Posted on | June 21, 2007 | No Comments
DOMINIC LAVIN INTERVIEWS RAJASAK SOR VORAPIN
Rajasak Sor Vorapin is a living legend in Muay Thai circles, he’s had countless fights and won endless titles, now retired from competition he works training fighters. I’ve had the privelage of training with several of the current top Thai trainers and Rajasak shines as the most technically and physically competent of them all. I caught up with him recently in Leeds, England where he is training fighters at the Bad Company Gym.
FNU Rajasak, where do you come from ?
Burriram in the North East of Thailand, the Isaan region.
FNU How old are you ?
39
FNU How old were you when you started Thai Boxing and who introduced you to it ?
About 14 years old, I saw it on the TV and decided I wanted to fight.
FNU How many fights have you had ?
I don’t Know it’s about three or four hundred. I fought from when I was quite young and then I fought in Bangkok for 10 years. I was fighting every week when I was little. When I first started I was really small so I I fought for about 2 years and had to wait a while until I was big enough to fight at the stadiums, I’d fought in Buriram, Korat, Surin and Ubon before I went to Bangkok.
FNU What titles and accolades did you win ?
I was Champion of Rachadamnoen Stadium at 115 lbs (about 52 kilo), 122 lbs and at 126 lbs 3 times and Sportswriters fighter of the year twice, although I can’t remember how many fights and titles I won.
FNU Did you ever fight at Lumphini ?
I fought the Champions at Lumphini at 126 lbs and upwards because I’d fought everyone at small weights and had to find people who were bigger.
FNU When did you win your titles?
The last title I won was at Lumphini around nine years ago about 1998.
FNU Who’s the best person you fought ?
I fought many people over a long period of time, some were better than others it depended how hard they had trained and how ready they were for a fight but every fight was different.
FNU Which gym did you fight for ?
I fought for Sor Vorapin, Jitti Damriram was my trainer. There are two gyms that are part of Sor Vorapin, one that has a lot of foreigners and one where the fighters go. When I finished fighting I followed Jitti to the gym he set up and now I work there as a trainer. Jitti’s from Burriram the same as me, we fought together from the age of about 14 or 15 years old. I remember the first time I fought at Rajadamnoen I got 1000 baht ($20 US approx), but . When I first started I was really small so I I fought for about 2 years and had to wait a while until I was big enough to fight at the stadiums, I’d fought in Buriram, Korat, Surin and Ubon before I went to Bangkok where I fought for Sor Vorapin.
FNU Who do you think the best fighters are at the moment ?
I don’t think the fighters you see at the moment are as good as they used to be, they seem to go at about 80 %, they don’t really go at 100% and it’s hard to say who’s best because there are different people at different weights with different styles but there’s Sonchai Sor Kansing , Sombat Sor Kansing, Anuwrat Kaewsamrit , Bukaow’s good but because he’s so big it’s hard for him to find other Thai’s to fight but Kreangkit Sor Vorapin’s good and can beat him, then there’s Chumpon and Sakmongkol.
FNU What do you think of the foreigners in Thai boxing ?
I think if they want to fight Thai people they have to train hard and concentrate on what they’re doing, it depends on the individual, Thai’s are brought up with it and the foreigners have to work hard to beat them, it’s hard for them to be able to train the way the Thais do. The foreigners aren’t in the top of the ranks yet, they’re good enough to fight but are only just getting in the rankings at the moment. If you look at Anuwrat at the moment he’s too good for foreigners to fight, when he went to Japan to fight they could only find a Thai who was good enough to fight him, so the Thais really have to fight each other. If you want to fight a Thai at and you’re 57kg you’ll probably only be able to fight a guy at 54 kg.
FNU What have you got out of being a Thai boxer ?
Becoming a fighter helped me support my family and give them money. I’ve got lots of support around the world and in Thailand everyone knows who I am and what my name is. I’ve also been to Hong Kong, China, Switzerland and France.
FNU What would you do if you weren’t Thai boxing ?
I don’t know.
FNU What advice would you give to up coming fighters?
When you get money don’t spend it all, keep your money for the future and do the best when you fight.
FNU Is there anyone you want to say hello to ?
Yes my family, when I get back to Thailand I’m going straight away to see them there are five people in my family and I’ve got two children one boy one girl. I’m looking forward to seeing them when I get home.
If you would like to train with Rajasak visit www.jittigym.com for more information.
Copyright Dominic Lavin