Chatchai Sasakul

He was born in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, but his family moved to Khlong Toei District in Bangkok when he was young, settling in Zone 9 of the Khlong Toei slum. Growing up in poverty, he was forced by his father to take up boxing as a child, starting with Muay Thai.

Sasakul's martial arts journey began with Muay Thai. He initially fought in the Bangkok circuit under the name Nuengthoranee Lukbangli (หนึ่งธรณี ลูกบางลี่), before changing to Nuengthoranee Petchyindee (หนึ่งธรณี เพชรยินดี) after joining the Petchyindee Boxing Promotions stable. Under the patronage of Virat Vachirarattanawong, the owner of Petchyindee, he attended high school at Bhadungsit Pittaya School in Bang Sue; the school is known for its strong amateur boxing program at the youth level. He later transitioned to Western boxing and rose to become one of Thailand's top amateur boxing stars. He had an amateur record of 85 fights, winning 78 of them, he won the 1989 and 1990 editions of the King's Cup where he received the Best Boxer of the competition award.^[2][3]

During his time as an amateur boxer, he was regarded as the favorite of Klaew Thanikhul, a well-known mafia figure who was highly influential in the Thai boxing industry at the time. Thanikhul took him to nightclubs and massage parlours around Bangkok at night, and even brought him to a casino in Las Vegas, even though he was only in the eleventh grade.

He represented Thailand as a Light Flyweight at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. The results of his fights were:

• 1st round bye
• Defeated Luis Rolon (Puerto Rico) 3–2
• Defeated Maurice Maina (Kenya) 5–0
• Lost to Róbert Isaszegi (Hungary) 2–3

Sasakul turned pro in 1991 and captured the WBC and lineal flyweight titles with a win over Yuri Arbachakov in 1997, having previously challenged him in 1995 in his first career loss.^[4] He defended the titles twice before losing to Manny Pacquiao by knockout in 1998 to earn Pacquiao his first championship title.

On March 31, 2007, Sasakul knocked out Lito Sisnorio, a Filipino boxer. Sisnorio reportedly sustained brain injuries during the fight. The next day, following unsuccessful brain surgery, Sisnorio was pronounced dead at Piyamin Hospital in Thailand at 9:15 PM.^[5][6][7] The controversy over the match arose from the fact that Sisnorio's role in the fight was not officially sanctioned by the Philippine Games and Amusement Board.^[8] His death prompted the Board to ban all fights involving Filipino boxers in Thailand starting April 2007.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

On August 30, 2008, Sasakul challenged Cristian Mijares, the WBA and WBC unified super flyweight champion. However, he stopped in three rounds. According to a doctor who provided him medication after the match, this was the Thai boxer's last career fight. What might have become a disadvantage for Sasakul was that he had to go to a second flight to Mexico through Germany after having problems with the first flight which tried to go through Hong Kong. By the time he got to Mexico, the fight was only three days away and that he experienced jet lag.^[14]

After retirement, he briefly opened a mu kratha night restaurant, but it was unsuccessful. Later, Sasakul opened his own boxing gym, Sasakul Muay Thai, in Bangkok, focusing primarily on boxing with the goal of nurturing a new generation of Thai world boxing champions. He is also a trainer to Superbon Banchamek and to fighters from his former team, Petchyindee Boxing Promotions, such as Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Kompayak Porpramook, Panomroonglek Kratingdaenggym, Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, Knockout CP Freshmart,^[15] Noknoi Sitthiprasert.^{[16] [17]}

• List of world flyweight boxing champions