Thailand hails a new boxing hero

Boxing is and always will be a controversial sport, but that takes nothing away the accomplishment of Thailand’s newest national hero, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Srisaket stepped into a hostile arena in the United States on Saturday and knocked out one of the sport’s most feared exponents in the fourth round. The victory stunned the boxing world. One overawed American commentator described the Thai as a man “grown into his championship”.
This was a rematch for Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez following his upset loss to Srisaket on March 18 in New York. That fight ended in a controversial decision. Most observers seemed to believe Gonzalez had won. Cynics said the bout was fixed – a marketing ploy to necessitate a more lucrative rematch. Gonzalez, after all, was running out of opponents equal to the task.
Sports channel ESPN called the New York battle a contender for “bloodiest fight of the year”. Gonzalez simultaneously lost his junior bantamweight world title, his undefeated record and his purported status as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. If Srisaket looked befuddled by his triumph, his compatriots were overjoyed, but he still had to wait for the full credit he deserved.
It was an utterly different Srisaket who stepped into the ring in Carson, Nevada, on Saturday. Now the defending champion, he had shed all timidity. He looked confident and composed. His pre-rematch boast that he would knock Gonzalez out was being taken seriously, in some quarters at least. Right from the first round he was aggressive and never backed up. Eyebrows kept rising in the second and third rounds. In the fourth, Srisaket’s awesome precision and power shredded Gonzalez’s aura of invincibility.
The victory was further proof that confidence is a wondrous asset. Sporting annals are full of stories of unsung athletes achieving great feats after accidental, or unplanned, or unexpected turns of fortune. Cyclists and runners designated by their teams as decoys to trick opponents into misspending their energy often end up so far ahead of the pack that the surge in confidence carries them to glory. They saw what was possible and found the belief in themselves.
There are those who say boxing is too cruel to be called a sport. That debate must wait for another time as we consider how Srisaket, a former trash collector, found his self-belief, scored and upset, and refused to rest on his unexpected laurels. He’d trained hard for two months before the first meeting with Gonzalez, and then trained harder for four more, envisioning the knockout to come and proclaiming his intention to end all doubt about his capabilities. 
Thais, and boxing fans everywhere, have reassessed this man ahead of his return home. He will be taken more seriously now. Yet this is a critical juncture in the life of every athlete who goes from a “nobody” to a “somebody”. Beyond this point, Srisaket faces a tougher fight. He will be battling against all the ills that come with fame and glory. Having sated the desire to prove himself and gain recognition, he must now find a different driving force if his success is to be sustained. We wish him the best and look forward to more great achievements on the world stage.