In a sport run by the old guard, it has been a long time since we’ve seen a fresh face make moves in the world of Muay Thai.
Since February 2013, Nuttadej ‘Boat’ Wachirarattanawong has taken massive strides in becoming a major player in the Bangkok fight scene.
No stranger to the ins and outs of Muay Thai, ‘Boat’ has lived and breathed Muay Thai since he was a boy. His father, Wirat, is the head of Petchyindee Promotions, who have been a force at Lumpinee Stadium for decades.
Perhaps the most famous fighter associated with the Petchyindee camp would be Sakad (Sagat) Petchyindee. The undisputed KO king of Muay Thai, he also fought the legendary Wilfredo Gomez for the super bantamweight World title in boxing.
To give an idea of the stature of Sakad, I draw a quote from Fightland’s excellent piece on the new Petchyindee camp:
“Our gym has built a lot of top fighters over the years, like Sagat Petchyindee. Ever heard of him? Remember Sagat, the video game character? He’s based on Sagat Petchyindee!”
Whilst Petchyindee Promotions have been around the top of the game for years, ‘Boat’ wants to take them to the next level.
For any boxing fans out there, an apt comparison would be the work Eddie Hearn (promoter of Carl Froch) is doing at Matchroom Promotions, where he took over the boxing schedule from his Dad, Barry Hearn and has aimed to put on big shows that have an ‘event’ feel to them.
Unlike Barry Hearn, Wirat is still a big player at Lumpinee Stadium. ‘Boat’, twenty six years old, has been making his name across town at Rajadamnern Stadium.
With a huge roster of super talented fighters and a state of the art gym, Petchyindee and Petchviset Promotions are seeing major success in Bangkok.
‘Boat’ was kind enough to give up some time today and give some insight into how he came to prominence, as well as tease about how he sees the sports future.
Kyle McLachlan: For those in the West who do not know, could you tell us about your father and how you came to be a Muay Thai promoter yourself?
Boat: My dad has been doing Muay Thai and boxing for 40 years. He got started like an normal fan who love Muaythai. After that he wanted to follow his dream to have own gym as Petchyindee. (This happened) In 1976 and he became a Lumpinee promoter six years later.
Kyle McLachlan: When did you start and at what age did you realise you wanted to follow in your fathers footsteps?
Boat: Muaythai is my part of my life and my dad is my hero. For me, I have been helping my dad since i was 19 years old like a co-promoter to organize and promote the match then Rajadamnern stadium contacted me to be a promoter.My first ever was Somruck (Khamsing, Olympic Gold medalist) Vs Jomhod (pound-for-pound legend in Muay Thai) and we sold all the tickets in my first event as Petchviset promotion.
(Writers Note: I was there at Rajadamnern Stadium that night and it was a tremendous show with a spine-tingling atmosphere, and in my opinion was a big success for the debut show of a new promoter)
Kyle McLachlan: You are still young. How do you see Muay Thai growing in the years to come? Do you think Muay Thai could ever have a big show in Las Vegas or New York?
Boat: Nowadays Muay Thai has changed. The number of (people in the) audiences in Lumpinee and Rajadamnern have been decreasing every year.
Muay Thai is changing to Muay Thai entertainment like Thai Fight and etc. So Las vegas or big city for Muay Thai event is possible.
Kyle McLachlan: Why do you think the audiences are decreasing? Is it because of the popularity of Premier League football and the internet? Or something else?
Boat: There are no Thai teenager in the stadium ’cause Muay Thai is a gambling society. They think its dangerous to try.
Kyle McLachlan: So you think the new generation is less interested because of the image of the sport and the stadiums?
Boat: If Muay Thai changed to entertainment I think it would help the image for new genaration.
Kyle McLachlan: Could you elaborate? Do you think that the rules of the fights need to change to make it more exciting? Or do you think more effort in building the personality of the fighters is required?
Boat: I think whenever Muay Thai become a sport show then the system will change at that time.
Kyle McLachlan: Can you give any details? Or will it be a big surprise from Petyindee Promotions?
Boat: Let’s see next year Kyle
Kyle McLachlan: I have a question for you about boxing as well. In the past, Thailand has had many great champions in boxing. Why do you think the best Muay thai fighters today are not moving into boxing as much and would you like to go into this in the future yourself? For example, might we see Sam-A boxing again?
Boat: We only need a talented Muay Thai fighters. For Sam-A, he is enjoying Muay Thai (more) than boxing.
Muay Thai legend Sam-A’s first, and to date only, pro boxing match
Kyle McLachlan: Then my next question would be about Mixed Martial Arts. It is a sport that is growing in popularity in the Far East, but is nowhere near as popular in Thailand as Muay Thai. However, with many foreigners travelling to Thailand to learn the art of Muay Thai you must have had MMA fighters train at Petchyindee? What are your thoughts on MMA and could you ever see yourself training Thais to compete in the cage?
Boat: I think MMA is very far removed from us but anyway we are expert in Muay Thai so many MMA fighters come to train with us.
Kyle McLachlan: My last question would be about the big show on the 25th. Tell people who might not know why this will be a special night and why if they are in Bangkok they should come along.
Boat: This is my dad birthday and the best gift that he want is organize the best show for his audience. All the best fighters of Petchyindee will join this celebration so I think if you want to watch the best fighters then you can’t miss this match.
Kyle McLachlan: And what do you have coming up after that?
Boat: I will have no more big matches this year but i will have two more rising star kids on 11th and 17th December at Rajadamnern.
Kyle McLachlan: Thank you for your time Boat. Khob khun krup.
Boat: You’re welcome.
As you can see, ‘Boat’ is very ambitious. What I took from the interview is that he is looking to merge the glitz and glamour of the Thai Fight Promotions (or at least the big events they put on when they first started out) along with the talented stable at his disposal.
Are big things afoot for Petchviset Promotions? With a gym stable that includes Petchmorakot, Sam-A, Nong-O, as well as promoting legends of the sport such as Singdam, Petchyindee/Petchviset certainly have the infrastructure to press on and make big fights.
As Boat says, let’s take a look a year from now.
If you can’t wait that long be sure to get a ticket to the November 25th Petchyindee Promotions show at Lumpinee Stadium, which features Sam-A Gaiyanghaadao vs Bangpleenoi 96 Penang for the vacant Thailand Featherweight title and Nong-O Gaiyanghaadao vs Kiatpet Suanaharnpikmai for the vacant thailand Lightweight title.