Fahsai farce casts shadow over testing

PUNCH Lines

Featherweight Fahsai Sakkreerin disgraced himself in South Africa last week and his bizarre actions have also called into question the medical testing procedures currently in place in Thailand.

Fahsai had been set to fight Zolani Marali for the IBO super-featherweight title at the Emperor's Palace in Gauteng last Saturday night but he refused to take the mandatory blood test four days before the bout.

At first the 27-year-old claimed he was scared of needles, then he tried to get out of it by saying he wouldn't give blood because it would weaken him.

When these excuses failed, Fahsai swapped his tracksuit with his trainer and then sent him to take the blood test instead.

This farcical ruse was spotted instantly and Fahsai was confronted by promoter Rodney Berman, who is also a lawyer.

The Chiang Mai native then admitted he had Hepatitis B and would not pass the test, despite having documentation obtained in Thailand that he was free from disease.

Perhaps Fahsai, who was fighting outside Thailand for the first time, believed that South Africa would be lax with their regulations and that he would somehow be able to bend the rules and avoid the examination.

If that was the case then he picked the wrong country because South Africa is one of the most rigorous in the world because they are battling a huge Aids problem and need to make sure none of their boxers are infected.

Berman immediately turfed the Thais out of their five-star hotel and they were forced to seek refuge at the Thai Embassy before returning home.

The South African promoter has said he will try to track down the people who issued Fahsai's documents and may sue them because he was forced to cancel the entire card.

He is reported to have lost around 1.5 million baht.

There is also the question of how long Fahsai has had Hepatitis B because he boxed in Songkhla two months ago and fought four times in 2008.

Presumably the Thai Boxing Commission and the IBF, who have been sanctioning his fights, were supposed to make sure he was healthy before stepping into the ring.

This is not the first time that a Thai has seen his career derailed by Hepatitis B because Sirimongkol Singwangcha was forced to withdraw from an "interim" WBC lightweight title fight in Los Angeles in 2006 due to the disease.

Sirimongkol's handlers eventually paid for an expensive viral test that showed he didn't have the condition and he was allowed to box on.

Hepatitis B is endemic in parts of Asia but preventative vaccines are available so perhaps the Thai Boxing Commission could look at immunizing all young fighters who did not receive the shots during childhood.

That could prevent more situations like the one last week but is obviously too late for Fahsai.

If he is allowed to continue then it is unlikely that any foreign promoter will risk signing him for a fight.

His actions may also cause a backlash against all Thai boxers.

Fahsai has been boxing as a professional for five years and has amassed a deceivingly good 24-1 record against very weak opposition.

That bloated tally made him an attractive opponent but last week's actions have probably closed that avenue for good.

The Marali fight would have shown us if he was a genuine prospect or a pretender but that question may never be answered.

I always believed he could make the step up with his fast fists and neat combinations, but did harbour concerns over his tendency to carry his right hand too low. A top-level operator may have capitalised on that.

I interviewed Fahsai just before he set off for South Africa and asked him what he would do if he wasn't a boxer.

He said he would return to study because he has been in the fight game since he was 11-years-old.

After last week's shenanigans then that probably looks like the best option available to him right now.

Julian Turner is the Bangkok Post's Deputy Sports Editor. Email: juliant@bangkokpost.co.th