Kongtoranee Payakaroon
Every so often a fighter comes around at the wrong time. Had they been around at any other time in history they would have been a world champion, but they era they ended up in was smack bang in the era of divisional greats. One of the most obvious examples of that was Kongtoranee Payakaroon (12-2, 9) [ก้องธรณี พยัคฆ์อรุณ], who fought in two world title fights to two of the very best the Super Flyweight division has ever had. Those were only two losses in professional boxing and came after a stellar career in Muay Thai.
Born in 1960 in Chachoengsao province, Thailand Kongtoranee would pick up Muay Thai at a very young age though was a natural to the sport.
In Muay Thai he was would become a star when he was just a teenager, fighting under the promotion of Songchai Rattanasuban, along with Kongtoranee's brother Samart Payakaroon. As a fighter he wasn't just good, he was really good, and would become a 5-weight champion in Muay Thai at the Limpinee Stadium, claiming the championships at 102lbs, 108lbs, 112lbs, 115lbs and 118lbs. During this he was paid up to 120,000 baht, a huge sum for a Muay Thai fighter.
In the mid 1980's, having proven how good he was in Muay Thai, he transition to professional boxing and made his debut on February 8th 1985. As with most top fighters to come from Thai boxing he was matched tough from the off, being thrown in with Filipino Super Flyweight champion Ruben De La Cruz on debut. De la Cruz would last 10 rounds with Kongtoranee, but the Thai would pick up a very impressive debut win.
Less than 2 months later Kongtoranee would pick up an even bigger win, defeating former WBC Super Flyweight champion Payao Poontarat over 10 rounds. Payao had only lost the WBC title 9 months earlier to Jiro Watanabe, who had twice beaten Payao, so for Kongtoranee to claim such a big so earlier in his career was a serious statement to the boxing world, and proof that Kongtoranee was an incredible boxing talent.
After such an incredible start to his professional boxing career he would actually step down in quality, defeating Vibul Kiatsoros just 2 months after the win over Payao. It seemed like they were wanting to get Kongtoranee some ring time before facing too many stiff tests. Vibul was stopped in 2 rounds, and former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kentoku Nakama only lasted a round longer, being stopped in the third round. Amazingly Kongtoranee managed to fit one more bout intp the year, stopping Joseph Ladepi in November.
Born in 1960 in Chachoengsao province, Thailand Kongtoranee would pick up Muay Thai at a very young age though was a natural to the sport.
In Muay Thai he was would become a star when he was just a teenager, fighting under the promotion of Songchai Rattanasuban, along with Kongtoranee's brother Samart Payakaroon. As a fighter he wasn't just good, he was really good, and would become a 5-weight champion in Muay Thai at the Limpinee Stadium, claiming the championships at 102lbs, 108lbs, 112lbs, 115lbs and 118lbs. During this he was paid up to 120,000 baht, a huge sum for a Muay Thai fighter.
In the mid 1980's, having proven how good he was in Muay Thai, he transition to professional boxing and made his debut on February 8th 1985. As with most top fighters to come from Thai boxing he was matched tough from the off, being thrown in with Filipino Super Flyweight champion Ruben De La Cruz on debut. De la Cruz would last 10 rounds with Kongtoranee, but the Thai would pick up a very impressive debut win.
Less than 2 months later Kongtoranee would pick up an even bigger win, defeating former WBC Super Flyweight champion Payao Poontarat over 10 rounds. Payao had only lost the WBC title 9 months earlier to Jiro Watanabe, who had twice beaten Payao, so for Kongtoranee to claim such a big so earlier in his career was a serious statement to the boxing world, and proof that Kongtoranee was an incredible boxing talent.
After such an incredible start to his professional boxing career he would actually step down in quality, defeating Vibul Kiatsoros just 2 months after the win over Payao. It seemed like they were wanting to get Kongtoranee some ring time before facing too many stiff tests. Vibul was stopped in 2 rounds, and former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kentoku Nakama only lasted a round longer, being stopped in the third round. Amazingly Kongtoranee managed to fit one more bout intp the year, stopping Joseph Ladepi in November.
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In the space of 10 months Kongtoranee had gone from Thai boxing star to a 5-0 (2) boxing prospect with a win over a former world champion and a rocket strapped to back. That rocket would have another booster added to it in early 1986 when he stopped former IBF world title challenger William Develos in 2 rounds. That was quickly followed by a string of KO wins over little known fighters. They began with a win over Korean Kwang-Nak Song, who was followed by Nakarat Kiatsonthaya and then Yun-Ho Park.
By the start of December 1986 Kongtoranee was 9-0 (7) and whilst his record was a little padded, it was still incredible for such a novice to the sport. It was good enough to earn him a crack at the then WBC Super Flyweight champion Gilberto Roman, then 43-3-1 (32). Roman, one of the greatest Super Flyweights ever, proved to have a bit too much experience, know how and speed for the Thai. Roman's movement and timing gave Kongtoranee issues throughout the bout, with the Thai often looking to cut the distance but never close enough to really strike with anything too hurtful. The setback was a notable one for the Thai but it was far from the end. In 1987 Kongtoranee returned to the ring and scored another trio of low key wins, taking a decision over Sang-Suk Bang and stoppages over Kwang-Soo Lee and Prabtoranee Luklampakchee. Those wins lead to Kongtoranee getting his second world title fight, in early 1988. In his second world title fight Kongtoranee would challenge WBA Super Flyweight champion Khaosai Galaxy, then 32-1 (29). The bout saw Kongtoranee have some really notable success against the slower, but more powerful, Khaosai. The movement of Kongtoranee was brilliant at times, picking off Khaosai and turning him well, and he even dropped the legendary champion in round 5. Sadly though the judges favoured Khaosai, giving him the close decision win, in a bout that exposed the champion's problem with dealing with lateral movement. The controversial loss to Khaosai Galaxy in 1988 would be Kongtoranee's final professional boxing contest. He would return to Thai boxing for a while, before turning his hand to Muay Thai training in Japan, Thailand and Azerbaijan. Although never a world champion Kongtoranee would probably have held a world title in any other era of the sport. His loss to Khaosai was certainly a debatable one and his talent has long been over-looked. He really could have followed his brother in being a boxing world champion, had he had just a touch more luck. |
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