This article is part of our “long article” requests through Patreon! A huge thank you to Alteroc (@crwate01) for this excellent topic suggestion.

In an effort to learn more about combat sports, Alteroc laid out an article format that covers three athletes from a specific sport:

An all-time great A specialist Someone “weird”

This article covers #1 for the art of Muay Thai

One of the greatest tragedies in combat sports is the loss of footage and information from Muay Thai’s Golden Age. From the late 1970’s to the early 90’s, the sport of Muay Thai thrived in a way that it hasn’t since - interest in the sport was at an all-time high, and there was abundant talent to satisfy the demand. Unfortunately, record-keeping was sparse, and those in charge often more interested in exploiting athletes for profit than preserving the history and legacy of the sport.

Not only are some of the most famous fights in Muay Thai history lost to the ether, but it’s impossible to find complete records, especially of those who entered their prime before the 80’s. All we have to go on regarding some of the greatest fighters in history is patchwork information and a handful of preserved fights.

“The Immortal Boxer,” Vicharnnoi Porntawee, was perhaps the greatest of all these olden-day greats, although he was at his best before the beginning of the Golden Age. Vicharnnoi began fighting in the early 1960’s and was known as one of the biggest stars of the 70’s. Along with contemporary greats, Poot Lorlek and Pudpadnoi Worawoot, Vicharnnoi helped popularize Muay Thai and usher in the Golden Age.

I can’t give you a detailed breakdown of his record, or point you toward a reliable source listing the Rajadamnern and Lumpini titles he won (of which there were several). His Thai Wikipedia page contains the most complete record, listing just under 20 fights, and starting in the year 1978, when Vicharnnoi was in his 30’s and well out of his prime.

What I can tell you is that he beat a who’s who of his era’s greats, with wins over Poot, Pudpadnoi, Narongnoi Kiatbundit, Vichit Loogbangplsoi, Saensak Muangsurin, as well as arguably the greatest Nak Muay of all time, Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn. Vicharnnoi went 2-1 with Dieselnoi, with both wins coming when Vicharnnoi was well past his prime and only a few short years before Dieselnoi would make his legendary run as Lumpini champion.

Update: Nak Muay Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu recently published an incredibly detailed and informative conversation with Vicharnnoi, and was able to gather some details about his accomplishments. Vicharnnoi won the Flyweight (112 lbs.) championship at Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadium, as well as the Rajadamnern Jr. Lightweight (130 lbs.) belt. Vicharnnoi was named the Rajadamnern fighter of the year in 1977.

There are exactly eleven surviving fights of Vicharnnoi’s, most of them taking place in his later career. When watching Vicharnnoi on tape, however, it’s immediately clear that he is anything but a relic. Vicharnnoi plays a game that would thrive in any era, and indeed, possesses a lot of skills that modern Thais tend to lack.

The Immortal Boxer

Vicharnnoi’s style is as unique as his legendary career. An incredibly well-rounded fighter, Vicharnnoi seamlessly blended the heavy boxing and leg kick game of the Muay Mat with the dazzling outside movement typical of the Muay Femeu style. Just as he danced along the line between Femeu and Mat, Vicharnnoi also skirted the line between volume and power. He had a high volume style with lots of lead hand activity, but was also capable of loading up and delivering massive power when necessary.

When we look at the great Femeus or outside fighters in Muay Thai, they tend to be tall and svelte, capable of attacking from range without reprisal, or (like Saenchai) make up for a lack of length with deft use of the rear-leg body kick. Vicharnnoi was short and thick, often fighting taller and heavier opponents. He played a brilliant short-man version of the typical Femeu game, mixing in power punching, pace, and heavy pressure to mitigate the disadvantages of his length.

Simply seeing Vicharnnoi in his stance was enough to tell that his hands were his primary weapons, as he fought out of a rear-foot weighted stance with a slight fold in the rear hip. This stance allowed him to rapidly feint in and out by quickly bouncing weight to his front leg and back, and facilitated power punching by giving him room to shift weight onto his lead hip in order to throw big right hands. The partial crouch afforded him a measure of built-in boxing defense, allowing him to dip naturally off his jabs and lead hooks.

When MMA or Kickboxing personalities talk about Muay Thai, they tend to have a singular conception of Nak Muays - the static powerhouse, standing upright in a square stance with his hands by his temples, imposing yet immobile. If you look at the best fighters in the sport’s history, particularly in the Golden Age, rarely do they actually fit this model.

Vicharnnoi couldn’t be further from the stereotypical notion of a Nak Muay. He fought out of something resembling a boxing stance and used active footwork, both linear and lateral. He was an in-and-out fighter, standing at the edge of his opponent’s range and constantly feinting entries to dull their senses.