An international muaythai event will be held in the historic Thai town of Sawankhalok this Wednesday to honor the legendary figure Nai Khanom Tom.

Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (PBAT) president Somchart Charoenwatcharawit said the March 17 event, already in its sixth year, will feature bouts of fighters from around the world such as the WPMF title match of champion Jonathan Camara of France and Thai challenger Panom Top King’s Boxing Gym and the traditional-rules fight of Bovy Sor Kor Sungai Gym will fight Thana Eminentair.

In adition, there will also be five other local and six international bouts in the all-free event, which will be presided over by former deputy prime minister Somsak Thepsuthin, according to Somchart.

Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam will have a tough time fighting WBC flyweight champion Koki Kameda of Japan, says the Thai boxer’s sponsor.

Pongsaklek, now holding an interim title, should aim for a knockout as he does not have much chance to win by decision, said Pong Visedpaitoon of Charoen Pokphand Food on his visit to the Petchyindee Gym of promoters Wirat and Piyarat Wachiraratanawong.

“Pongsaklek’s fight is most worrisome. In this match, I want him to remind himself that he has to fight many opponents at the same time. Besides Kameda, he will also have to face three judges and the referee. This is like fighting five opponents at the same time,” said Pong.

Thailand is guaranteed at least two bronze medals as at 19th Asian Youth Boxing Championship in Tehran, Iran, as two of its athletes have cruised to the quarterfinals.

Lightweight Phonwirat Patitangkho beat a Malaysian opponent by decision and will face a Kazakhstani quarterfinalist, while middleweight Sakkarin Chujit similarly defeated a Japanese pugilist to earn himself a quarterfinal spot against an Indian opponent.

The third Thai athlete, light welterweight contender Somsak Koobkookkruad, was defeated by a Kazakhstani, losing his chance to earn any medal at the Tehran event.

Thai amateur boxing chief General Taweep Jantararoj said Sakkarin will have a good chance to beat the Indian, but Phonwirat’s Kazakhstani opponent is more formidable.

Thailand’s Denkaosan Kaovichit may have a chance for another rematch against Japan’s Daiki Kameda whom he lost WBA flyweight belt to earlier, although the Thai boxer will first have to beat Filipino Rey Migreno in a match at the end of this month, says his promoter.

Niwat Laosuwannawat said although Denkaosan has lost his WBA title to Kameda last month, he is still at the second place of the WBA flyweight class and can exercise his right for a rematch, which Niwat plans to be held in Thailand at the end of this year.

However, he said such rematch is only possible if Denkaosan defeats PABA flyweight champion Migreno at an event in the Thai town of Uttaradit on March 26. Migreno claimed the PABA title in December last year when he knocked out Thailand’s Fonluang Sor Tanapinyo.

25 nations have so far signed up to send athletes to fight in Thailand’s 32nd King’s Cup amateur boxing tournament this April.

The prestigious tournament, scheduled to be held in MCC Hall in Nonthaburi on April 2-7 this year, will see competition of amateur boxers from at least 25 nations in Asia and Europe, according to Thai amateur boxing chief General Taweep Jantararoj.

He said the organizer has achieved its goal of ensuring participation of at least 20 nations, while the two Thai boxing squads who dominated the tournament last year are preparing to defend their top positions. Thai couches have been ordered to launch intensive training programs to improve techniques, strength and weight of the athletes.

WIBA International flyweight champion Hongfah Tor Buamad will appear in a Thai soap opera on Channel 3 network.

Hongfah, who recently retained her title after beating Japanese challenger Tamami Morimoto in Bangkok, has been casted in the soap series “Fad Na Ya” or “Twin”, said her manager Narongwat Buamad. Her first scene was already filmed in a market in the city of Pattaya with Thailand’s leading actress and singer Katreeya English.

He said Hongfah, along with Samson Tor Buamad and other female boxers in his camp, has been approached by a number of producers, but he has turned down their offers.

Sakchai Tapsuwan, chief of one of the two rival muaythai associations in Thailand, says Thai muaythai athletes will participate in the SportAccord Combat Games this year despite the ongoing legal battle between the two associations.

Sakchai’s Amateur Muaythai Association of Thailand (AMAT) and its rival Muaythai Association of Thailand (MAT), helmed by Santipab Intarapat, have had a long history of rivalry and fighting, including an ongoing court case to determine which one of the two will become the official muaythai association representing the country.

Their lobbying attempts against each other in both Thailand and overseas nearly caused muaythai to be excluded from the Asian Martial Arts Games in Bangkok last year. The muaythai events in the games only received official endorsement at the last minute.

WBC president Jose Sulaiman says the judges in the much-anticipated WBC flyweight match of champion Koki Kameda of Japan and interim title holder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand will be from the U.S. and Europe.

Sulaiman, currently staying in Thailand to receive an honorary degree from a Thai university, promised fairness of officials in the upcoming WBC flyweight match that will be held in Japan on March 27, despite earlier incidents involving members of the Kameda family. The judges, in particular, will be recruited from the US and Europe, and not from Asian countries, according to him.

The 79-year-old WBC chief also expressed that he wished to perform the match supervisor role but would have to assign a representative instead due to his age and health issues.

WBC president Jose Sulaiman has arrived in Thailand where he will be awarded an honorary doctorate degree from a local university.  

The 79-year-old WBC chief, who travelled to Bangkok with his son Fernando Sulaiman, was warmly received at Suvarnabhumi airport on February 25 by WBC governor Edward Thangarajah, Thai promoter Wirat Wachiraratanawong and his two WBC champions flyweight “interim” title holder Thai Pongsaklek Wonjongkam and stawweight Oleydong Sithsamerchai. 

Sulaiman will attend a degree awarding ceremony in Bangkok on March 1 for a doctoral degree in physical education and leisure from Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University.

PABA minimumweight champion Kwanthai Sitmorseng of Thailand will defend his title in the Laotian capital Vientiane on April 27, says his promoter Niwat Laosuwannawat.

Niwat said the negotiation on Kwanthai’s PABA title defense on April 27 has been finalized and the Vientiane match will be sponsored by a number of Laotian businesses. It will be live broadcasted in both Laos and Thailand, according to the Thai promoter.

Niwat said the Laotian sport authorities asked him to continue arranging more boxing matches there, but he had not decided on the details. He is planning to hold a press conference in Vientiane on the subject soon.