Khaosai Galaxy

Sura Saenkham (born May 15, 1959) was one of the sport of boxing's greatest champions ever, and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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A native of Petchaboon, Thailand, Saenkham was a world champion in the sport of Muay Thai in the early 1980s. As his star rose in his native Thailand, he did as many of his famous countrymen do, and adopted a "catchier" name. He has been known as Khaosai Galaxy ever since.

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In December, 1980, he turned his attentions to orthodox boxing and promptly won his first six fights. That earned him a shot at the Thailand bantamweight (118-pound) title on July 29, 1981 against Sakda Saksuree. Little did Saksuree realize he had made boxing history when he beat Galaxy on points over 10 rounds that day. It was the only fight Galaxy would ever lose.

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He won his next three fights, including a knockout of Saksuree, and finally claimed the Thai bantamweight title early in 1982. In fact, after taking his only loss, Galaxy won 15 consecutive fights by knockout and shot up the world rankings to become super flyweight (115-pound) WBA world champion Jiro Watanabe's mandatory challenger by the summer of 1984.

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When Watanabe failed to defend his title against Galaxy, the WBA stripped him and matched Galaxy against undefeated Eusebio Espinal for the vacant title on November 21, 1984. Galaxy knocked him out in the sixth round, beginning the longest title reign in his division's history.

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Galaxy defended his WBA title an incredible 19 times over the next seven years, winning 16 of his title fights by knockouts. In the mid-1980s, when world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was in his prime and scoring knockouts over everyone, boxing fans tagged Galaxy with his nickname The Thai Tyson for his own propensity for knockout wins.

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Unfortunately, Galaxy fought only once outside the Orient, when he defended against unbeaten (and future WBA bantamweight titleholder) Israel Contreras in Cura?ao in 1986. He had two fights in Japan, both with the same man, one in Korea and one in Indonesia. The rest of his fights were in his native Thailand, where he often fought for purses in excess of $100,000 in front of huge crowds. That, and the fact that few top fighters were willing to challenge Galaxy anywhere, conspired to make him relatively unknown except to boxing aficionados.

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In 1988, his twin brother, fighting under the name Kaokor Galaxy, captured the WBA bantamweight title, making the Saenkham brothers the only twins to ever be world boxing champions.

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He fought for the last time on December 21, 1991 in Bangkok, beating Armando Castro over 12 rounds. A few weeks later, he announced his retirement with a record of 50 wins against only one defeat, and never attempted a comeback.

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He was elected to the boxing hall of fame in 1999 and remains a national hero in his native Thailand.

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May 15: May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). There are 230 days remaining....

1959: 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It is also a song by The Sisters of Mercy on the album Floodland....

Boxing: Boxing is a combat sport that entails punching one's opponent. In both amateur and professional versions, the fighters wear padded gloves, attacking only with the front of the fist. In professional boxing each round usually lasts for three minutes and there may be 4-12 rounds in a bout. The winner i...

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