Was in Bangkok about three weeks ago for the first time and I visited Lumpinee Stadium on a Tuesday night. Paid approximately 70 bucks to get in and I didn't know what was in it for me. Felt a bit funny as I was watching the fights with my Thai tour guide/driver as my mum didn't want to pay to go in and as you know, Thai girls with Caucasian dudes are everywhere so I hope no one got the wrong idea.
The evening started off with two amateur boxing matches and then followed by ten Muay Thai fights. When the people started to flood in, the atmosphere of the stadium got really exciting, and humorous when you see families/coaches cornering the fighters hollering and shouting till they choke on their saliva. The fights were raw and consisted of infinite kneeing.
So as I was enjoying myself, the fifth fight came on and during the break, a head who looked like Buakaw Por Pramuk in a tacky Playboy shirt popped out of nowhere opposite the ring! :jawdrop: My observation was confirmed by an Australian dude next to me who got equally excited and replied "Kap" when I asked if that was Buakaw. We rushed over to ask for a picture, turned out he was cornering for a boy from his camp named Pajonsok Por Pramuk. We waited till after the fight and I reckon Buakaw sort of lied that he'd come out from the back of the stadium in a couple of minutes or so as he didn't, then I saw Petch (one of the old trainers on The Contender Asia)! I was pleasantly surprised to actually be able to bump into him in the whole of BKK. Talked to him for a while before telling him I was waiting for Buakaw so he kindly brought me behind the stadium while the Australian guy who was waiting too pleaded Petch to help him too. Haha. Told Buakaw something like I was a fan from Singapore in Thai. Said 'sawadee' to the man whose face was pretty damn fierce-looking but he wasn't very friendly, just smiled for a picture with Petch and I and went back to his own business. Maybe his unfriendliness was probably due to Por Pramuk's loss previously, maybe he's just like that. Also, no one (except a couple of Caucasians) really cared about Buakaw's presence at all... It almost felt like I hadn't met the man himself. Ha.
Anyhow, I was more than contented about the entire evening but if Buakaw was there to fight instead, it perhaps would've been a different story!