Nong-O has beaten him twice before this by TKO.

Nong-O in red, Petchboonchu in blue.



Yasuhiro Kido vs Lim Chi Bin 2008

Yasuhiro Kido burst on the K-1 MAX scene after unexpectedly winning the Japan MAX tournament in 2008. He's a tall, lanky fighter capable of exploding and stringing up long-range attacks in quick succession. He looks to be about 5' 11" and therefore has a significant reach and height advantage over his opponent, Lim Chi Bin. Lim won the 2008 K-1 MAX Korea tournament for his spot against Kido. Lim uses very good Muay Thai fundamentals in combination with solid boxing to form a style well-suited for K-1. He tends to put emphasis on his crisp punches, which leads to some exciting knockouts. Lim looks to give up a good 3" or so to Kido in this matchup.

This fight was on September 24, 2008, in the elimination round of 16 for the 2008 K-1 MAX tournament. Kido wears blue gloves, Lim red.


Saturday, December 4, 2010

Neungthep Eminent Air vs ? 2008

Neungthep Eminent Air won the Lumpini flyweight strap at 115 lb earlier this year and defended it successfully against Panomrunglek Kiatmuu9 about a month later. Neungthep is a highly technical and patient fighter whose style is an interesting evolution of old and new school mentalities. His footwork and boxing are very technically sound, but he fights relatively static and can be reliant on his middle kicks to score points.

? has been featured before on this blog. Biographical information on ? remains limited. Here ? is seen with a more conservative hairstyle.

This fight takes place in Fairtex's Theprasit Stadium in Pattaya. Neungthep is in red, his opponent blue.


Lertsila Chumpaetour vs ?

We've visited Lertsila Chumpaetour previously in his fight against Jomthong Chuwattana. Lertsila is a very slick fighter with great control in the clinch and evasion of strikes. He is a former champion and has been taking fights against opponents at higher weights, though still at the highest level.

? is a prolific fighter, musician, author, and just about everything else. On Youtube, ? is commonly cast uncredited as a fighter, as is the case here. ? wears blue trunks in this bout. Lertsila is in red.



Thursday, December 2, 2010

Samart Payakaroon vs Samransak Muangsurin 1988

Samart Payakaroon should need no introduction. According to most, he is the best Muay Thai fighter to ever grace the ring. Only Saenchai Sor Kingstar is mentioned in the same air as him. Kru Yodtong, Samart's trainer at Sityodtong, says in an interview with Evolve that while Samart didn't have the best technique in any one aspect of the game, his speed and creativity allowed him to come up with counters no one could predict. He was known for his teep and was very skillful and strong with his boxing. After retiring from Muay Thai, he would win the WBC Super Bantamweight strap in 1986 and successfully defend it once. This is a later fight of his against a heavier fighter. Samart fights from the red corner.

Samransak Muangsurin was another famous fighter of the era. He built a name for himself as a heavy puncher and was nicknamed "The Iron Fist." In an interview, Anuwat Kaewsamrit names him as a precursor, another fighter known for knocking his opponents out. The Muangsurin camp also turned out accomplished professional English style boxers like Saensak Muangsurin. He wears the blue shorts in this bout.

These fighters were active in the late '80s and early '90s before the Asian financial crisis in 1997, what is referred to as the Golden Age of Muay Thai. Viewership has not returned to the levels of that era and the advent of football being broadcast on Thai TV has precluded somewhat a highly visible Muay Thai media presence. Samart was champion in four weight categories at Lumpini Stadium against the very high quality opponents of this era. To put that in perspective, consider that Lumpini is one of the two major stadiums in Bangkok, along with Rajadamnern, and belts from the two stadiums are the most prestigious and difficult to obtain in Muay Thai.



Badr Hari vs Ruslan Karaev 2007

Our first foray into super heavyweight competition features Badr Hari and Ruslan Karaev. Both fighters hit hard and fast and have a somewhat spotty history with getting chinned due to reckless mistakes or loose defense. Most of you will be familiar with Badr. The Moroccan has skyrocketed in standing in recent years with defeats of many top fighters including Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, and Alexei Ignashov. He is currently on a self-imposed hiatus due to mental breakdowns in the ring that lead to disqualification losses, but remains a uniquely important figure in super heavyweight kickboxing.

Badr has put on weight recently, but at the time of this fight he, like Ruslan, was one of the smaller super heavyweights on the K-1 circuit. Ruslan's career has not been doing well, unlike Badr's, and he's been sitting out recent tournaments due to injury or lack of preparation. He always poses a threat because of his punching power. Unfortunately, because of poor defense, his window for victory against skilled opponents often seems little more than a puncher's chance.

This was their second meeting. The fight took place in Yokohoma, Japan and was an eliminator for the newly formed 100 kg division in K-1. Badr wears the blue gloves, Ruslan the red.



Satoshi Kobayashi vs Osman Yigin 2001

We visited Kobayashi previously in his bout against Namsaknoi. He paid for his loose style in that fight against a sharper, fast fighter. That style pays off in this fight, at least for the audience, though you can still see its shortcomings. I've only seen this one fight from Osman Yigin. He seems to be from the same school of thought in terms of boxing as Kobayashi, one where patience is deemphasized in favor of aggression and power. I think the closest parallel to Kobayashi we currently have is Badr Hari, a fighter with a loose, powerful style that emphasizes offense with the hands over defense. (Kobayashi actually trained in Holland early in his career, at Mejiro Gym where Andy Souwer came up.)

Kobayashi wears red gloves in this bout, Yigin blue.


Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Namsaknoi Yuttragarngamtorn vs Satoshi Kobayashi

This bout probably took place in the early '00s. It features Namsaknoi Yutthakarnkamtorn against one of Japan's best-known fighters, Satoshi Kobayashi. Kobayashi now works in some managerial capacity for the AJKF. Those who follow Muay Thai should know Namsaknoi as one of the most dominant fighters of his era, accumulating something like 280 wins to 15 losses with Lumpini belts in three weight divisions.

This fight shows a good contrast in fighting styles because, even without their obviously different training backgrounds, both these fighters have distinctive fighting styles in themselves. Kobayashi puts emphasis on speed, something common on the Japanese circuit, as well as combination boxing, throwing long combinations with body shots. His wide-open, freely aggressive stance he takes makes exciting bouts, and generates a lot of power, but it leads to him taking a lot of damage. The consequences pile up when his opponent is faster and smarter than him, or if he underestimates his opponent.

Namsaknoi wears white trunks in this match. Kobayashi has a rainbow on his shorts.


Andrei Kulebin vs Mosab Amrani 2009

Andrei Kulebin is a premier European fighter out of Belarus. Most of his experience is in amateur Muay Thai, but there are some big names in amateur Muay Thai because professionals are allowed to compete. He has around 150 fights and I believe his prime weight at the time of the event was 63 kg, which is the weight this bout is contested at. He has since moved up to 67 kg, fighting opponents like Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee. The only really big name he's beaten in recent times is Nopparat Kheatmontorn, though Kulebin remains a highly regarded fighter.

Mosab Amrani was quickly on the rise at the time of the fight. He's well established now and was on a tear in 2009. He beat Anuwat Kaewsamrit by doctor stoppage from a cut at Slamm V, then fought Kulebin, and at the next Slamm event KOed Bovy Sor Udomson in the first round. He is relatively green compared to Kulebin, but has the grace of a more experienced fighter. Both these fighters are able to switch from orthodox to southpaw without compromising themselves. Kulebin wields the blue mitts, Amrani the red.

You'll have to forgive the length of this video. This is the original broadcast in its entirety. There were production problems at Champions of Champions II and this video, unfortunately, preserves some of the breaks in signal.

[edit: Here's a link to a shorter version in case the embedded one is denied: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTAxMzk5NjY4.html]