On the ninth episode of The Contender Asia, the Muay Thai boxing competition, we just witnessed the most surprising fight. The two favorites, Thai fighters Naruepol and Yodsaenklai, were forced to fight against each other. This fight was expected to be the fight that would happen in the final round. Instead, the two fighters from Thailand were forced to fight each other on episode nine, and Yodsaenklai came out the winner.
Normally, on The Contender Asia, the other Muay Thai fighters choose which fighters will fight. The rules changed however when the competition got down to the final eight fighters. This time, each fighter had to choose a drawer to open in a Chinese cabinet. If the drawer contained a statue of Buddha, then that fighter would fight. The two Thai fighters ended up choosing drawers last and, as none of the other fighters had opened drawers containing Buddhas, the two Thai fighters were the next fighters to fight. This was a huge shock for the Thai fighters as they not only are from the same Muay Thai gym in Thailand, but they are also best friends. Muay Thai fighters never want to fight their friends.
Once the fight was announced though, it was quite obvious who was going to win. Yodsaenklai, the current World Muay Thai Junior Middleweight Champion (154lb division) and the winner of the prestigious Lumpinee Stadium title in Thailand, was sad to fight his friend but knew he had no choice. He said that, if he had to, he would. Naruepol, on the other hand, from the minute he found out seemed agitated and worried and unable to concentrate. So, when the fight arrived, he didn’t use his “weapons” strongly and Yodsaenklai won.
When Naruepol left the training facility, one thing he said was so typical Thai. He said that he and Yodsaenklai “would always be friends and that good friends are hard to find, because you can’t buy them. On the other hand, as long as you are still alive you can always earn money. ”
Naruepol may still end up in The Contender Asia final fight on April 12th if enough people vote for him to be given a second chance. If you think Naruepol deserves to fight against the winner of the other seven guys, you can check the AXN website and get the number for your country to SMS your vote.
Thailand still has the world’s best Muay Thai fighters. Wouldn’t it be great if two of them were in The Contender Asia finale?
