Thailand vs Challenger Series
January 25, 2010 by ldf
To begin, the fight results (winners in bold):
Ali Yaakub (Malaysia) vs Sornthong Dennawee (Thailand) – TKO, 3rd round
Zaza (Thailand) vs ? (Thailand) (Joey Lee of China was replaced last moment) – points
Madsua (Thailand) vs Robbie Filiponi (Austrailia) – points
Kaoklai (Thailand) vs Erik Kosztanko (Slovakia) – points
Nonsai (Thailand) vs Dzhabar Askerov (Russia) – points
Nopparat (Thailand) vs Antoine Pinto (France) – points
Ramazan Ramazanov (Russia) vs Eduardo Maiorino (Brazil) – KO, first round
The fight between Nonsai and Dzhabar was my favourite. It was intense and tight from the start.
This event was the first of many to come; Elite Boxing’s mandate being to deliver a minimum of eight events within the year, increasing to twelve to fourteen events in subsequent years. The intent is to host similar events in various countries worldwide.
Being that the fights were held in the Royal Paragon Hall (the fifth floor of the Siam Paragon shopping complex, where on lower levels you can purchase designer gear and luxury vehicles), the intended audience isn’t the usual lower income local muay thai enthusiast that dominates the bleachers in this country. If you’re a Foreigner, the price range is actually better than you will receive at Raja or Lumpinee stadiums as the event is void of a dual pricing policy. Everyone pays equally, whether you are Thai or not. The price point began at 500 baht and increased to 2,500 ringside. I believe at both Raja and Lumpinee, prices for Foreigners begin in the range of 1,000.
In addition, Elite Boxing is marketing the Thailand vs Challenger Series as an event, not simply a fight. One of Thailand’s top hip hop acts Thaitanium opened the night and spectators witnessed a numbered of cultural shows.
The production was excellent. I believe Elite Boxing successfully targeted a more affluent demographic while maintaining Thai integrity. Meaning, although Western elements were apparent (i.e. ring girls and a dj) I still felt that I was in Thailand. At this point, I’d like to say, Mr. DJ, thank you for not being a cheesy hack.
I suspect the events will do well.
More about Laura
I’m a Canadian who decided to quit my job, sell most of what I own, pack a suitcase, and skip continents to pursue a martial art I’m not particularly efficient in. A minimalist. A modern nomad. A kid who just likes having a good time.
My attraction to muay thai is that it’s an art with no wasted motion. It has been the greatest vehicle for my continual education. It’s incredibly challenging to me – both the physical and the mental game. The latter probably more so than the former.
Currently I’m in Bangkok training muay thai fulltime. The plan is to be here for a few years, but realistically, I have no idea where this path is leading, or what the timeline is. I like change and pushing my comfort zone. A lot. Nevertheless, muay thai will be the constant among the variables.
Be prepared for updates, rambling, video content and anything I’ve learned that I think may of use to you.
This hasn’t been easy, but so far, its been a pretty sick ride.
‘thaitanium’…that is fucking awesome….lol
Overall a really good event. I bet it would do better outside of Thailand though.. Crowd was mostly foreigners.
A few more notes.
- Agree, the Nonsai v. Dzhabar fight was awesome. Lots of mean mugging. Nonsai’s kicks are wicked and Dzhabar’s body was beat red after the first few rounds. Great fight.
- the cultural shows were alright but one little kids exhibition fight was enough, didn’t need 2. The dragon dance was a bit corny and saw mad yawns in the crowd.
- the hosts were cheesy but good. in that, they had to be cheesy to try and get the crowd into it, but would do english and thai and really tried to excite people.
- Ramazon. Pretty much a mismatch, but for a big guy, he moves really well.. Sweet low kicks and his head kick ended that fight promptly. Ding!
- The event ran out of beer with 3 fights left. Just sayin..
- inside sources say most tickets were give-a-ways.. They also gave away the cheap tickets.. so if you wanted to actually pay, only the mid-level and ring side were available ( 1,800 baht + ). that was obviously a lie and kind of sucked. but agree on above.. you get pinched for 1,500+ at the other stadiums, so… mai bpen drai..
- lots of models around, as this was somehow co-promoted or sponsored by Fashion TV. The ring card girls were of a different caliber. They def. tried to give this a higher-end vibe.
- Yod made an appearance.. Always great to see him get props, such a nice guy..
This kind of format (from what it sounds) could be athe way forward in Thailand to bring MT back in to some kind of mainstream again.There’s many elements of going to watch thaiboxingin thailand I love but as far as a saleable spectacle is concsrned and trying to get MT bigger in rest of world there needs to be showmanship, razzamataz, ring girls music big entrances etc.I persoanlly hate all that but most people especially tV companies love it.
Any videos of this event anywhere?
Dude I actually met Thaitanium at the mall in Chiang Mai. It was a very weird experience…
big time lol @ thaitanium.
i roomed next to eduardo moraino – bummer about the loss. any videos for these fights yet?
Any Chance of having thoses fights up ???
WOW! A Malaysian actually won beating a Thai! Way to go….
Would love to see the video of that fight if someone would be kind enough to post it.
Josh, so many stories from Chiang Mai, i want to go. when are we going?
@Kiaotete : I suppose a drunken, stumbling Stephen Fox barking at him (the Malaysian) in the corner helped him throw the big punches that caught the thai. Seriously.. some high-ups in the MT scene are such douchetards, Fox being a big one.
Any way to watch this in the US?