ESB ATGs Muay Thai / KickBoxing fighters Thread

It' s just ring experience and core fitness form such a young age. They grow up in the ring, follow a pro training regime and have so many fights by time they are in their early twenties. When they turn over they are battled hardend veterans still young in years 20- 25. Most of the important basic skills they need are already in place, the ring smarts, abilty to read a fight, supreme fitness, resistance and fight mentality are already there. These are important skills that take years to bulid up and learn. The only problem for the veteran Thai fighter with powerful hands is to adapt his wealth of experience to learning slightly new movements, patterns and techniques, which is tougher than it sounds.

This makes sense and did look that way. Farang boxers if they have skills (or not sometimes) do get to jump the que and that seems more possibly now than it ever was before. Although that can be a double edged sword, you can get thrown in too deep too quick sometimes!

For me the 140 division is getting away from the more competative end of Muay Thai in Thailand, but still a very valid division.

 

Looks like a good fighter, but hard to get a feel for him with just those two clips other than he's got nukes for fists and that he probably lacks credible challenges in the 147 division. I felt he should have used his legs more in the 1st clip, mixed it up a bit more, but I guess I'm being a bit too picky. :tong

In the 1st clip you could see opposition wasn't up for taking too much but that isn't Aik's fault that's the divisions. At the end of the clip even the commentator says it's not easy to find fighters of Aik's calibre in the 147 division, a lack of credible challengers to his titles.

The welterweight division as I mentioned in other posts is getting up there in weight and doesn't have that many classy fighter's, it's never been a loaded weight class in Thailand as guys are usually finished or retiered by time they are big enough to make that weight, that's why the fighter's tend to be older than in the lower divisions. In the second clip both fighters are 27, which in Thailand for a boxer is getting on a bit. The serious competition is in those lower weights many many more fighters down there. 147 suites alot of forigners much better hence loaded divisions on the international scene, and more wins by foreigners than in the lower weight divisions, dispropotionate to the true Thai scene in terms of quality. Once you start getting into superwelter and middle weight most Thais are giving weight big time.

I love what he says in the interview:

For you who is the best nakmuay foreigner?

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You think of winning against him? (Pinca)

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That tell's you alot about the way westerners tend to be viewed by their Thai brothers!!

I'd love to seem him in there with Floyd Jr. MT at 147!!!! All those ***** faces would be priceless!!!

 

:yep Bit unfair making Floyd adapt the 'Benton guard' against eight limbs though ;-)

 

this is an epic thread, it's great when people with such knowledge of muay thai post.

now please give us the title histories of the lumpini and ramdamnern stadium champions and we will love you forever!

 

Well Floyd's already mastered the elbow!

Buakaw is known a little by people who don't watch boxing cos he's appeared on the the celebrity driven national TV networks and newspapers as an international Thai star who is bringing recognition to Thailand from abroad. He is probably the only current Muay Thai fighter many Thais could name if you asked them! I bet most have never seen him fight. The average Thai couldn't tell you who a Lumpini or Raja champ was except for gamblers, people involved in the fight game and hardcore fans. Muay Thai only gets a tiny bit on some news program sport results and that's only if it's a massive fight and we are talking a few seconds only. It's not like the football results on the news in say England or Brazil. It is very rare for Muay Thai personalities other than Samart, Khaosai and Somluck to be on regular TV, unless it's a fight show, which are usually confined to Saturday and Sunday in the morning and afternoon.

Buakaw's timing was great. He was the right Thai guy in the right division that happened to be around at the right weight class when the K1 organisation decided to to do lower weight events at the right time. And he looks the perfect image of a Thai boxer to the international media. He's the first real Thai fighter to have made his name abroad in any big way like this outside of fight circles. When he was winning only on Thai events in Thailand he was just another boxer. The timing was right for him, MMA got bigger more pepole started to watch K1 from MMA, add he rise of the internet, satellite tv etc etc etc a star is born. The average Thai has only taken notice cos the rest of the world has. Remember, Thais like being big fish in a small pond, by nature they aren't great migrators like the Phillipinos, so when they here noise from abroad they assume it must be good or important.

So he's famous like a top top footballer is to someone who doesn't watch football in a country like England or Brazil, if you get what I mean!:huh

 

Thanks amhlilhaus and welcome to the thread.

We'll see what we can do about your request.

 

Buakaw better be famous in thailand! he really is a living legend.

Maybe not under FTR, but he is definetly a legendary fighter. his k1 career, he came out of muaythai to dominate the best kickboxers in the world! Personally I see him as the best K-1 max fighter to date, with petro close behind.

In his sanda fight, vs sun tao, most thais have trouble with the sanda takedowns- not buakaw! he made his opponent look like his little sister. He completely outclassed the sanda fighter in his own sport!

Buakaw won the s-cup in 2010 and again completely outclassed the competition. He really is an amazing fighter, the way he can adapt to different rule sets.

 

It would be the same in Thailand Vic, but Bukaw is definitely known over there, if not on Samart level :good

 

That's something we'd all like to know ;-)

 

:deal I agree, he's a Thai ATG.

It's just unfair and very unfortunate they don't hold their fighting greats up as big national heros unless they can sing, dance and make fools of themselves on national TV. Sad but true.

I guess so, kind of everyone's aware of the dominace the Thai's have over their sport and how great a sport it is but know little and care to know little of it's active participants and the real nitty gritty of it.

Buakaw is the only fighter other than Khaosai, Somluck and Samart that my non boxing Thai friends (mixed ages) have ever mentioned and this is mirrored with most other Thais across the country. He has fame but unless he can transfer his small amount of national fame over to the regular Thai entertainment media he'll soon be forgotten. I'd say he is more famous and respected outside Thailand, which is usually the way with fighters.

 

Ditto Flea.

By the way surprised you guys ahven't commented on the person standing next to Buakaw in my avatar? I'm guessing you now who it is right guys?

 

I'm guessing the Katoi Nak Muay?