Saensak Muangsurin

Boonsong Mansri (; 13 August 1950 – 16 April 2009), known professionally as Saensak Muangsurin , was a Thai professional Muay Thai fighter and boxer. He was a Lumpinee Stadium super-lightweight champion in Muay Thai, as well as a WBC super-lightweight world champion in boxing. In 1975, he won a major world boxing title in his third professional fight, 241 days after his debut, which is still the record over 50 years later (later matched by Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2014 in terms of number of bouts). He is also Thailand's heaviest world boxing champion to date. Nicknamed the "World Collapsing Southpaw," he is often regarded as one of the most fearsome punchers in Muay Thai history.

Biography

Prior to his boxing career, Muangsurin first started out in Muay Thai. At the beginning of his career, he used the ring names "Saensaep Petchcharoen" (แสนแสบ เพชรเจริญ) and "Saepsuang Petchcharoen" (แสบทรวง เพชรเจริญ) as he was fighting in his native province and the neighboring ones. He also fought numerous times in Japan.

A very popular fighter in his time, Muangsurin faced many top Muay Thai fighters such as Poot Lorlek, Vicharnnoi Porntawee, Pudpadnoi Worawut, Khunpon Sakornpitak, Wisan Kraigriengyuk, Kongdej Lookbangplasroy, and Sirimongkol Luksiripat. He won the Lumpinee Stadium super-lightweight title by knocking out Sorrasak Sor Lukbookalo in just the first round in 1971.

Personal life and death At the height of his career, Muangsurin was by all accounts a celebrity in his country. He was regarded as a kind of movie star and often toured the provinces, appearing on stage alongside famous luk thung singers throughout the nation. He married a popular actress of that era, Prim Prapaporn. The couple was constantly in the spotlight, attracting the attention of both the media and the general public. They have one son, whom he named Kriangsak "King" Mansri, after General Kriangsak Chamanan, who was prime minister at the time.

He accrued numerous injuries over the course of his career; by the time he had retired, he was blind in his right eye. Prapaporn later divorced him, and his savings of up to 10 million baht were exhausted. In 1998, several years after hanging up his gloves, he gave an open interview to World of Boxing magazine, stating that he had been cheated by many people in the boxing industry, and according to his biography, he was also known to have been extravagant with money. His last fight was for the OPBF welterweight title against Chung-jae Hwang of South Korea in Roi Et, in which he promoted the fight himself, suffered a financial loss, and ultimately lost on points after 12 rounds. After retiring from boxing, he even ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in his hometown of Phetchabun in 1983 as an independent candidate, but was not elected. Though he had a monthly courtesy from the WBC and other authorities in Thailand, it was not enough to cover costs, and the rest of his life remained difficult.

Muangsurin was admitted to Rajvithi Hospital on April 12, 2009, for liver failure and intestinal blockage. Surgery failed to improve his condition, which was complicated by various other ailments. On April 16, Saensak died while under observation in an intensive care unit.

Titles and accomplishments

Muay Thai

Lumpinee Stadium 1971 Lumpinee Stadium Super Lightweight (140 lbs) Champion

Awards 1973 King's Muay Thai Fighter of the Year

Boxing

World Boxing Council 1975 WBC Super Lightweight (140 lbs) Champion (1 defense) 1976 WBC Super Lightweight (140 lbs) Champion (7 defenses)

Professional boxing record

Muay Thai record