Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, is known as the “art of eight limbs” because fighters strike with their fists, elbows, knees and feet. Meet the 14-year-old becoming one of the nation’s top fighters.
Three weeks ahead of his next bout, on a prime stage that could propel him further into the ranks of Thailand’s top young fighters, Pheeranut was even more focused than usual.
Pheeranut was 11 when he first arrived at the Pathum Wan Sports Club on the back of Tapanat’s motorcycle, wearing a too-big helmet that made him look a bit like a lollipop. The coaches looked askance at the skinny, asthmatic boy who spoke little and smiled less.Tapanat and his wife already had four children when Pheeranut came into their lives.
The thought of asserting himself with such force held instant appeal — much more than soccer, a sport he had to quit because it triggered asthma attacks. Nervous in the carnival-like atmosphere, Pheeranut felt his lungs tighten up. He stayed on his feet for all five rounds but lost in a judges’ decision.He lost his next bout too. And the one after that.
The money accumulated. Tapanat told him to take his friends to the movies, but Pheeranut always insisted the boys buy their own tickets. Aoy occasionally folded a 100-baht bill into his pocket so he could buy a snack before boxing practice, but each night when she put his pants away the note was still there.“He still has the fear of abandonment,” Tapanat said. “I think he feels that if he’s able to buy a house, it will hold the family in place. He won’t be alone.
Under Thai laws, any child can get into a ring with a parent or guardian’s permission, and some start training from as young as 4 in the hope of earning money. Nitikorn Sorndee, Anucha’s opponent, said he boxed to pay for his education. After the fight, he wrote on Facebook: “I’m very sad, but I have to do my duty. … If I don’t knock him out, he’ll knock me out.”
“This is really matters for him, because this is what he’s always want to be,” she said. “He keeps counting down the days.”On a humid morning in April, the day before his big bout, Pheeranut and his coach climbed inside Aoy’s gray pickup for the two-hour drive to the scruffy beach town of Pattaya. They pulled into the parking lot of an arena with a giant figure of a boxer poised over the street corner with the word “MAX” printed on his trunks.
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