Sirimongkol "Jade Angel" Eiamthum

This guy's life and career are the stuff of legend.

Crazy, stranger than fiction legend.

First off, his birth name means Radiant Chubby Rose. Kid you not. That may have played a part in why he adopted the "Singwancha" handle under which many Thai boxers have fought (unlike most such assumed names, this isn't the name of a gym or corporate sponsor but rather a specific individual's surname: Naris Singwancha, a shady businessman turned promoter & manager whose surname translates into roughly "Jazzed Up Lion") - though I'm sure Mr. Naris' fistfuls of cash were every bit as instrumental to his decision making process. :yep

Even upon the change, that still made him Rose "Jade Angel" Jazzed-up Lion", hardly any less flamboyant. :!:

Speaking of which, hubba hubba...

http://www.fridae.asia/gay-news/printable.php?articleid=1460

He somehow, confusingly, ended up posing eleven years ago fully nude & with a *****, for a gay porn magazine - possibly unbeknownst to Sirimongkol himself. :blood

Either way, it shattered his image for a time. Oscar De La Hoya never had it so bad. Sirimongkol was sentenced to six months in prison for indecency, for the mere existence of images by then several years old.

He was building some momentum at this point, defeating solid American contender - and future "The Contender" reality show participant - Michael Clark in a WBC lightweight title eliminator. Unfortunately, one more stroke of bad luck and embarrassment struck as Sirimongkol had to withdraw from a scheduled interim title bout with Jose Armando Santa Cruz less than a year later (with the prize being a full-title match with Diego Corrales afterward) when he contracted Hep-B, which made him ineligible to be sanctioned in the USA.

He spent the next couple of years plugging away, racking up W's, most worthless but a couple halfway decent (Bennett & Castaneda Jr.) - until his next spell of trials & tribulations.

He was caught doing some very dopey moonlighting, as drug mule. He received 20 years for abetting his friends in meth trafficking, which already counts as dodging a bullet as he could've easily been given the death penalty under the draconian narcotics laws in Thailand, even being a first-time offender and not a ringleader. He actually knocked off 80% of his sentence by joining the prison's disciplinary boxing program - not as much of a leap for him as for some other inmates, considering it was already his vocation on the outside and lending his fame & prestige to it, thus ingratiating himself with authorities. He fought close to a dozen times, professionally - yes, counting on his official record - even while serving his sentence, on approved temporary furloughs with the bill footed by his promoter.

He was released in 2013 and has been on a tear, albeit through weak opposition - knocking out 14 of his last 15 opponents. All but Dan Nazareno Jr. of the Philippines, who dropped a UD to Sirimongkol in Bangkok last October with the vacant WBO Asia Pacific 154lb title on the line, have been stopped within a few rounds.

His undefeated streak is largely padded but of considerably higher quality than, say, Noknoi's, when you consider that Sirimongkol at least has names like Clark, Bennett, Castaneda, and Nazareno. Not to mention, his résumé includes a pair of world title reigns spanning two decades, his capture of the WBC 118lb belt and loss of the 130lb championship book-ending a seven year stretch. The last man to beat him was Jesús Chávez, for the super featherweight title. (who, it should be noted, gave a prime Floyd Mayweather Jr. a hard time, maybe top 5-6 toughest nights of his pro career)

Tomorrow his saga continues as he looks for career victory #84 - and #41 in his current undefeated streak, in a rematch with Nazareno for the same belt they clashed over in October. Even though Sirimongkol has fought twice since, this is his 1st defense.

The card airs live on NBT 11 in Thailand from 3:30-5:30pm local time in Bangkok. 4:30-6:30am EST.



IB Funfact:

Manny Pacquiao debuted in the pros eight months later and one division below Sirimongkol.

Pacquiao is now campaigning 39lb north of where he started, aged 36.

Sirimongkol is campaigning 42lb north of where he started, aged 38.

Despite their very similar career trajectories in terms of longevity and weight-climbing, and both hailing from Southeast Asia, in what as of tomorrow will be a combined 150 matches (151 come May 2nd) they have no common opponents. None. :blood

 

:good

Tatsuyoshi is very underrated and overlooked historically, even in the Orient (and virtually unknown in the Occident)

When you look at the fact that he only lost to four men in his prime, all four of them very good (one, Zaragoza, in the IBHOF already, while another, Sahaprom, is very likely to be inducted next year) - and each of those losses was a world title bout, the first being a world title defense in just his ninth pro bout! - his résumé is excellent for how ugly it looks at first glance numerically.

Japanese bantamweight champ in his fourth bout. 2 WBC 118lb reigns, six years apart. Victories over Rab****es, Ayala, Sirimongkol and Richardson - not too shabby. :deal

Not to mention, that was among the greatest title fights of the last 20 years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6u_77LrI2g

 

Yeah, he obviously is revered in Japan. I remember TBS ran a special on Tatsuyoshi vs. Yakushiji during the lead-up to Ioka vs. Yaegashi and you could tell it was a labor of love.

I just figured he would appear more often as "special in-ring guest" when they do those sort of things, or be a guest commentator, or the like.

 

:nod

 

So watching Tatsuyoshi vs. Eiamthum again got me to wondering about what the Schming Rag had as FOTY in '97.

Gatti vs. Ruelas, as it turns out.

:roll:

Very good fight and everything, but it just doesn't compare.

Joe-Tats vs. SE had everything Gatti vs. Ruelas did, and more.

 

Eiamthum was dropped in the 2nd but ultimately beat Nazareno Jr. by UD12, again.

I'd meant to get up and do a RBR (had my alarm set to go off at 4am EST) but Lil Butt had a nightmare in the middle of the night and was awake for a while, so :dead

 

Sad to hear, but unsurprising if you consider his style. He's like a real-life Ippo.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utqt8-ayH_I