Sot Chitalada

Sot Chitalada (, ), born as Chaovalit Wongcharoean (; ; 5 May 1962, in Chonburi, Thailand) is a Thai former boxer who was twice WBC and Lineal Flyweight Champion, having defended the title against nine boxers in total.

Biography and career He is the second child of a Thai-Muslim family with eight children, living in Chonburi near Hat Bang Saen, a popular tourist destination. Before he started Muay Thai, his older brother had already been a fighter. He began training in Muay Thai from childhood to strengthen his naturally weak body.

Chitalada first built his reputation as a Muay Thai fighter under the name Chaovalit Sitphraphrom before transitioning to professional boxing. He fought many times against Muay Thai legend Samart Payakaroon. After winning his first four professional boxing matches, he challenged the WBC Light Flyweight Champion Jung-Koo Chang on 31 March 1984 but lost by a twelve-round decision.

His ring name, "Sot Chitalada," originated from another boxer in the same stable named "Muns Sorchitpatana" (; ). When Sorchitpatana lost to former WBC Light Flyweight Champion Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh and was likely to retire, his name was still ranked by the WBC. His manager decided to substitute Chaovalit Sitphraphrom to fight in place of Muns Sorchitpatana. Later, due to a mistake in the WBC rankings, the name Sorchitpatana was replaced by Sot Chitalada, which eventually became his official ring name.

World Flyweight Championship Undaunted by the Chang loss, he won two more fights and a little over six months later shocked WBC and Lineal Flyweight Champion Gabriel Bernal, winning the world championships in his home country at Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok.

Chitalada is perhaps best-remembered for his fights with Bernal. The two met again twice in Bangkok. On 22 June 1985, Bernal fought Chitalada to a twelve-round draw, Chitalada keeping the titles. Bernal made another attempt eighteen months later, but on 10 December 1986 he lost another twelve-round decision to Chitalada. This was Bernal's final attempt at the Flyweight titles.

Chitalada brought stability to the WBC and Lineal Flyweight titles, the six title holders prior to Bernal all losing the belts in their first defences, and Bernal losing his second defence. Following the first Bernal fight, Chitalada made six title defences (and won several non-title fights). During this run he defeated former world champion Charlie Magri, Freddy Castillo and Hideaki Kamishiro. He lost the titles on 24 July 1988, travelling to South Korea and losing a twelve-round decision to unbeaten (at that time) Yong-Kang Kim.

After winning three more fights, Chitalada lured Kim for a rematch in his home country of Thailand. This time, it was Chitalada who came out on top, winning a twelve-round decision. Chitalada made four more title defences after he regained the titles. In his third defence, he made his second fight in the Western Hemisphere, defeating Richard Clarke by an eleventh-round knockout in Kingston, Jamaica, thus retaining his titles. For his fourth defence, he travelled to Seoul to avenge the only other loss in his career, to Jung-Koo Chang. Following the Chang fight, on 15 February 1991 Chitalada defended his titles against fellow-countryman Muangchai Kittikasem. This fight ended Chitalada's reign as he suffered his first knockout, Kittikasem stopping him in Round 6 to take the titles. Chitalada won two more fights before challenging Kittikasem to a rematch, but the result was the same, this time it ended in a ninth-round stoppage. That fight would be the last of Chitalada's career, he retired and never attempted a comeback.

Post-retirement After retiring from boxing, he studied at the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, becoming the first Thai boxer to earn a bachelor's degree. Before joining Thai Airways, he opened a restaurant called "Krua Sot" (ครัวสด, "fresh kitchen"), but the business was not successful. He later joined Thai Airways' Public Relations Department, though he has since resigned.

He was also active in politics, once serving as a Bangkok Metropolitan Council (BMC) member representing the Khlong Toei district under the Democrat Party.

In his personal life, his wife is an actress known for her roles in traditional-style dramas on Channel 7.

From 2006 to 2007, Chitalada taught Muay Thai at the Muay Thai Institute of Kunponli in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has since moved to teach martial arts in California and in Utah. He then returned to Thailand where he works as a security guard and occasionally teaches Muay Thai at his home.

Professional boxing record

Muay Thai record