TALKING SPORTS
EDWARD THANGARAJAH
When former world super-bantamweight champion Samart Payakarun made Mexico's Juan Kid Meza miss 29 times in his corner of the ring at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium and finally dealt the coup de grace to knock him out, the whole arena stood up cheering.
When former world flyweight champion Sot Chitalada, who was known as the Muhammad Ali of the East, outclassed Gabriel Berna, a one-time Mexican great, with his scientific style of boxing, he was hailed as the most stylish flyweight the world has seen.
When Napa Kiatwanchai, the former world strawweight champion, used the roped square to move round the ring and knocked out opponents with his scientific style, he earned the kudos of many.
Yes, it was science and polished boxing styles which helped Thailand, in a golden era of pugilism, win nine world championships and 11 WBC international titles under the dual leadership of the late Sahasombhop Srisomvongse and British boxing coach Charles Atkinson.
It was the scientific style of boxing which Atkinson imparted to Thai boxers which enabled them to shine. But today, science and technique have been replaced by slugging and boxing fights are no more exciting to watch.
The bobbing, weaving and the stylish art of pugilism have been replaced with raw, crude punching. As a result, many talented fighters, because of their poor training, are getting injured unnecessarily and many fighters who could be transformed into fighters of championship quality are finishing way down in world rankings.
I am reminded of the time when Tawee Ampornmahar, Thailand's first Olympic silver medallist, used to end up in a bloody mess each time he fought until American coach Joe Clough took him over and transformed him into a boxer-puncher.
As a result, Thailand won its first Olympic silver medal in 1984.
Boxing is an art. It is filled with science and high technique, but it is being polluted with inexperienced styles of fighting as a result talented Thais are slipping in performance.
Turning to football, gritty Scouser Peter Reid has been saying all the right things since flying into Bangkok to take over as Thailand's national coach.
He seems to be fired up for the task ahead. However, the former England international and Everton star, who managed Sunderland and Manchester City among other clubs, will find himself with one of the toughest tasks in Asian football.
Reid himself came here to play in Bangkok with the Everton side of the 80s and if he could think that far back, he might find that only one thing has changed.
Thailand had a top-class Asian striker in those days in Piyapong Pue-oun but after his retirement, Thailand has never found a replacement.
Reid's vast knowledge and experience in the game will tell him that you only win games with goals, and the fact Thailand do not have prolific scorers will be his major problem.
Even Peter Withe who worked wonders with the Thai national team through good organisation and work ethic which took the Thais to the fringe of World Cup qualification, could never unearth a genuine goal poacher.
Piyapong was a cult hero in Thailand who pulled the side through many occasions with valuable goals. In his first appearance for the Kingdom in the 1991 SEA Games in Manila, he scored the match-winner for Thailand in the final against Malaysia.
The mystery is why scouts throughout the nation have never found another top striker. One of Reid's tasks will be to get reliable scouts out around the leagues to find a youngster with pace and power to lead the side's attack. The current squad should not be allowed to feel comfortable and overconfident about their place in the side.
Reid was a hard-running and tenacious midfielder and that is the attitude he must instill to this squad. This sounds simple but it is not. Thai players are not known to be over dedicated to hard training routines.
He knows that there is talent out there in the provinces which he might be able to add to his current squad because that is how the discovery of talent works in England.
If he can somehow tap into that talent sufficiently to create maybe a Thai B side in the first instance, he could see real progress in football.
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