Tonight! Tonight! Bangla Boxing Stadium. Tonight! You know the routine. This is my only previous experience with muay Thai boxing. The commercialized nature of those rehearsed theatrics always kept me away from boxing at the Soi Bangla stadium. Muay Thai boxing has always seemed a mystery to me: these little guys that weigh about the same as my right thigh brawling before a goading, bloodthirsty crowd excited because they all have 5,000 baht riding on the outcome.

I have never actually visited a live muay Thai boxing event. So when Andy Sloman invited me to his new promotion at the Suwit Boxing Stadium at Chalong, I jumped at the chance. I have been a fan of Marques of Queensbury boxing since I was a young lad. The first big fight I ever remember was Sugar Ray Leonard against Marvin Hagler in the mid-1980s. I was mesmerized by the silky skills of Sugar Ray and slightly disturbed by the brute force and invincible aura of Marvelous Marvin. I didn’t realize it at the time, but we were viewing a classic to be mentioned in the same breath as Ali-Foreman, Robinson-La Motta and Dempsey-Tunney.

There are obviously many comparisons between orthodox boxing and its muay Thai cousin. My friend explained to me that Thai boxers train their bodies to take punishment, so their circuitry knows how to deal with pain during a fight. This interested me a great deal, as living legend Muhammad Ali was known to let his sparring partners clumsily pound away at him in an attempt to harden his own torso and mentality. This style of training served him greatly when he decided to lie against the ropes and let George Foreman punch himself out for eight rounds in Zaire during the “Rumble in the Jungle”.

I was greatly impressed with the turnout for the event at Suwit Stadium. I am not sure of the attendance, but there looked to be near on 500 people present. I was very happy for Sloman, who hadn’t slept for days worrying about his first soiree into the world of muay Thai promotions. The crowd was filled with a majority of Thais and a few farrangs — I would say about 80-20. This added a real fight vibe to the event that probably differs from Bangla Stadium.

The opening bouts showcased children as young as 9 years old. In Thai boxing, the kids don’t wear head guards or any protective gear. They just get in there and pummel each other to the amusement of a crowd baying for blood. I suppose some of the middle-class politically correct morons in England would be disgusted to see such violent actions applauded in the name of entertainment. I have to be honest — I couldn’t wipe the smirk off my face at the children giving everything to win.

One of the most interesting fights on the night was the women’s match up between Lotta from Sweden and Nonggarn from Thailand. This big farrang lady totally dominated the poor little Thai girl in physical presence and technical ability. Lotta’s low kicks would have probably taken me out of action for a few weeks. Eventually the referee took pity on Nonggarn and stopped the fight in the fourth round.

The main event was the reason for the excellent turnout and featured Norrasing against Monsawan. Both fighters are highly respected on the Bangkok scene, and both have great reputations. Norrasing was the big favourite going in to this encounter but had previously been sidelined for over six months due to knee surgery. This was his big comeback.

The match started with Norrasing dominating the proceedings. But from the second round onwards Monsawan outworked and outpunched the favourite. In a pivotal moment in the third round, Monsawan landed with a heavy uppercut and bundled Norrasing to the canvas. The favourite was definitely shaken and somehow survived to hear the welcome sound of the bell. Monsawan took the surprise win with a well deserved points victory. The bookmakers were really happy. I had a great night and enjoyed watching at ringside way more than I ever could on the television.

For more information on upcoming promotions, call Andy Sloman at 08-0697-6906.