Khaosai Galaxy

Khaosai Galaxy (Thai: เขาทราย แกแล็คซี่, born, May 15, 1959) is a former Thai professional super flyweight (also known as junior bantamweight) boxer and Muaythai kickboxer. Khaosai defended his WBA world title 19 times in seven years (1984–1991), winning 16 of his title fights by knockouts. He is listed #19 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and named him the 43rd greatest fighter of the past 80 years in 2002.[2]

Khaosai Galaxy เขาทราย แกแล็คซี่
Statistics
Real name	เขาทราย แกแล็คซี่
Nickname(s)	ŝāy thalwng s̄ị̂ (ซ้ายทะลวงไส้) "The Left Hand That Drills Intestines"[1]
Weight(s)	Junior bantamweight
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Nationality	Thai
Born	May 15, 1959 Ban Cha Lianglab, Tambon Na Pa, Mueang Phetchabun, Phetchabun, Thailand
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	48
Wins	47
Wins by KO	41
Losses	1
Draws	0

Muay Thai career

Khaosai was born as Sura Saenkham (Thai: สุระ แสนคำ) in Phetchabun Province, Northern Thailand. He was a Muay Thai fighter in the early 1980s, and took the professional name Galaxy from a restaurant and nightclub owned by his manager's friend. Khaosai had tremendous punching power, particularly in his soon-to-be legendary left hand. On the advice of his manager and trainer, he switched to Marquis of Queensbury style and began training as a western style boxer.

In Muay Thai his ring names are Daoden Muangsithep (Thai: ดาวเด่น เมืองศรีเทพ) and Khaosai Wangchomphu. (Thai: เขาทราย วังชมภู)

Boxing style

Lacking the amateur boxing experience common to most Western professional boxers, Khaosai's skills originally were limited, and he relied on toughness and his fearsome punching power to win. His southpaw style was based on closing his opponent and firing his left hand whenever he saw an opening. His right hand was used mainly to judge the distance for his left. All of his knockouts came by his left, which is arguably the hardest single punch in the history of the lower weight classes.

As he gained experience, Khaosai began to develop into a more refined boxer, learning combination punching to complement his deadly left. His favorite punch, a straight left to the midsection, translates roughly as "the left hand that drills intestines." Incredibly strong, he was never out-muscled, while opponents who tried the traditional stick-and-move techniques found he had quick feet and was able to block their movements.

Boxing career

Khaosai began his international style boxing career in December 1980. He won all of his first six fights, which earned him a shot at the Thailand bantamweight (118-pound) title on July 29, 1981 against Sakda Saksuree. He lost on a points decision. It was to be the last fight he would ever lose in the ring.

Khaosai won his next three fights and claimed the Thai bantamweight title in 1982. He won 15 consecutive fights by knockout and climbed in the world rankings to become super flyweight (115-pound) WBA world champion Jiro Watanabe's mandatory challenger by the summer of 1984.

When Watanabe failed to defend his title against Khaosai, the WBA stripped him and matched Khaosai against undefeated Eusebio Espinal for the vacant championship on November 21, 1984. Khaosai knocked out Espinal in the sixth round, beginning the longest title reign in his division's history.

Khaosai defended his WBA title 19 times over the next seven years, winning 16 of his title fights by knockouts. In the mid-1980s, when world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was in his prime and scoring knockouts over everyone, boxing fans nicknamed Khaosai The Thai Tyson for knockout wins.

Khaosai fought only once outside of Asia, when he defended his title in 1986 against unbeaten (and future WBA bantamweight titleholder) Israel Contreras in Curaçao. He had two title fights in Kōbe, Japan, one in South Korea and one at Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia. The rest were in Thailand, where he often fought for purses in excess of $100,000 in front of huge crowds. That, plus the fact that few top fighters anywhere were willing to challenge Khaosai, made him relatively unknown in the West.

In 1988, his twin elder brother, fighting under the name Kaokor Galaxy, captured the WBA bantamweight title, making the Saenkham brothers the first twins to ever be world boxing champions.[1]

Khaosai Galaxy in 2007

Retirement

He fought for the last time on December 22, 1991 in Bangkok, beating Armando Castro over 12 rounds. A few weeks later, he announced his retirement with a record of 47 wins against only one defeat, and never attempted a comeback.

Life after boxing

Not long after his retirement to the boxing profession, Khaosai chose to take part in the Thai entertainment industry. He first took a shot at the music industry, releasing a single, "Khob Khun Krub", meaning "Thank You", then began taking part in TV series and movies, particularly comedies. His first role as an actor occurred during the TV series Poot Mae Nam Khong (1992 version), which was then followed by Monrak luk thung (1995 version), The Legend of Suriyothai (2001), and The Bodyguard (2004)[3] etc. In 2005, while he was taking part in a film, he was punched in the face by a drunken fan, who wished to obtain Khaosai's shirt for collection but was denied. The incident made frontline news, which displayed a photo of Khaosai, with a bandage on his face but smiling and standing next to the drunk man.

In 2006, he starred in a music video for a song by fellow boxers Somluck Kamsing and Samart Payakaroon. In the video, Khaosai portrayed a shy man being approached by a young woman.

After retirement, he married the Japanese Yumiko Ota, whom he had met during a trip for his second fight with Kenji Matsumura in Kōbe, Japan in 1989. The couple lived together for only one year, and later divorced.

He later married a Buriram woman, Sureerat "Fah" Saenkham (née Niwesram). They had no children together, but Khaosai chose to take his wife's nephew as a stepchild.[4]

In March 2013, he made news again when he unexpectedly was married again, this time to Wannapa "Nung" Kamboonsri, before obtaining a legal divorce from his previous wife. In 2013, he finally became a father at the age of 54, when his wife safely delivered a daughter.[5][6] In 2016, his wife delivered a second daughter by the end of the year.[7]

Currently, he owns two Muay Thai gyms in Bangkok [8] and Phuket,[9] and was a trainer for Denkaosan Kaovichit in the fight against Takefumi Sakata which took place by the end of 2008 in Yokohama, Japan. (Denkaosan knocked his opponent out by the second round, becoming the next WBA flyweight champion).[3]

Besides boxing and entertainment, Khaosai has also flirted with politics. During the 2007 Thai general election, he was a candidate in the party-list of the Puea Pandin Party, but lost. Additionally, during the 2011 Thai general election, he became a candidate on behalf of the Chartthaipattana Party for his native Phetchabun 2nd district, but lost with only 8,485 votes.[3]

Honors

He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999 and remains a well known Boxer throughout Thailand.[1]

He is the first Thai boxer to mark the beginning of the ceremony, offering gold necklaces and other prizes to Thai boxers before the every bout. It started with his retained the ninth title against the Korean contender Tae-Il Chang at Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo, Samut Prakan in early 1989.[3]

And every time he fought, there was a saying that traffic in Bangkok was good, because everyone rushed home to see him on TV.[3]

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary

48 fights	47 wins	1 loss
By knockout	41	0
By decision	6	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
48	Win	47-1	Armando Castro	UD	12	22 Dec 1991	National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
47	Win	46-1	David Griman	TKO	5 (12)	20 Jul 1991	Crocodile Farm, Samut Prakan, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
46	Win	45-1	Je Suk Park	TKO	5 (12)	7 Apr 1991	Samut Songkhram Stadium, Samut Songkhram, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
45	Win	44-1	Ernesto Ford	TKO	6 (12)	9 Dec 1990	Provincial Stadium, Phetchabun, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
44	Win	43-1	Yong Kang Kim	KO	6 (12)	29 Sep 1990	Suphan Buri Provincial Stadium, Suphan Buri, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
43	Win	42-1	Shunichi Nakajima	TKO	8 (12)	30 Jun 1990	Municipality Gymnasium, Chiang Mai, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
42	Win	41-1	Ari Blanca	KO	5 (12)	29 Mar 1990	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
41	Win	40-1	Kenji Matsumura	TKO	12 (12)	31 Oct 1989	World Memorial Hall, Kobe, Japan	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
40	Win	39-1	Alberto Castro	TKO	10 (12)	29 Jul 1989	Sri Narong Stadium, Surin, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
39	Win	38-1	Kenji Matsumura	UD	12	8 Apr 1989	Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium, Yokohama, Japan	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
38	Win	37-1	Chang Tae-il	KO	2 (12)	15 Jan 1989	Crocodile Farm, Samut Prakan, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
37	Win	36-1	Choi Chang-ho	TKO	7 (12)	9 Oct 1988	Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel, Seoul, South Korea	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
36	Win	35-1	Jun Llano	KO	3 (10)	12 Sep 1988	Bangkok, Thailand
35	Win	34-1	Kap Sup Song	KO	7 (10)	9 May 1988	Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Bangkok , Thailand
34	Win	33-1	Kongtoranee Payakaroon	UD	12	26 Jan 1988	Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
33	Win	32-1	Byung-Kwan Chung	TKO	3 (12)	12 Oct 1987	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
32	Win	31-1	Chung Sup Chun	KO	3 (10)	Jun 26 1987	Bangkok, Thailand
31	Win	30-1	Ellyas Pical	TKO	14 (15)	Feb 28 1987	Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
30	Win	29-1	Israel Contreras	KO	5 (15)	Nov 1 1986	Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
29	Win	28-1	Edgar Monserrat	TKO	2 (15)	Dec 23 1985	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
28	Win	27-1	Rafael Orono	TKO	5 (15)	Jul 21 1985	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
27	Win	26-1	Dong Chun Lee	KO	7 (15)	Mar 6 1985	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Retained WBA super-flyweight title
26	Win	25-1	Eusebio Espinal	KO	6 (15)	Nov 21 1984	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Won vacant WBA super-flyweight title
25	Win	24-1	Young Ri Moon	KO	2 (10)	Sep 2 1984	Bangkok, Thailand
24	Win	23-1	Val de Vera	TKO	7 (10)	Jul 11 1984	Bangkok, Thailand
23	Win	22-1	Jae Sung Uhm	PTS	10	Mar 14 1984	Bangkok, Thailand
22	Win	21-1	Joe Shiranui	TKO	4 (10)	Dec 14 1983	Bangkok, Thailand
21	Win	20-1	Gil Ragas	TKO	7 (10)	Oct 12 1983	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
20	Win	19-1	Chan Young Park	PTS	10	Aug 3 1983	Bangkok, Thailand
19	Win	18-1	Luis Ibanez	KO	3 (10)	May 10 1983	Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
18	Win	17-1	Jose Luis Soto	KO	2 (10)	Feb 23 1983	Bangkok, Thailand
17	Win	16-1	Marciano Sekiyama	KO	4 (10)	Dec 24 1982	Bangkok, Thailand
16	Win	15-1	Mun Kyun Joo	KO	4 (10)	Nov 27 1982	Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
15	Win	14-1	Willie Jensen	KO	2 (10)	Oct 13 1982	Bangkok, Thailand
14	Win	13-1	Adan Uribe	KO	4 (10)	Aug 26 1982	Bangkok, Thailand
13	Win	12-1	Agus Suyanto	KO	4 (10)	Jul 14 1982	Bangkok, Thailand
12	Win	11-1	Ali Formentera	KO	5 (10)	May 24 1982	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
11	Win	10-1	Yu-Ok Joo	KO	4 (10)	Apr 14 1982	Bangkok, Thailand
10	Win	9-1	Katsuyuki Ohashi	KO	3 (10)	Mar 10 1982	Bangkok, Thailand
9	Win	8-1	Sakdisamai Chorsirirat	KO	7 (10)	Jan 25 1982	Bangkok, Thailand	Won vacant Thai bantamweight title
8	Win	7-1	Tsuguyuki Toma	KO	4 (10)	Oct 14 1981	Bangkok, Thailand
7	Loss	6-1	Sak Galaxy	PTS	10	Jul 29 1981	Bangkok, Thailand	For vacant Thai bantamweight title
6	Win	6-0	Phichitsuk Korusayarm	PTS	6	Jun 24 1981	Bangkok, Thailand
5	Win	5-0	Thanee Singchaowal	KO	1 (6)	Jun 10 1981	Bangkok, Thailand
4	Win	4-0	Tordsakdi Pornthavee	KO	3 (6)	May 13 1981	Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
3	Win	3-0	Prasong Sithkempetch	KO	1 (6)	Jan 26 1981	Bangkok, Thailand
2	Win	2-0	Sentiang Sithkempetch	KO	2 (6)	Dec 31 1980	Bangkok, Thailand
1	Win	1-0	Pook Sritam	KO	5 (6)	Dec 17 1980	Bangkok

References

1. "'เขาทราย' ทะลวงไส้มวยไทย 'สิ้นมนต์ขลัง' มั่นใจ 'ปาเกียว' เสร็จผมแน่!". Thairath (in Thai). 27 February 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
2. "Are These Really the 80 Best Boxers Ever?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
3. "แฟนพันธุ์แท้ 2013 3 พ.ค. 56 (เขาทราย)". Fan Pan Tae (in Thai). 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
4. "ย้อนรอยตำนานรัก(ร้าว) ยอดแชมป์โลก 'เขาทราย แกแล็คซี่'". Thairath (in Thai). 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
5. "เขาทราย ยอมปริปาก บอกก็แค่แต่งงานเฉย ๆ เผย เตรียมแถลงข่าว". Kapook.com (in Thai).
6. "เขาทราย เฮ ภรรยาคลอดลูกสาวแล้ว ตั้งชื่อ น้องไข่มุก". Kapook.com (in Thai).
7. ""เขาทราย" ปลื้ม! ได้ลูกสาวคนที่ 2 "น้องโอลีฟ" เผยเรื่องน่าทึ่ง-ภรรยาสาวฝันก่อนเจ็บท้อง". Khaosod.co.th (in Thai).
8. "เขาทราย แกแล็คซี ทุ่มงบ 1.5 ล้านเปิดค่ายสอนมวยไทยยิมส์". Channel 7 (in Thai). 2 September 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
9. "เขาทราย กาแล็คซี่ เปิดค่ายมวย ที่ จ.ภูเก็ต". Channel 7 (in Thai). 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2016.

External links

• Khosai Galaxy Muay Thai Gym official