Khaosai Galaxy

Khaosai Galaxy (, ; born 15 May 1959) is a Thai former professional boxer and Muay Thai fighter who competed between 1980 and 1991. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) super-flyweight title from 1984 and 1991. He is listed #19 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and named him the 43rd greatest fighter of the past 80 years in 2002. As of 2022, BoxRec rates him as the best Thai boxer of all time, pound for pound.

Muay Thai career

Khaosai Galaxy, born Sura Saenkham () in Phetchabun province, northern Thailand, began his fighting career as a Muay Thai fighter in the early 1980s. He fought under the ring names Daoden Muangsithep () and Khaosai Wangchomphu. (). Later, he adopted the name Galaxy from a restaurant and nightclub owned by a friend of his manager.

Renowned for his devastating punching power, especially his soon-to-be-legendary left hand, Khaosai was advised by his manager and trainer to switch to the Marquess of Queensberry rules, and began training in western-style boxing.

He credited his mother as his first trainer. A passionate boxing and Muay Thai fan, she was inspired by the rise of Pone Kingpetch, Thailand's first world champion, who was becoming a national hero around the time Khaosai and his twin brother Khaokor Galaxy were born. Driven by her enthusiasm, she began training her sons from a young age, waking them at 4:00 a.m. to run before school and supporting their boxing journey in every way. Tragically, she died before witnessing Khaosai's rise to world champion.

Boxing style

Lacking the amateur boxing experience common to most Western professional boxers, Khaosai's skills originally were limited, and he relied on toughness and his fearsome punching power to win. His southpaw style was based on closing his opponent and firing his left hand whenever he saw an opening. His right hand was used mainly to judge the distance for his left. He also studied recorded fights of renowned world champions such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler, which helped him refine his skills and expand his tactical understanding in the ring.

As he gained experience, Khaosai began to develop into a more refined boxer, learning combination punching to complement his deadly left. His favorite punch, a straight left to the midsection, translates roughly as "the left hand that drills intestines". Incredibly strong, he was never out-muscled, while opponents who tried the traditional stick-and-move techniques found he had quick feet and was able to block their movements.

Professional boxing career

Khaosai began his international style boxing career in December 1980. He won all of his first six fights, which earned him a shot at the Thailand bantamweight (118-pound) title on 1981 against Sakda Saksuree. He lost on a points decision. It was to be the last fight he would ever lose in the ring.

Khaosai won his next three fights and claimed the Thai bantamweight title in 1982. He won 15 consecutive fights by knockout and climbed in the world rankings to become super-flyweight WBA world champion Jiro Watanabe's mandatory challenger by the summer of 1984.

When Watanabe failed to defend his title against Khaosai, the WBA stripped him and matched Khaosai against undefeated Eusebio Espinal for the vacant championship on 1984. Khaosai knocked out Espinal in the sixth round, beginning the longest title reign in his division's history.

Khaosai defended his WBA title 19 times over the next seven years, winning 16 of his title fights by knockouts. In the mid-1980s, when world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was in his prime and scoring knockouts over everyone, boxing fans nicknamed Khaosai The Thai Tyson for knockout wins.

Khaosai fought only once outside of Asia, when he defended his title in 1986 against unbeaten (and future WBA bantamweight titleholder) Israel Contreras in Curaçao. He had two title fights in Kōbe, Japan, one in South Korea and one at Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia. The rest were in Thailand, where he often fought for purses in excess of $100,000 in front of huge crowds. That, plus the fact that few top fighters anywhere were willing to challenge Khaosai, made him relatively unknown in the West.

In 1988, his twin younger brother, fighting under the name Kaokhor Galaxy, captured the WBA bantamweight title, making the Galaxy brothers (Saenkham brothers) the first twins to ever be world boxing champions.

In March 2013, he made headlines again when he unexpectedly married Wannapa "Nung" Kamboonsri before legally divorcing his previous wife. That same year, he became a father for the first time at the age of 54 when his wife gave birth to a daughter. In 2016, they welcomed their second daughter at the end of the year.

Today, Khaosai owns two Muay Thai gyms, one in Bangkok, and another in Phuket. He also served as Denkaosan Kaovichit's trainer for a one-off bout against Takefumi Sakata in late 2008 in Yokohama, Japan. Denkaosan won by knockout in the second round, becoming the next WBA flyweight champion.

Legacy

Khaosai's unmatched fame helped spark a tradition unique to Thailand, in which politicians or private companies organized world title boxing matches and allowed the public to attend for free. In exchange, the sponsors received publicity on televised broadcasts, had their names announced, and presented gold necklaces or other gifts to the fighters before the bouts.

Professional boxing record

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Result

!Record

!Opponent

!Type

!Round, time

!Date

!Location

!Notes

|48

|Win

|47–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Armando Castro

|UD

|12

|22 Dec 1991

|style="text-align:left;"|

|47

|Win

|46–1

|style="text-align:left;"| David Griman

|TKO

|5 (12)

|20 Jul 1991

|style="text-align:left;"|

|46

|Win

|45–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Je Suk Park

|TKO

|5 (12)

|7 Apr 1991

|style="text-align:left;"|

|45

|Win

|44–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Ernesto Ford

|TKO

|6 (12)

|9 Dec 1990

|style="text-align:left;"|

|44

|Win

|43–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Yong Kang Kim

|KO

|6 (12)

|29 Sep 1990

|style="text-align:left;"|

|43

|Win

|42–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Shunichi Nakajima

|TKO

|8 (12)

|30 Jun 1990

|style="text-align:left;"|

|42

|Win

|41–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Ari Blanca

|KO

|5 (12)

|29 Mar 1990

|style="text-align:left;"|

|41

|Win

|40–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Kenji Matsumura

|TKO

|12 (12)

|31 Oct 1989

|style="text-align:left;"|

|40

|Win

|39–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Alberto Castro

|TKO

|10 (12)

|29 Jul 1989

|style="text-align:left;"|

|39

|Win

|38–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Kenji Matsumura

|UD

|12

|8 Apr 1989

|style="text-align:left;"|

|38

|Win

|37–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Chang Tae-il

|KO

|2 (12)

|15 Jan 1989

|style="text-align:left;"|

|37

|Win

|36–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Choi Chang-ho

|TKO

|8 (12)

|9 Oct 1988

|style="text-align:left;"|

|36

|Win

|35–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Jun Llano

|KO

|3 (10)

|12 Sep 1988

|style="text-align:left;"|

|35

|Win

|34–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Kap Sup Song

|KO

|7 (10)

|9 May 1988

|style="text-align:left;"|

|34

|Win

|33–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Kongtoranee Payakaroon

|UD

|12

|26 Jan 1988

|style="text-align:left;"|

|33

|Win

|32–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Byung-Kwan Chung

|TKO

|3 (12)

|12 Oct 1987

|style="text-align:left;"|

|32

|Win

|31–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Chung Sup Chun

|KO

|3 (10)

|26 Jun 1987

|style="text-align:left;"|

|31

|Win

|30–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Ellyas Pical

|TKO

|14 (15)

|28 Feb 1987

|style="text-align:left;"|

|30

|Win

|29–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Israel Contreras

|KO

|5 (15)

|1 Nov 1986

|style="text-align:left;"|

|29

|Win

|28–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Edgar Monserrat

|TKO

|2 (15)

|23 Dec 1985

|style="text-align:left;"|

|28

|Win

|27–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Rafael Orono

|TKO

|5 (15)

|21 Jul 1985

|style="text-align:left;"|

|27

|Win

|26–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Dong Chun Lee

|KO

|7 (15)

|6 Mar 1985

|style="text-align:left;"|

|26

|Win

|25–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Eusebio Espinal

|KO

|6 (15)

|21 Nov 1984

|style="text-align:left;"|

|25

|Win

|24–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Young Ri Moon

|KO

|2 (10)

|2 Sep 1984

|style="text-align:left;"|

|24

|Win

|23–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Val de Vera

|TKO

|7 (10)

|11 Jul 1984

|style="text-align:left;"|

|23

|Win

|22–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Jae Sung Uhm

|PTS

|10

|14 Mar 1984

|style="text-align:left;"|

|22

|Win

|21–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Joe Shiranui

|TKO

|4 (10)

|14 Dec 1983

|style="text-align:left;"|

|21

|Win

|20–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Gil Ragas

|TKO

|7 (10)

|12 Oct 1983

|style="text-align:left;"|

|20

|Win

|19–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Park Chan-yong

|PTS

|10

|3 Aug 1983

|style="text-align:left;"|

|19

|Win

|18–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Luis Ibanez

|KO

|3 (10)

|10 May 1983

|style="text-align:left;"|

|18

|Win

|17–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Jose Luis Soto

|KO

|2 (10)

|23 Feb 1983

|style="text-align:left;"|

|17

|Win

|16–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Marciano Sekiyama

|KO

|4 (10)

|24 Dec 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|16

|Win

|15–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Mun Kyun Joo

|KO

|4 (10)

|27 Nov 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|15

|Win

|14–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Willie Jensen

|KO

|2 (10)

|13 Oct 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|14

|Win

|13–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Adan Uribe

|KO

|4 (10)

|26 Aug 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|13

|Win

|12–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Agus Suyanto

|KO

|4 (10)

|14 Jul 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|12

|Win

|11–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Ali Formentera

|KO

|5 (10)

|24 May 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|11

|Win

|10–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Yu-Ok Joo

|KO

|4 (10)

|14 Apr 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|10

|Win

|9–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Katsuyuki Ohashi

|KO

|3 (10)

|10 Mar 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|8–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Sakdisamai Chorsirirat

|KO

|7 (10)

|25 Jan 1982

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|7–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Tsuguyuki Toma

|KO

|4 (10)

|14 Oct 1981

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Loss

|6–1

|style="text-align:left;"| Sak Galaxy

|PTS

|10

|29 Jul 1981

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|6–0

|style="text-align:left;"| Phichitsuk Korusayarm

|PTS

|24 Jun 1981

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|5–0

|style="text-align:left;"| Thanee Singchaowal

|KO

|1 (6)

|10 Jun 1981

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|4–0

|style="text-align:left;"| Tordsakdi Pornthavee

|KO

|3 (6)

|13 May 1981

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|3–0

|style="text-align:left;"| Prasong Sithkempetch

|KO

|1 (6)

|26 Jan 1981

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|2–0

|style="text-align:left;"| Sentiang Sithkempetch

|KO

|2 (6)

|31 Dec 1980

|style="text-align:left;"|

|Win

|1–0

|style="text-align:left;"| Pook Sritam

|KO

|5 (6)

|17 Dec 1980

|style="text-align:left;"|

Muay Thai record

|- style="background:#fbb;"

| 1980-09-09 || Loss ||align=left| Kongsadan Sor.Prateep || Lumpinee Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1980-08-22 || Win ||align=left| Pairatnoi Chuwattana || Lumpinee Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#c5d2ea;"

| 1980-08-13 || NC ||align=left| Ek Sit Por Daeng || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Ek dismissed || 3 ||

|- style="background:#fbb;"

| 1980-07-09 || Loss ||align=left| Pairatnoi Chuwattana || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1980-06-19 || Win ||align=left| Phonpichit Sor.Sermphong || || Thailand || KO || 4 ||

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1980-05-21 || Win ||align=left| Thongnoi Porntawee || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1980-04-12 || Win ||align=left| Sorram Sor.Kingstar || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1980-03-22 || Win ||align=left| Sakchan Pornthawee || || Phetchabun province, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1980-01-26 || Win ||align=left| Banyat Sor.Sitthichai || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1979-07-15 || Win ||align=left| Yodpetch Porntawee || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1979-06-29 || Win ||align=left| Khwanjai Lukkhaoluk || || Phichit province, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1979-06-01 || Win ||align=left| Fa-uthai Kiatchucherd || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1979-05-05 || Win ||align=left| Kingchai Sit Poonchai || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1979-04-07 || Win ||align=left| Fa-uthai Kiatchucherd || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#fbb;"

| 1979-03-05 || Loss ||align=left| Hongfannoi Sit Taothong || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#cfc;"

| 1979-02-14 || Win ||align=left| Phetsila Singmuangpak|| || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

|- style="background:#c5d2ea;"

| 1979-01-03 || Draw||align=left| Hongfannoi Sit Taothong || || Phetchabun province, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00

| colspan=9 | Legend:

References

External links

Khosai Galaxy Muay Thai Gym official