CHICKEN RUN
Thai star can beat Floyd’s 50-0 record
IT IS not the first time there has been plenty of fowl play in boxing.
But this week could see a fighter called ‘Five-Star Grilled Chicken’ eclipse Floyd Mayweather.
Last weekend, Billy Joe Saunders was chucking cooked poultry at Deontay Wilder in Nandos.
On Tuesday, Wanheng Menayothin of Thailand can better Mayweather’s perfect 50-0 professional record, which will no doubt generate far fewer headlines than a ruck in a chicken restaurant.
The WBC minimumweight champ heads into a title defence against Filipino puncher Pedro Taduran looking for his 51st victory in a sofar unblemished career.
If he continues his unbeaten run then he will take the crown of the best unbeaten record in the sport – just 12 months and two days after Mayweather set the benchmark when he returned to the ring for a money-mad monstrosity against MMA fighter Conor McGregor.
Pecking
The American pound-for-pound great easily beat a boxing debutant in a fight more about cash than class as he surpassed Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 milestone.
So while the man who nicknamed himself ‘Money’ signed off again with more millions, the fighter called ‘Five-Star Grilled Chicken’ kept pecking away at his record.
Menayothin – real name Chayaphon Moonsri – follows the tradition of some Thai boxers and Muay Thai fighters in having several aliases for various reasons.
He has taken the name of his gym, Menayothin, but also fights under the moniker ‘Kaiyanghada’ which translates as ‘Five-Star Grilled Chicken’ as part of a sponsorship deal.
The 32-year-old may be a world away from Mayweather’s millions, but he has one thing in common – he too has never fought outside of his home country as a professional.
His potentially record-breaking fight takes place in Nakhon Sawan, a city in Thailand – and a far cry from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas.