Bohic snatches welterweight belt from Pongsiri

Bohic snatches welterweight belt from Pongsiri

It was another fantastic week of Muay Thai action in Bangkok. The highlight of the week saw French fighter Rafi Bohic challenge Pongsiri PK Saenchai for the Thai Lumpinee welterweight title last Tuesday.

Lumpinee champion Rafi Bohic.

The Frenchman was given a two-pound weight advantage for this bout. Part of the reason for this was the fact that Pongsiri has more years of experience fighting with higher calibre opponents and has also fought well over 60 fights more than his European adversary.

The Frenchman challenged Pongsiri last year for the title and on that occasion he came up short, losing a closely-fought battle on points. That was a brutal bout where both fighters left everything in the ring.

This time around Bohic left nothing to chance as he chased the victory from the opening bell and, over five rounds, he left his mark on Pongsiri's head, heart and soul.

And for the second time in five years, a Frenchman is a champion of the famous Lumpinee Stadium. The previous French Lumpinee champion was the now retired Damien Alamos.

Action is at Rajadamnern stadium on Wednesday and Thursday night.

Last Wednesday, in a Petchyindee-promoted show, a new light-flyweight champion of the stadium was crowned.

Yoktong Pinsinchai was unanimous in defeating Praewprao from Petchyindee gym to claim the vacant belt.

Last Thursday's action at the stadium saw a magnificent show of some of Thailand's finest young talent putting their majestic skills on display.

The fans in attendance were not disappointed as the young guns showcased their incredible Muay Thai prowess.

The spectators, from Muay Thai aficionados to tourists, certainly got a night to remember of pulsating fight action.

As usual, Friday kicked off the weekend, where now in the year 2017 Muay Thai fans here in the Kingdom are truly spoilt with the plethora of live Muay Thai shows on TV that are available with the click of a remote, or the click of a mouse.

Facebook live has allowed TV channels such as NOW 26 and True4U to broadcast their fight programmes live, via the social media platform.

It is reported that their average viewership is in the region of 30,000-40,000 per live broadcast.

Weekly, from 6pm on a Friday until 8.30pm on a Sunday, there are more than 12 fight programmes broadcast live on TV.

The most famous of the live shows and arguably the mainstay of live Muay Thai broadcasting is Sunday's event at Channel 7 stadium.

The match-making, the fanfare and the intimate atmosphere make for pulsating viewing, each and every week.

The past week was no exception with four tremendous bouts thrilling the fans with both fights of the 2017 Tiger Cement tournament resulting in knockouts and the main event went the way of Nawapon Air Force Muaythai Gym who outgunned Yuthagan Pet-Por-Tor-Or in a closely-fought battle.

Finally, Swedish fighter Samuel Bark, who has been quietly making a name for himself, did a fine job cementing that exponential progress with yet another big KO win.

This time it was live on Channel 5 and he knocked out Thailand's Samingdet Lukmichumpon with a clinical flurry of punches cumulating in him landing a perfect left hook to the jaw of the Thai fighter, swiftly sending him to the canvas, to the point of no return.

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