Saensak Muangsurin
Courtesy of boxrec.com
Many great boxers from Thailand have their roots in Muay Thai though few have the lasting legacy of Boonsong Mansri. Better known as Saensak Muangsurin (14-6, 11) he was a fighter who despite his less than impressive records is still spoken about as a legend for his historic place inside the boxing ring.
Born in 1950 in Petchaboon, Muangsurin was a stand out kick boxer, in fact many describe him as a Muay Thai legend. It was his experience from the hard hitting world of Muay Thai that not only proved Muangsurin's teak toughness but also showed his excellent boxing ability. Despite fighting in Muay Thai Muangsurin had shown explosive punching power as well as the excellent kicking ability that you'd expect of a top Muay Thai fighter.
In 1974, just months after Muangsurin had turned 24 he made his professional boxing debut. Despite the relatively advanced age of his professional bout many in Thailand knew he was going to be special and he was being advertised as a "boxing sensation" due to the perceived talent that he had.
In front of a reported 15,000 fans Muangsurin defeated Filipino Rudy Barro in just 123 to mark the start of his professional career. Despite the bout being Muangsurin's first as a professional boxer it was Barro's 24th yet the power and skills as well as the unorthodox stance of Muangsurin's was simply too much for the experienced fighter to over-come.
Just 3 months after Muangsurin had made his professional debut he secured his second professional victory stopping former 2-time world title challenger Lion Furuyama. Going into the bout Furuyama had had over 40 professional bouts and had never been stopped, Muangsurin however managed to change that via a 7th round TKO.
Born in 1950 in Petchaboon, Muangsurin was a stand out kick boxer, in fact many describe him as a Muay Thai legend. It was his experience from the hard hitting world of Muay Thai that not only proved Muangsurin's teak toughness but also showed his excellent boxing ability. Despite fighting in Muay Thai Muangsurin had shown explosive punching power as well as the excellent kicking ability that you'd expect of a top Muay Thai fighter.
In 1974, just months after Muangsurin had turned 24 he made his professional boxing debut. Despite the relatively advanced age of his professional bout many in Thailand knew he was going to be special and he was being advertised as a "boxing sensation" due to the perceived talent that he had.
In front of a reported 15,000 fans Muangsurin defeated Filipino Rudy Barro in just 123 to mark the start of his professional career. Despite the bout being Muangsurin's first as a professional boxer it was Barro's 24th yet the power and skills as well as the unorthodox stance of Muangsurin's was simply too much for the experienced fighter to over-come.
Just 3 months after Muangsurin had made his professional debut he secured his second professional victory stopping former 2-time world title challenger Lion Furuyama. Going into the bout Furuyama had had over 40 professional bouts and had never been stopped, Muangsurin however managed to change that via a 7th round TKO.
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Having scored 2 impressive victories Muangsurin would then be matched with WBC Light Welterweight champion Perico Fernandez of Spain. On paper this was to be an easy defense for talented Spaniard who had made several disparaging comments about Muangsurin's style. Despite his inexperience Muangsurin wasn't to be denied and he jumped on the champion from the off as he started to unload. Although Fernandez was to show no quit early in the bout the conditions in Thailand as well as Muangsurin's onslaught started to wear down Fernandez who retired at the start of the 8th round.
Muangsurin, who had only been a professional for 8 months prior to the Fernandez bout would finish 1975 with a non-title bout against Ely Yares who he would stop in 6 rounds. Muangsurin would make his first defense just a month after defeating Yares as he rematched Lion Furuyama. This time Furuyama started well and gave Muangsurin some trouble early on before the Thai took over in the middle of the bout and dominated late to claim not only his first title defense but also his first decision victory. Muangsurin would lose his title in his second defense as he was disqualified in Spain against Miguel Velazquez. Despite twice dropping Velazquez with legitimate blows in rounds 2 and 3 the champion struck the challenger with a shot after the bell in round 4 and was disqualified as a result. Unfortunately for Velazquez a rematch 9 months later saw Muangsurin seeking revenge and destroying the Spaniard in a dominant second round which saw Velazquez dropped 4 times whilst reclaiming the WBC Light Welterweight title. Having reclaimed the world title in late 1976, Muangsurin would spend the following year on a genuine tear and defended his title a remarkable 6 times. This saw him defeating the skilled Monroe Brooks (TKO15), the former WBC Lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu (KO6), the man Muangsurin had originally won the world title from Perico Fernandez (UD15), American Mike Everett (TKO6), the legendary Saoul Mamby (SD15) (who would go on to win the title in 1980) and the former European champion Jo Kimpuani (TKO14). After what could only be described as an excellent 1977 Muangsurin started to show signs of slow down. His octane style that relied not only on his explosive power but also his toughness was taking it's toll on him. Although Muangsurin managed to over-come novice challenger Francisco Moreno, the champion was tagged early on. The proverbial "miles on the clock" for the champion were wearing him out and against South Korean challenger Sang-Hyun Kim the Thai's toughness ran out. Although Muangsurin attempted to over-turn a huge points deficit against Kim the South Korean would deck him for the count in round 13. In the immediate aftermath of the loss to Kim it seemed that Muangsurin was going to retire though sadly he would return to the ring 7 months later and suffer a huge upset loss to Dan DeGuzman. The loss to Guzman was soon followed by a TKO loss to the then rising American Thomas Hearns who was too quick and too talented Muangsurin who was by now showing signs of real damage especially with his sight. Although Muangsurin would manage a victory over Mike DeGuzman in 1980 it was obvious that he should have hung them up and back to back losses to Andoni Amana and Chung-Jae Hwang just added more damage to the poor Thai who had lost 5 of his final 6 bouts. In later life Muangsurin was made to pay for his boxing career and his health diminished badly. Although the reports are vastly different on what he was actually suffering the rumours are that he had anything from dementia to blindness. The shots he was forced to take certainly took their toll and in later life he was suffering from numerous ailments. Sadly Muangsurin passed away in 2009 aged just 58. He had suffered issues with both his liver and and intestines which, which were sadly too much for the fighter to over come. Despite passing away he set the bar for fighters wanting to get into the record books, his title victory in just his 3rd professional is a record that still stands today more than 35 years after he did it. The video below is thanks to OutfoxingBoxing and shows Muangsurin's second bout with Perico Fernandez. |
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