Blood, sweat and dreams

A former superstar of the sport and now the coach of a Russian heavyweight world champion, Naront "Pak" Siri says muay Thai is being ruined by government indifference and the inherent corruption which goes with the multi-million dollar betting industry.

The veteran of 114 fights - 97 wins and seven losses - and a trainer for more than 30 years should know. "Yes, I used to do it," he says openly when asked if he's ever fixed a match. "Seven times to be exact, but not any more."

Match-fixing, doping fighters and bribing officials are nothing new in a sport of blood, sweat and dreams that at its lowest point in the 1980s witnessed shootings and grenade attacks at boxing venues, including the country's most famous one, Lumpini stadium.

But the sport that Pak describes as part of Thailand's cultural heritage ("as soon as we can walk we punch or kick a bag") is in danger of being swamped by foreign fighters and promoters who don't necessarily associate muay Thai with betting.

Pak, who runs the Rompo Gym, used to train local fighters, but over the past five years has switched to foreigners. He has about 100 listed fighters, with 35-40 boxers from countries as diverse as Canada, France, Holland, Russia and Slovakia training every day. Pak has unearthed some exceptional foreign talent, including the present World Professional Muaythai Federation (WPMF) heavyweight champion Ramazan "The Punisher" Ramazanov.

While locally muay Thai may be beholden to bookmakers, advertisers, promoters and sponsors, the majority of foreigners are in it for the love of the sport and the legitimate purses they can win in lucrative overseas competitions.

"Some Thai boxers can be still corrupted, which is rare for foreigners," says Pak, who estimates half a billion baht a month is wagered on the sport.

The veteran trainer says there is little betting when two foreigners are in the ring.

"The Thai people like to see them fight. But when two foreigners box in Lumpini stadium, for example, there's very little betting at all because the punters don't know much about their background, boxing form or even fight record. However, when a foreigner fights a Thai they will bet again."

Ramazanov agrees there is corruption in the sport involving "some Thais", but says when it comes to foreigners, "we will fight to win, not to lose. No one has ever come to ask me to lose".

Australian Patrick Cusick, the secretary-general of the World Boxing Council (WBC) Muaythai organisation, says there is only as much corruption in muay Thai as any other sport which has betting.

"In a sport with big betting, like horse racing, there's always some corruption going on," says Mr Cusick, who has been involved with muay Thai for 39 years and has played a key role in promoting the sport overseas.

"I would expect that this would be normal in any sport, but in terms of the quality of fighters that I have came across - and I have spoken to many boxing camps - they train hard and want to win.

"It is not correct to say that Thai boxers are corrupted and foreigners aren't. It is up to an individual. I think that muay Thai is most probably a lot cleaner than is has ever been."RINGSIDE Entering the dilapidated Lumpini stadium on Rama 4 Road is like walking onto a B-grade 1970s movie set. The arena was opened on Dec 8, 1956, and according to regular fight fans, the facilities - or lack there of - haven't changed much since. There's no air-conditioning, with only a few large fans to cool the hot and uncomfortable arena, which was crammed with several thousand people on a recent Friday night when Spectrum visited.

The electronic scoreboard doesn't offer much information on the fight and the English announcements are hard to understand because the sound system is hard to hear. Security is tight. Everyone entering the stadium has to walk through a metal detector, and the strong presence of policemen, military police wearing their distinctive helmets and other security personnel tends to intimidate rather than reassure. But it's a far cry from the stadium's heyday.

"The number of spectators at Lumpini stadium has decreased over the past 30 years from 7,000-8,000 to 2000-2,500 nowadays," Pak says. "People used to come from Chiang Mai, Phuket and other places by bus or by plane down to Bangkok to witness some big matches, but because of technological advances like television and computers they stay at home to see the match and bet at the same time."

Bouts at Lumpini are held on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The ticket prices vary, but usually average 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 baht for ringside. The majority of the ringside seats are occupied by foreigners, quite a few of them who are in training and here to observe and learn.

Most of the Thais in the crowd are there for one reason only. Legal betting, in designated areas of the arena, is done by hand signals between punters and bookies, with fingers pointing in various directions, much like a busy stock exchange trading floor. Shouts of "20,000! 40,000!" rise above the din. As the matches progress through the five rounds the betting increases. By the fifth round you can hardly hear yourself think as the punters scream to lay off bets.

Some bookmakers talk into two or three mobile phones at the same time as the matches are underway.

But looks can be deceiving. One stadium staff member says punters flashing their wealth with gold chains and watches aren't usually the big players, who sometimes carry around millions of baht wrapped in newspaper in a plastic bag.

"The amounts bet vary depending on the individual," Pak says. "Some people bet 40,000 or 100,000 baht. In some big matches, the amount could be up to two or three million baht."

At Bangkok's other main muay Thai venue, Rajadamnoen stadium opposite the Royal Thai Army headquarters, similar scenes are played out. The stadium, although built in 1945, has better and cleaner facilities, with air-conditioning, bright lighting and a giant screen showing the match and others showing fight details. The security is far more discreet, and photographs of blacklisted troublemakers are posted at the entrance to the stadium.

The night Spectrum visited one fighter was encouraged by one spectator, who repeatedly screamed at him "20,000! 20,000!" After he was announced the winner, the spectator went straight to the fighter and placed a thick wad of notes in his mouth.THROWING FIGHTS, SETTLING DEBTS Fixing the outcome of a bout has become more subtle over the years and a fighter can't trust anyone, not even his own trainer, according to both Pak and Mr Cusick.

Pak says "tricks" are often played on the boxers without their knowledge or participation.

"After the boxer is weighed in in the morning they will mix something in the water and let him drink," he says. "The boxer will quickly get a bad stomach and have to run many times to the toilet. This will make him exhausted, weak, with no power to fight and ultimately cause him to lose the match while making a lot of money for the gangsters."

Another problem a fighter faces is threats to his family if he does not throw a match.

Mr Cusick says the vast majority of fighters are there to win, but adds there are "many ways a fighter can lose".

"It is very easy for a trainer to give the fighter the wrong tactics," he explains.

"They might say 'kick the knee' and he will go for the knee and lose the fight because of the wrong tactics. It is not the fighter that is often responsible for the mismatch or the wrong decision, it is the way the instructions are issued to him. It is very hard for anybody to know whether it is deliberate or not."

Mr Cusick said while fighters and trainers in some cases might conspire to fix a result, muay Thai does have a safety valve that other ring sports don't have.

"The referee can warn the fighter when he is not trying hard enough and can even disqualify him and declare 'no contest'. This has occurred many times after the referee determined that they weren't performing 100%. To my knowledge, there's no other sport in the world that allows this.''

Mr Cusick said sometimes when a crowd is baying for blood after suspecting corruption, they might not understand that a boxer was simply given the wrong instructions.

''But as I said before, if the referee senses something is wrong, he will call off the fight.''

Pak says that when settling bets no cash changes hands at the scene. However, bookies will take valuables like watches, jewelry or even a car or house as payment.

''If someone has nothing to pay with, they will have their photo taken and be blacklisted for life _ at least this is the rule at Lumpini stadium,'' Pak said, adding that the debtor would not be intimidated or physically abused.

THE FUTURE : Despite muay Thai's checkered past, Mr Cusick is optimistic about its future, particularly overseas. There are about 100,000 people training in muay Thai around the world in the 160 countries where the WBC operates.

While the sports' popularity in Thailand may be static, muay Thai enjoys a high level of respect and participation abroad. One of the most popular and lucrative combat sports bodies is Japan's K-1 World Grand Prix. In an annual event, muay Thai, karate, taekwondo, kung fu and other stand-up striking martial arts practitioners compete in tournaments held all over the world, with the finale at Japan's Tokyo Dome.

This is an event traditionally dominated by muay Thai fighters, whether Thais or for eigners. Some of the sports' biggest names include Holland's Ernesto Hoost (a four-time heavyweight champion) and Remy Bonjasky (a three-time heavyweight champion), and both are muay Thai practitioners. The biggest Thai name fighting in K-1 is Buakaw Por Pramuk, a two-time champion, who fights in K-1 Max, which is its 155lb division. K-1 has two weight divisions. Many of the popular K-1 fighters enjoy celebrity status and lucrative endorsements in Japan.

Muay Thai has also spread its popularity through reality TV shows. Filmed in Singapore, The Contender Asia was a 2008 reality-based television series that followed 16 muay Thai fighters from 12 countries who lived and trained together, and fought each other for a US$150,000 purse. The winner was Thailand's Yodsanklai Fairtex, who competed professionally for the world famous Fairtex Gym, based near Pattaya where fighters the world over come to train.

It's also becoming more popular with foreign women, a development which Mr Cusick says is part of the push for equal opportunity. ''You can't say it is a man's sport. Women now play soccer and other sports,'' he says.

But despite big name action stars such as Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme training in muay Thai for film roles and its growing popularity overseas, it is a Thai sport first and foremost, Mr Cusick says, and this should be respected.

''The reason why the Thai boxer usually defeats the foreigner in the same category is that there is a difference in the scoring that the foreigners don't understand,'' he says.

''The Thai scoring gives more credit for defence. Overseas it is more for the action. The Thai boxer could be moving around, ducking around, etc and everybody would think that he is running away. The foreigner comes in and he thinks he is winning, but actually losing because it is different scoring. In Thailand, there is a lot of emphasis on defence. Foreigners suspect it is corruption. They don't understand the way the fight was scored,'' Mr Cusick said.

Veteran trainer Pak realises that the rewards are plenty, but the opportunities to reach the top are rare. Basically, a boxer's best years are behind him when he reaches 27, and only one in 100 might be successful enough to become a true champion. He believes that pound-for-pound a Thai-born boxer will usually beat a foreigner because their training has started at a younger age. He's also aware of the dreams young men from rural areas attach to a brutal profession.

''Thai boxers come mostly from needy families in rural areas and fight to get away from poverty. They don't have much choice to make money. This is the main reason they box. Not everyone wants to get hit and hurt.''

Pak wants to see the government better regulate muay Thai so it can be promoted around the world.

''Millions of people around the world are interested in muay Thai, but the Thai government seems not to be too enthusiastic to promote this sport and to at least minimise the corruption,'' he says. ''Even when we have laws to prevent such corruption, everyone in the business prefers to keep quiet,'' he added.

Mr Cusick, who advised Stallone (Rambo) and Van Damme (Kickboxer) on the finer points of muay Thai and saw the Hollywood stars overwhelmed by the ''boxers, crowds, stadiums and the whole atmosphere'', has a simple equation to explain the paradoxes of the sport. ''Muay Thai is bravado,'' he says.

''Before the event you have two men going in the ring and both are there to beat each other. And if you look at the way in which the business of boxing operates, it is business bravado as well.

''Two muay Thai fighters are looked at as modern day gladiators. They are prizefighters who represent their camp and trainer, and they also like to get their prize.''