Buakaw remains champion

Buakaw easily outpointed his opponent from Belarus and retained his Thai fight title in the 70kg division. Compatriot Singmanee Kaewsamrit had a tougher time, but he, too, was victorious in the 67kg division.

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Buakaw Por Pramuk, right, was too strong for Vitaly Hurkou in last night’s fight. Photos by THITI WANNAMONTHA

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Buakaw overpowers Hurkou

Thai star retains belt after testing year

Buakaw Por Pramuk successfully defended his Thai Fight title with a comfortable win over Vitaly Hurkou in Bangkok yesterday.

In the final of the junior middleweight division (70kg), Buakaw easily beat his opponent from Belarus in the three-round fight to the excitement of the crowd. Despite his physical disadvantage, the 30-year-old Buakaw made full use of his skills to give the less experienced Hurkou a Muay Thai lesson. He controlled the fight from its beginning and comfortably defended the title.

Winning the title seemed to be a great reward for Buakaw in a year when he had struggled . Due to the conflict with his Por Pramook camp, Buakaw announced his retirement from the sport in May.

But two months later, the two-time K1 champion returned to the ring after his dispute with the camp had been resolved. Since then, Buakaw has worked hard in an attempt to retain the Thai Fight title.

He started his 2012 campaign with a knockout win over Mauro Serra of Italy in the third round on Oct 24 before securing a final spot following his victory over Nishkawa Tomoyuki of Japan in the semi-final on Nov 26.

In the final of the 67kg division, Singmanee Kaewsamrit yesterday took an impressive win over Andrei Kulebin of Belarus. It was Singmanee's second win over the Belarusian in recent months and improved his record to 125 wins against 27 losses and four draws. Kulebin suffered his 12th loss against 44 wins. Throughout the three-round fight, Kulebin showed his fighting skills and posed a problem for the Thai. Nevertheless, it was not enough to beat Singmanee, who won the Thai Fight title for the first time.

With their victories, Buakaw and Singmanee won the trophies graciously offered by His Majesty the King.

Established in 2010, the Thai Fight has increasingly gained popularity among the fans.

overpower – to defeat someone in a fight or game ครอบครอง, เอาชนะ (ด้วยพละกำลัง)
retain – to keep รักษา
testing – difficult to deal with and needing particular strength or abilities ทุกข์ยาก, ที่ท้าทายความสามารถ
defend a title (championship) – to win a competition again after winning the previous time it was held ชนะอีกครั้งหลังจากชนะเลิศครั้งก่อน
opponent – a person or team being competed against in a sports event คู่ต่อสู้
physical – connected with a person's body เกี่ยวกับร่างกาย
disadvantage – something that makes someone or something less effective, successful or attractive ข้อเสียเปรียบ ข้อด้อย
skill – the ability to do something well, usually as a result of experience and training ฝีมือ
reward – something given in exchange for good behaviour or good work, etc รางวัล
struggle – to try hard to do something that you find very difficult พยายาม, ประสบปัญหา, ต่อสู้กับปัญหา
due to – because of เนื่องจาก
conflict – an angry disagreement between people or groups ความขัดแย้ง
retirement – the time when you stop working, especially because of old age เกษียณอายุ
dispute – a serious disagreement  ข้อโต้แย้ง
resolve – to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with it  แก้ไขปัญหา
campaign – a series of matches in a tournament
secure – to get or achieve something ได้รับ, ทำให้ได้ผล
semi-final (or semifinal) – one of the two games/matches that are played immediately before the last game in a sports competition. The two people or teams who win the semifinals play each other in the last game, called the final, to decide who wins the competition  การแข่งขันกีฬารอบรองชนะเลิศ
impressive – something that people admire because it is very good, very large or shows great skill ซึ่งน่าประทับใจ
improve – to make better  ทำให้ดีขึ้น
suffer – to experience something very unpleasant or painful ประสบ
pose a problem  – to be a possible difficulty or danger กระทำการซึ่งอาจก่อให้เกิดปัญหาต่อ
nevertheless – despite what has just been said or referred to แต่อย่างไรก็ตาม
trophy – a large silver cup or similar object given as a prize to the winner of a competition ถ้วยรางวัล
graciously – showing kindness and good manners อย่างงดงาม, อย่างสง่างาม
establish – to start something that will likely continue for a long time สถาปนา, ก่อตั้ง, จัดตั้ง
popularity – a situation in which someone or something is liked by many people ความเป็นที่นิยม, ความเป็นที่ชื่นชอบ