ESB ATGs Muay Thai / KickBoxing fighters Thread

Somrak isn't beloved by his country. He's actually seen as a bit of a comedian and a boastful bull**** artist. His catch phrase in TV commercials is "medi mooh na" which translates as some thing along the lines off "I'm not bullshitting you honestly!".

Sure they loved him when he won the gold and he is held in affection in some people's hearts, but on the whole they can take him or leave him as is the case with all boxers in Thailand.

He is one of the rare group of boxers that has transitioned over to the main stream media which is controlled by the Thai Chinese elite who have no interest in boxing whether Thai or International by the way. Samart, Khaosai and Somlauck are really the only ones who have crossed over with singing acting etc and still do well out of it, but are still just a novelty side show to Thai TVs rich and beautiful people, mostly Thai Chinese or mixed race elites, not pure Thais.

By the way, the King and various sponsers always give million baht gifts to Olympic medalists as the King competed in sailing in the olympics many years ago. He's no boxing follower I can assure you. The big deal with Somluck was he was the 1st. Quite a few have followed and they always get well rewareded, they only medal in Boxing and Womans weight lifting.

For those that have never been to Thailand, yes Muay Thai is the national sport, but it is not like say Baseball in the US or Football in the UK where everybody watches it and takes it seriously. It's more like it's seen as a vehicle for gamblers and people in the sport to make money. Most people do not watch it and follow it and the rich talk about it like it's a dirty word, they really look down on it. It is followed by hardcore fans, gamblers (mostly), foreigners and is casually watched by your average Thai on a Sat and Sunday just cos it's on the TV. The real national sport in Thailand is gambling and if that stopped tommorrow so would the boxing scene, gambling is what keeps it afloat.

I was lucky enough to see Somluck fight Muay Thai live at the end of his career in 2001 on the King's B-Day in BKK. He hadn't trained just boozing and partys and he made a skillful opponet look like a child and he was just messing around!:yikes It was an amazing show of how to kick ass with no stamina or power just ringmanship and experience.

By the way fellas sorry I haven't posted for a while been out of town.

 

thanks very much for the info, great post:good

I had heard something like this before. Sad really. Is it because its seen as too violent? Or could it be classism?

I have read before that many thaiboxers dont even like fighting and they do it simply for the money ever since they were very young. Even prefer a sport like soccer to thaiboxing. I guess in someways thats not really that surprising.

Also boran, do you have any insight why someone of Somrak's skill would be shut-out of a title shot? ohh, and nice avatar!

 

The 'white' people :deal

Great post BTW :good

 

It’s a mix of class snobbery and racism. It’s a totally ****ed up situation but that’s the way it is and it’ll never change.

Most people with dark skin in Thailand are discriminated against on a daily basis and it’s the norm. When you consider about 90% of the country is probably considered to have dark skin you can see just how ****ed up it is. Think a really really reallllllly subtle version of the old South Africa.

In Thailand you basically have 10% who are super super super rich and mostly Thai Chinese, who usually control most of the business and Media and live in Bangkok (as Flea notes “the White people&#8221. You then have a tiny middle class say maybe 20% spread around the country, either underachieving Thai Chinese with a sprinkling of pure Thais who have made their money via the Police or Army or possible a small successful business. Then you have everyone else who is basically poor.

The rich don’t help the poor, like in the West and there is no help from the government so what do you do? If you’re a guy you work the field, join the forces, get a menial low paid job for life, become a criminal mainly in drugs, or you can become a boxer! However, this decision is usually made for you when you are too young to even think about the future.

Fighters have zero control of their future, they are basically owned by the gym, know little of life outside the gym and given the choice as you noted would rather play football/soccer but there’s no money in football in Thailand. Look at Buakaw in his recent interview, meek and almost childlike; these guys are commodities for powerful people. It’s a means to make money. Very few boxers enjoy being a boxer for life in that kind of meat market, it’s a livelihood. Most when they get to their early 20s and they mature want out and do usually leave cos they realise there is a life outside boxing and they have missed out on a lot unless they are really good and can still make good money or as we have seen recently with Buakaw are made to stay on. Boxing is very much controlled by very shady powerful people who are happy to exploit their own, Police, Army etc. (the real mob in Thailand).

That leads onto the thing about Somlak being denied fights, as you can see from above if you don’t play ball you ain’t gonna get what you want. I haven’t heard about the Somlak thing, but he or his gym obviously pissed off the wrong people or didn’t pay the right people. He has always been known to have a bit of an attitude problem so that may have got in the way in a country where saving face is very very important. I doubt he would have been denied due to people fearing him as the psyche of a Thai boxer in Thailand is so different to that of his western brothers, that wouldn’t occur to a Thai in such a competitive country as Thailand where every fight is a tough one and the bigger tougher they are the more dough is to be made.

Sorry the post is so long again.

By the way to any Thai reading this, I do love your country very much and am not trying to make it sound shitty it’s a great country, but when it comes to the treatment of boxers you know how ****ed up it is.

 

I don't think any Thai would disagree.

To add to the colour issue; it's actually similar in a lot of Asia, but the easiest connotation to make of those with a darker skin tone is that they work outside under the sun, so are of lower class. In Western countries, you'll see tanned beauties modelling lotion, hair products and perfume or whatnot. In Thailand, the models are much paler, more akin
to Koreans or Japs, as that is the ideal over there.

As for military police: the absolute dons. They run ****ing everything.

As for King Bhumibol, he has always shown affection to great boxers. They would take their victories to him and bow before him, as they all fought for him. He would offer encouragement. He was also instrumental in popularising western-style fist fighting, courting Nat Fleischer and commissioning the building of Raja stadium to house the first World title fight held in Thailand, the famous 'barefoot fight in the rain' between Bantamweight champ' Jimmy Carruthers and Chamroen Songkitrat, a kickboxing policeman.

 

Also, please don't apologise about the length mate! I think I speak for everyone interested enough to post in here that they're amongst the best posts on the board :thumbsup

 

To those that haven't seen it, a mildly amusing mint advert that features Somluck playing on his arrogant persons against the far more loved Khaosai Galaxy.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-lJRswPZ8E[/ame]

 

Call me a mong if I'm being one, but who's that with Somluck in the profile pic' Boran? :think

 

Thanks for the encouragement fellas, I like posting here cos common sense and knowledge always seem to prevail unlike some of the madness that goes on elsewhere on the forum.

I'm not disagreeing with you about the King Flea, but I'm a skeptic when it comes to motives of the Royal family sometimes. My lack of knowledge on the history and development international boxing in Thailand excludes me from commenting especially to disagree with you as your depth of knowlege on it is ****in frightening mate! :scaredas::good

 

Medi moo na!!!

Don't you just love Thai commercials! :rofl:rofl

It's me..........

No, that's Boonlai Sor Thainkul with Somluck, I posted a vid about him a few pages back a 90s legend.

 

There are things you and I have heard about the Royals we wouldn't even repeat in a secluded and private conversation over here!!! :yikes So yes, not saying all the reasons were selfless (I imagine the main protocol was to make Thailand as a country look powerful by getting his guys into the upper echelons of what was still a massive sport) but he was certainly more involved in the older days, and even gave Kingpetch council leading up to his rematch with Harada.

And by council I mean 'get the job done this time!' :yep

Interesting anecdote. When Nat Fleischer was having afternoon tea with King Poomipon (would you say that was a better phonetic spelling?) he remarked about a beautiful bird in the King's residence. Before he left it had been killed, stuffed and mounted as a 'gift', much to a surprised Fleischer! Or so the story goes

 

TV is mental there is general And is it just me or is Mum Tokmok in every TV comedy/game show going, I see him every day :rofl

 

And yeah Mom, Teang and Aik are every where all the time doing the same act year after year after year. Mum actually mimicks the sound of the Muay Thai pipes brilliantly if you ever see it, very funny.

I'd imagine there are plenty of beautiful birds knocking round the Royal residences! But on a serious note that story if true is nuts:rofl.
(for me with my bad spelling something like Bum mi pol).

 

Bumibol is how it's spelt I think, but with Thai pronounciation it doesn't really sound like that IMO.

I'll check out that clip if I can find it, he's a funny ******* Even if I rarely understand him on Thai TV of course.

Where did you train out of Boran?