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.




Thanks to kasakee for this tremendous video. Apparently, most of their fights ended in knockouts. Watching this video, one kind of expects to see one at any time, but they keep pulling their wits back together and putting their opponent on the defensive.

I've seen this fight called "the elbow fight" and it definitely lives up to that name. On first watching I was astounded that they managed to absorb so much punishment and stay strong. Now, it's more evident that both were in trouble at least once or twice in the match and stayed in it through sheer heart and balls and whatever else nature provides to nurture badasses.