vs. Yinglek Sor. Petchmaitree, Rangsit Stadium, 22nd February 2013.

My sixth fight was to take place at Rangsit Stadium, where I’d had my last three fights. Since the last one, they’d asked me to fight there every 15-20 days, which was great for me. As women are not permitted to fight in Lumpini or Rajadamnoern, Rangsit Stadium is probably the best place for female fights in Bangkok. What I really appreciate about this stadium is that they actively promote female fighters, and genuinely take care of them. It is the only place I’ve ever fought where I was told that if I didn’t wear a chest guard and groin guard, I couldn’t fight. Of course, I would much rather not wear them, as they are totally unflattering! However, this means that they are at least looking out for the welfare of the female fighters, which I can totally appreciate. Also, their events are televised on national TV for TrueSport, so this was my second fight for TV!

Again, I knew nothing about my opponent for this fight. However, after winning my last two fights at Rangsit by TKO and KO, I knew that they would give me a rough fight. From the first round, it was clear that she was much more experienced than me. She knew exactly how to fight me, throwing front kicks every time I tried to come in, and counter-punching for every strike I threw. She seemed to see absolutely everything. The one thing that I couldn’t help but notice is that she had a big grin on her face throughout most of the fight. I’m not sure whether this was a tactic to make me back off, or just a show of how confident she was. However, there was something else on top of that, which seemed strange to me – she apologised to me on three different occasions during the fight, not after she’d hit me, but just at random intervals. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but on reflection, perhaps she was apologising for the fact that she was out-classing me. It must have been clear to her, and therefore everyone else there, that it was an uneven fight, and perhaps an easy one for her. Even so, it didn’t make me feel bad. Actually, I really enjoyed the fight. It was a good opportunity for me to test what I’d learned on a difficult opponent, and I enjoyed it from start to finish.

I fought as hard as I could for five rounds, but there was no way that I could beat her on points.

Strangely, I felt really good coming out of that fight. Although I’d lost, I still felt that I’d done well, and knew that I had improved. I’d fought a good five rounds against someone much more experienced than me, and that was an achievement in itself. I just wasn’t ready for her, that’s all.

The problem with losing a fight is the way other people feel about it. Often, they’ll feel awkward around you and as if they have to say something to make you feel better, but there really is no need. Each fight is a learning experience. The reason I fight is because I love to challenge myself, and if I could win them all, there would be very little challenge. If I had lost because of my own performance, I might have felt differently, but I knew that I’d done the best I could against a much more skilled and experienced opponent. Regardless of the loss, I was very happy with how this fight went. So much so, that I surprised even myself.

My previous fights at Rangsit had always been met with great reception and positive feedback from the promoters there. This time was a little different. Instead of giving me the usual positive comments, they just avoided eye contact with me. This could have been for a few reasons. Maybe they were disappointed in me for losing, or maybe they were worried that I would complain about being mismatched (which was not how I felt, at all). Perhaps, they were just busy and didn’t have time to talk to me. Nevertheless, I still felt good about the fight. This fight was a great learning experience for me, and one that I’m very happy with.

See below for a gallery of images from the fight.

Follow Under the Ropes

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter