MY FAVORITE FIGHT STORY

It is spring 1954. The reigning bantamweight champion is the unbeaten Australian Jimmy Carruthers. The Aussie lefty had taken the crown from South African Vic Toweel the year before by going to Johannesburg and drilling the previously unbeaten Toweel in one round. Carruthers had also KO'd Toweel in Joburg in the return match. Carruthers is then challeneged by a Thai named Chamreon Songkitrat. Songkitrat is only 6-1-1 but he already has two wins over ranked fighters and grew up as a kickboxer. Carruthers is enticed to fight in Thailand by a 175,00 Australian pounds tax free payday.

It is to be the first world championship boxing match to be held in Thailand so the Thai government invited boxing's roving ambassador and Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer to attend as guest, overseer and to add legitimacy to the proceedings. A 60,000 seat outdoor stadium was built for the occasion and the fight was scheduled for May 2. Carruthers has a three inch height advantage, a six inch reach advantage and the sole official the referee, is an Aussie, while Songkitrat is fighting at home. But it soon came to pass that issues like those became secondary.

The monsoons arrived. Continuing, driving rains began a couple of days before the fight and just wouldn't stop. Yet Thai fans poured into Bangkok anyway. Fleischer asked that the fight be delayed a day but the Thai government and both fight camps insisted the fight go on, outdoors, in the rain. Bangkok simply couldn't house that many visitors for any length of time. It was now or never. The champion then asked for an unusual stipulation. That the fight be conducted barefoot so as to enhance footing. The Thai fighter, accustomed to fighting barefoot readily agreed.

Fleischer describes the Ring as a lake and when Carruthers comes to the ring he is accompanied by his cornermen, two of whom are his wife and the wife of his chief second. They are carrying umbrellas and wearing dresses. The fans , including the Royal Family are soaked and cheering from the opening bell. Songkitrat was an excellent bodypuncher while Carruthers, as one would expect used his jab to try to establish distance. On several occasions each fighter, despite being barefoot, slipped to the mat after missing a punch. Between rounds men with brooms would try to sweep away the water and the fighters would be wiped down with towels, but the rain kept coming. At one point the lighting system over the ring began to shatter and glass fell to the mat. Both fighters now had cut feet as well as waterlooged trunks and gloves. Yet they went on. Fleischer describes a close, hard fought battle which he, and the Australian referee, believed Carruthers had won.

When the Thai crowd began booing the decision and Fleischer feared a riot Chamreon Songkitrat stepped to the center of the ring, took the microphone in the rain and the crowd went silent. The defeated challenger then said "I am very proud to have been able to bring fame to my country by being the first Thai boxer to contend for the world bantamweight title, and I am personally satisfied that the decision was fair and beyond doubt. If I am not sorry, my friends and countrymen, why are you?"

That we would all learn from Chamreon Songkitrat.

Amazing story. Thanks Marble.

the amazing thing about this is that the monsoon meant carruthers was in the ring with towe(e)l 3 fights in a row

shakefree wrote:

the amazing thing about this is that the monsoon meant carruthers was in the ring with towe(e)l 3 fights in a row

POST OF THE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many great stories and so little time to write about them. This is incredible. Boxing outclasses other sports in the drama department. Thanks for the story, Marble.