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Srisaket in spotlight after win over Gonzalez
WBCsurper-flyweightchampion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is now one of the most well-known boxers in the world having beaten former pound-for-pound king Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez of Nicaragua twice.
The Thai dethroned Gonzalez with a majority decision following a bloody slugfest at New York’s Madison Square Garden in March and then scored a fourth-round knockout win against the Nicaraguan in last week’s rematch at StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Here are five things you may not know about the 30-year-old Thai champion from Si Sa Ket.
EARLY LIFE
Born in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket, Srisaket, whose real name is Wisaksil Wangek, wanted to make a living as a fighter in Muay Thai and international boxing when he was around 13-14 years old but his mother was against the move for fears that her son could get hurt and this could hamper his studies.
However, he began fighting without telling his mother and scored an easy win and this prompted his mother to allow him to pursue a boxing career.
He fought under the name Superlek Sitprathuang at temple fairs in his hometown and nearby provinces earning about 1,000-2,000 baht a bout.
The fighter first underlined his world champion credentials with a draw against a highly-rated opponent from his own camp, Nawaphol Nakornloung Promotion.
NOODLE SOUP
When he was about 15, Srisaket and his girlfriend “Kay” Patchareewan Kanha decided to leave their province to find jobs in Bangkok.
A large number of people, including their parents, opposed their decision but could not do anything. Many predicted that they would struggle to survive in the capital and would soon return home.
They did struggle to find jobs in Bangkok, and at some stages not even having anything to eat.
With only 400 baht between them when they travelled by train from Si Sa Ket to Bangkok, it took a long time for Srisaket to get a job.
Having used up their money, they had to walk from Bang Na to Samrong and then back to Bang Na before getting a job as a security guard at Central department store in Bang Na.
He later said they walked about 60km before getting the job.
Srisaket said when they were awaiting his first salary he had to find leftover food from restaurants at the department store, particularly boiled salmon heads, to survive.
“It’s not that dirty,” he recalled. Sometimes, they would eat instant noodle soup as Srisaket allowed Patchareewan to take the noodles and he had the broth with rice.
“My only thought at that time was I love her so I have to take care of her,” Srisaket said.
Srisaket proposed to Patchareewan at Suvarnabhumi airport when he returned from California.
WHICH NAME?
A large number of people in Thailand know the boxer as Srisaket Nakornloung Promotion but foreign journalists refer to him as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai or Wisaksil Wangek.
This is because Thai boxers often change their fight names when they change sponsors or camps.
To avoid confusion, foreign journalists often stick to Thai boxers’ names when they first fought internationally or use their real names.
Some boxing websites still list Thammanoon Niyomtrong — and not Knockout CP Freshmart — as WBA minimumweight champion.
But are Srisaket (boxer) and Si Sa Ket (province) the same words in Thai?
Yes, they are exactly the same. There is an official list of province names in English but a lot of people don’t care much about it and prefer using popular spellings.
In the official list, it’s Si Sa Ket, Chon Buri, Buri Ram, Chiang Mai and so on.
But you often see government agencies use Sisaket, Chonburi, Buriram and Chiangmai which are much more popular than the official romanised words.
As a result, Srisaket (boxer) once fought at a makeshift ring at a government-run education institution called Sisaket in Si Sa Ket province.
INFLUENTIAL PERSON
While Srisaket was preparing for his first meeting with Gonzalez, he and Patchareewan lost one of their most beloved persons — Patchareewan’s older sister “Kor” Suveerawan.
Suveerawan had travelled with Srisaket and Patchareewan to fights around the country when Srisaket was not yet famous.
Srisaket was so sad that he did not want to train as the bout drew near, and it was Patchareewan who encouraged him to train for what was then the biggest fight of his career.
“If you love Phi [older sister] Kor, then you have to get the championship belt for her because she badly wanted you to win this championship belt,” Patchareewan was quoted as telling Srisaket.
She added: “When he did it, we told Phi Kor that we did it.”
FAVOURITE FOODS
While Srisaket survived by mostly consuming “Japanese food” (boiled salmon head and instant noodles), his favourite foods include ant’s eggs and jaew bong (spicy fermented fish paste).
Ant’s eggs are expensive while jaew bong is relatively cheap for everyone.
To welcome her son back home, Srisaket’s mother made some jaew bong and took it to the airport for him to eat there.
The mother was so generous that she also gave some to journalists, many of whom like it.