MMA stars started Thai boxing as 10-year-old kids for £1.50 a fight – and one was poisoned by his OWN trainer
ONE Championship athletes Sagetdao Petpaiyathai and Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke reveal to SunSport dark tales of their early fighting career
TWO of the world's biggest martial arts stars have revealed to SunSport how they started out as 10-year-old kids fighting for £1.50 a time to feed their families.
We can reveal that Muay Thai fighters across Asia start as children competing in front of hundreds of bloody thirsty fans who watch and gamble.
But after putting their lives on the line before their teenage years, some of Thai boxing’s biggest stars have gone on to conquer adversity and poverty and become world champions.
However, even then their stories feature shady gamblers, pressure to throw fights - and one was even poisoned by his OWN coach.
Evolve MMA fighter and ONE Championship athlete Sagetdao Petpaiyathai went against the wishes of his mother and laced up the gloves at 10 years old to compete for, what is to us, loose change.
Petpaiyathai told SunSport: “I started fighting at 10 years old as I needed to find a way to find extra money for my family.
“I would always be quite scared warming up or ringside but as soon as I got in the ring that would all go.
“From the start of my career it has always been a serious endeavour, I started as a way for me to earn money and help my family out and building my career as a professional Muay Thai fighter.
“My first fight I made 100 baht - which is like £2, but from then on I keep fighting and my purse would eventually get better.”
Petpaiyathai was sold by his gym owner Don King for 100 baht (£2.50) and moved to Bangkok and began training Kiatpet gym.
Former Muay Thai champion and now ONE Championship strawweight contender Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke had his first bout aged NINE - for even less money than Petpaiyathai.
Amnuaysirichoke made just £1.50 - but felt “happiness“ he could provide for his family, as his parents had to travel miles to work so they could survive.
He told SunSport: “I started Muay Thai for two reasons - because I enjoyed watching it and it was something I wanted to do but also my family's situation at home was very tough.
“My parents had to go and work in a different city to make ends meet and my grandmother had to look after me.
“I didn’t feel pressure fighting to provide for my family - it actually brought me happiness I felt proud I could contribute, even though it was very little to begin with.
“From the get-go I felt a sense of happiness and pride as I was helping my family out.”
The young warriors also faced pressure from outside the ring - from gamblers betting on their results.
But Amnuaysirichoke took inspiration and motivation from poor punters putting their cash on him winning.
He said: “There were some fights were people would put a bet on me winning. When I knew there were bets on me it did put extra pressure on me.
“They relied on this money and if I lost it did make things difficult for them as they didn’t have much money in the first place.
“That definitely did provide added pressure but also added motivation to try and win these guys money.”
Money was the root of evil for WBC Muay Thai champion Petpayathai - who was poisoned by his own trainer aged 17 so he would lose and the coach could win a bet worth £50,000.
But despite his illness, the southpaw defied all odds and won in the last round, although it felt like a loss given his coach's betrayal.
Petpaiyathai said: “I went to eat fish at a restaurant on the second to last day of my weight cut. One of my trainers put some poison into my fish.
“At that time he needed money as he didn’t have any. If he had been successful in poisoning me, he would have made 1 to 2 million baht.
“Even though I won the fight it was painful. I never thought someone that I loved would do something like that to me.”
When Amnuaysirichoke was 22 - who retired from kickboxing after 350 bouts - was approached by a crook who wanted the Thai to throw a fight.
Outraged with the suggestion his father scared off the shady gambler.
Amnuaysirichoke said: “Once somebody went to see my father and asked me to throw a fight - one of the biggest sins in Muay Thai.
“My dad told me. Obviously it is something I would never do but my dad told me I had to watch out.
“I wasn’t worried as my dad scared them off.”
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Now these two Thai fighters, who started so young, are celebrated globally as ONE Championship athletes.
They both compete on Friday night at ONE Championship’s Singapore event where thousands of fans will pack out the Singapore Indoor Stadium to worship these warriors' martial arts skills.
But getting to where they are now certainly hasn't been child's play.
