The ESB British Forum Encyclopedia

got some spare time leading up to xmas so going to try plow through a few of them....and some again:good

 

Luis Manuel Rodriguez tweaked again. Now one of my favourites, more footage, more sources, more comprehensive.

 

Name: Khaosai Galaxy

Height: 5ft 5 (1.65m)

Born: May 15 1959

Record: 49 wins (43)
1 loss

Born Suran Saenkham in Phetchabun, Thailand, he was one of the fighting Galaxy twins, with his brother Khaokor fighting at Bantamweight (arguably the better fighter, Khaokor left the sport under mysterious circumstances, allowing his great body of work to be eclipsed by his brothers longevity).

He started out as a Muay Thai fighter in the late 70s and early 80s, but his manager and trainer convinced him to make the switch to Western Boxing. He was an incredibly tough man who, although having a good chin often rose off the canvas before winning (this could be attributed to his poor balance, which in turn could be blamed on his Muay Thai style stance), which helped him overcome his lack of finesse in ring when he originally switched to Western boxing, with a dynamite power, especially straight left (which he often fired off as a body shot) that arguably makes him one of the pound-for-pound hardest hitters ever.

Khaosai began his careerwith 6 straight wins (5 by KO) earning himself a shot at the Thai batnamweight title. He lost this bout on points to Sakda Saksuree, this would be his only loss. He avenged this loss four fights later, winning by KO, in the middle of a 15 fight streak of KO wins. However there are differing accounts as to whether this fight took place. During this time he refined his skills somewhat, allowing for some deviation from his usual plan of hoping to land the left, although this was still his favourite weapon. This streak allowed him to climb the WBA rankings, when he became mandatory challenger for Jiro Watanabe, the Japanese champion refused to defend against him, so the WBA declared the title vacant, and had Galaxy fight Eusebio Espinal for the Super-Flyweight belt.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoGjA1JmpeY[/ame]

Early in this fight we get to see Khaosai's defensive skills as he starts off tentatively but uses good head movement and decent foot speed (a weakness usually was that he was a fairly plodding) to avoid being hit too often himself, after a couple of rounds his power becomes evident, shaking Espinal with every straight left that lands, dropping him several times before kayo'ing Eusebio with a massive uppercut to the body.

In his first defence he fought Korean Dong-Chun Lee

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_3g9fVlMOg[/ame]

Again Khaosai starts slowly spending the first round just getting to grips with Lee allowing the Korean to take centre ring, then in the second he lands a left which hirts the challenger and Khaosai steps it up, trying to bring the left in as much as possible. To be fair, Lee is a game opponent and keeps coming forward until, he too, succumbs to Galaxy's left hand.

After this he took on a tough "name" opponent in Rafael Orono who was a former Super-Flyweight champion himself, however Orono was past his prime and was not able to live with Khaosai

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32ZJTa5KDvo[/ame]
Orono proves a bit trickier than most of Khaosai's opponents, using his ring IQ well. Khaosai hurts him a couple of times early, then Orono starts to figure Galaxy out, countering and catching him on the way in, but Khaosai stays calm and keeps stalking his man, knowing he has the power to hurt him, and eventually pins him down long enough to hurt him again, then puts on a sustained beating , dropping the former champ twice before another straight left sends him reeling across the ring and the ref steps in.

His fights were shown on ITV in the UK, and his reputation built, becoming known as "The Thai Tyson" . In November 1986, Galaxy fought outside Asia for the first time, defending against unbeaten (and future WBA bantamweight titlist) Israel Contreras in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgxlMygyfp0[/ame]
Contreras starts positivley and looks willing to try and land big shots on Galaxy but stays on the outside, in the third Galaxy pins him on the ropes and starts to go to work when he is badly shaken by an uppercut from Contreras and as Contreras continues his assault, a testament to Khaosai's danger, he himself gets dropped. Galaxy was a good finisher, he might not go all guns blazing but when he hurt an opponent he wouldn't let them off the hook, stalking them for the remainder of the fight, trying to trap them against the ropes or in the corner where he'd land bombs, and that what he does here, he catches up with Contreras a few times, clubbing him to the ground at the end of the 4th. In the fifth he traps Contreras on teh ropes and delivers some big uppercuts to the body which drop the Venezuelan and he can't recover being counted out.

After Contreras came the unification that wasn't, he fought Ellyas Pical, the IBF titlist, but the IBF strap wasn't on the line (even though Pical was stripped/vacated after the TKO loss)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBxtIYTdEdI[/ame]
The first few rounds begin slowly, neither man stamping their authority on the bout early. From about the second Khaosai starts plodding forward looking to land the land, but not being overly aggressive. Pical struggles to land anything of note, in the third and fourth throws several wild flurries but nothing really landing flush. Then Khaosai catches Pical with a right hand that momentarily staggers the IBF titlist, Khaosai comes forward forcing Pical to the ropes where Galaxy has his first successful attack of the bout having a sustained attack, managing to land several bodyshots whilst Pical is backed up. From this point the fight opens up a bit more, with Galaxy coming forward with more purpose and Pical cnotent to try and pick him off coming in. Throughout the middle rounds this pattern persists, with Khaosai marching him down it doesn't seem Pical has the punching power to keep him at bay so relies on dancing round the ring to aovid shipping punishment. As the rounds go on, however, Pical's legs start to tire and Khaosai catches up to him with his backs against the ropes more and more. Going into the championship rounds Pical looks spent, like he's hoping to get through to the final bell, at the start of the 14th the referee stops the action for the doctor to have a look at a nasty cut above Pical's right eye, and when the action continues Galaxy, knowing he can force a stoppage, finds some energy and starts firing in lefts, a sustained attack gets Pical a count when he's held up by the ropes, but then a second causes the referee to stop the action.

His power is showcased in a defence against Tae-Il Chung

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INsczMxxdNs[/ame]
Khaosai eats a fair few lead rights in the first, but comes out more purposefully in the second, but the first punch of note he lands, his favoured straight left, over a lazy jab, connects with Chnag's chin and drops him heavily he tries to get to his feet but can't beat the count and is on unsteady legs anyway.

6 fights later came arguably his toughest challenge since his first defence, a bout with Yong-Kang Kim, a former lineal Flyweight champ (beating Sol Chitalada for the crown), who had lost his title in a close and controversial points loss to Chitalada in Thailand.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imuPRg-wuAo[/ame]
The challenger starts brightly, and seems strong on the inside and not afraid to mix it with Galaxy, in one exchange in the second stanza he suffers a knockdown, though it looks more like he was clubbed down by Khaosai's forearm than hurt by a legimitate shot, he gets back to his feet immediately and when the action continues meets Galaxy in the middle and causes problems landing good shots but not staying stationary and using good head movement to avoid Khaosai's power, and when he is caught it doesn't seem to have too much of an effect on the tough Korean. In the third round, Kim again causes Galaxy problems with movement, and physical strength up close (bossing the clinch against a man naturally bigger and school in Muay Thai and seemingly brushing him off at will) before having a point deducted for use of the head. (He gets another stern warning at the end of the round) In the fourth, Khaosai keeps plodding forward but eats shots as he does. In the fifth both men look to be tiring and this benefits Khaosai, as althuogh Kim is still causing problems, he manages to tag the Korean with more shots. At the start of the sixth they trade shots and Galaxy gets through with a left, catching Kim on the chin and sending him down, from which he does not get back up.

He defended his title 19 times, winning 16 by knockout. In 1992 he retired from the sport and stayed retired, starring in movies and releasing music in his home nation where he is a revered celebrity.

 

Excellent post :good

 

cheers! :good

 

Good Post J, Nice to see different posters entering the frame with there input.

 

cheers guys, hoping to contribute a few more, got my eye on doing a kid chocolate or kid gavilan one, its good fun even if it did take me ages!

 

how come this isnt a sticky btw?

 

That is really well done, will make Khaosai easy to understand for anyone looking to get clued up on him :good I enjoyed it immensely, despite already being well versed in his work. Good stuff.

As for this thread not being a sticky....I think it would be good because people would always see it, but I get a nice warm feeling whenever it's bumped, knowing there might be something new to enjoy inside!

Like today for instance :happy

 

cheers flea, i was hoping you'd enjoy it as it's kind of your specialist subject :good

ye i know what you mean, i love seeing this get bumped, we should direct newbies to it though, it's got to be the best place on the internet to get concise info about a lot of the greats people may not know of

 

Name: Raul Macias
Height: 5'3 1/2

Boxing Record
Total Fights 43
Wins 41 (25)
Losses 2 (1)

This content is protected

Raul 'El Raton' Macias was a massive star in Mexico, fighting his way out of a deprived area in Mexico City to become Mexico's most popular fighter and and even had thousands turn out to cheer him after suffering a crushing defeat. He retired aged 25 after only 7 years of serious professional fighting after his Mother implored him to retire and he attempted to carve out a career as an actor (which he did)

He was a boxer-puncher with serious power who was equally adept pressure fighting in the clasic Mexican mould, possessing serious infighting ability and ability to punch with either hand.

He'd represented Mexico in the Olympics, and had earned a shot at the World Bantamweight title after going 15-0 and beating Olympic Gold medalist and top prospect Nate Brooks. World Bantamweight Champion Robert Cohen refused to defend against him, so in March '55 he got a chance to take the vacant title (NBA version) in a fight against the first World title challenger from Thailand, Chamroen Songkitrat.

The Thai had a Muay Thai background and was a Police Officer, and only went 7-5-1 in his 'International' boxing career, although he claimed the OPBF Lightweight title and had wins over Kevin James, Pappy Gault, Speedy Cabanella and Danny Kid on his resume. His two fights prior to facing Macias were also shots at the World title, against Cohen (L SD15), and Jimmy Carruthers (L12) but he got another shot here for the 'vacant' title, which was most probably down to influential boxing scribe and judge Nat Fleischer being well looked after by the Thai King.

Regardless of whether or not he was worthy of another shot at 'World' honours, Songkitrat looks a good fighter here, as well as being tough and determined. Macias looks beastly, and after both men accommodate each other in a competitive scrap, Macias overwhelms Songkitrat late, finally forcing the nails Thai policeman to wilt under his assault.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W-eVeFjQPg[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ro0Jldbjnw&feature=related[/ame]

Macias fought again in April (KO6) May (KO5) and June, but it was his fourth bout of the year that saw him beaten for the first time, in a non-title fight against Billy Peacock, a fighter he'd battered previously. Peacock had mixed in quality competition but was not one of the very best of the time and had an inconsistent career (he ended up posting 42-34-1) but he pulled it out of the bag here, breaking Macias' jaw and stopping him in three rounds. A very good display of in-fighting ability from both men, and a crushing K.O which was a massive upset.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clXu8Vy26vU[/ame]

Nonetheless, Macias was still the champion, and as well as receiving a hero's welcome at the airport when he arrived back at the in Mexico, he went on to make 2 successful defences before he ended his career.

The below footage is another non-title affair, and arguably shows Macias at his best; a complete fighter, and a devastating puncher. Larry Bataan was a good fighter from the Phillipines, who had wins over Songkikrat (W 12) a still learning future ATG Flash Elorde (UD 12) and Speedy Cabanella (W 12). Macias executed an absolutely perfect one-two that nearly smashed the Filipino's head off. Clinical.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EMzqV3t7PU[/ame]

Looking to at last claim an undisputed Bantamweight champion, Macias (NBA) fought EBU champ' Alphone Halimi of Algeria (based in France). Macias suffered a resounding defeat, beaten on the inside for the first ten rounds in a highly competitive tussle, and tired and flat-footed when the Algerian challenger adapted in the last five rounds and took to boxing.

'Raton' had finally lost his grasp on his claim to being the best 118lber in the World.He finished on a five fight winning streak against average opposition. It's clear to see Macias was one of the best fighters in a quality era of diverse and far-reaching lower weight fighters, and on his best form was a very formidable fighter.

 

The Macias post is something I've just knocked up and edited from a post I made it LPs Mexican fighters thread.

Jung-Koo Chang will be edited later, including the full fight of when he was robbed against Chitalada, and therefore robbed of being the no.1 in the division in two weights.

EDIT: Chitalada-Chang II is up :good

 

nice post :good ill check the vids out later

 

The Songkitrat one is the only long one and that's only selected rounds (and a very enjoyable watch) the other two are short K.Os that everyone will be impressed by and enjoy :good

So enjoy!