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.



Thanks to denkiri1 for the upload. This is an illustration of what happens when Ponsaneh's style works and, when it pays off, it's in spades. His aggressiveness and workload mean that if he downs his opponent, they do not get any respite. Chatchainoi, for his part, does a good job of fighting aggressively in the early rounds though, as we see, this may have be a strategic error. Ponsaneh is not the type of fighter to run out of steam, but is certainly more dangerous when fresh. Chatchainoi gets off some big middle kicks but seems uncomfortable when Ponsaneh closes to punching range, which is bad news when you're fighting Ponsaneh. Chatchainoi got right back up after being offset by the first big right hook in the 3rd, but it was clear that he wasn't entire back in his mind and Ponsaneh was quick to capitalize, landing again three times with right hooks.

Based on the gamblers' preference for close, back and forth matches and the audience's love of Muay Thai fighting spirit, you can see why Ponsaneh is a popular fighter.