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The Most Popular Thai Boxers 

The most popular Thai boxers 

Albeit a late bloomer in the professional game, Thailand had a fair share of its world-class boxers that brought them pride and glory whenever they fight. The vibrant culture brought by its national sport Muay Thai made their adjustments easy. 

Here are the most popular boxers that came out of Thailand. 

Pone Kingpetch 

Born Mana Seedokbuab in 1935, he was Thailand’s first-ever professional World Champion, where he outlasted Argentina’s Pascual Perez by a split decision in 1960 to win the then-NBA (now known as WBA) and The Ring magazine lineal flyweight titles.  

Pone Kingpetch later added the WBC title to go along with the previous two with wins over Fighting Harada and Hiroyuki Ebihara to become a three-time world champion and retired with a 28-7 record (9 KOs). 

He died in 1947 due to pneumonia and heart failure, and he is immortalized with a statue on his birthplace of Hua Hin. 

Galaxy twins  

Before the Charlo twins (Jermall and Jermell) lorded over the ring, the twins from Phetchabun have done it with world titles in the 1980s and were known for their high knockout rates in their careers. 

Khaosai (real name: Sura Saenkham) is the lone Thai in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was known for being one of the heaviest body punchers with his lethal left hand.  He had a record of 50-1  (44 KOs). 

He won the vacant WBA super-flyweight belt by knocking out Eusebio Espinal in 1984. He later successfully defended the title 19 times until 1991, culminating in one of the longest title reigns in boxing. Eventually, his credentials were more than enough to induct him into the IBHOF in 1999. 

Khaokor (real name: Virote Saenkham) made his career at the slightly heavier bantamweight, in which he had knocked 19 out of his 24 wins in his career. 

He won the WBA title twice, defeating Wilfredo Benitez in 1988 and regaining it a year later against Sung Kil Moon. 

Saensak Muangsurin 

Born as Boonsong Mansri in 1950, he was known for being the fastest world champion by time, with him and Vasyl Lomachenko shared the record for the fewest fights to win the belt. 

Saensak did this by knocking out Spain’s Perico Fernandez in 1973 to claim the WBC super-lightweight crown on his third bout. But unlike the Ukrainian, Muangsurin had earned it by keeping an unbeaten record while being eleven days faster. 

He had seven defenses of the title when he regained the belt from Spain’s Miguel Velasquez, but subsequently lost five of his last six bouts (including a R3 TKO to an up and coming Thomas Hearns) to finish with a 14-6 record. He died relatively in poor health in 2009. 

Veerapol Sahaprom  

One of the best products of Muay Thai, Veerapol (real name: Theeraphol Samranklang) three-division Rajadamnern Stadium champion before putting on the boxing shoes in 1994.  

On his fourth fight, he won his first world title after dethroning Daorung Chuvatana by a split decision to claim the WBA bantamweight crown in 1995. 

He was more known for his nine-year as the WBC bantamweight king from 1996 to 2005, defending the belt for fourteen times. There, he developed a rivalry with Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and Toshiaki Nishioka where he won twice in each of those fighters before suffering a pair of defeats to Hozumi Hasegawa.