He's the most recognised boxer in Muay Thai with an outstanding record of over 200 official wins for just 21 losses.
Buakaw Banchamek
That's why Buakaw Banchamek (Por Pramuk), the 31-year-old boxer from Surin who learnt his winning kicks at Bangkok's Lumpinee stadium, made headlines when he recently signed up to get back to the K-1 Max tournament where he won two world championships in Tokyo before taking on and beating the best Japanese stand-up fighters in the throw-and-kick fighting genre known as shootboxing.
Buakaw's reputation in the ring has made him one of the all-time famous Muay Thai boxers who added some more fame to his name when he won successive Thai Fight welterweight championships.
Last year, the most wanted Thai fighter on the planet went missing from his training camp. He later explained to his fans that he had suffered mentally from a chronic dispute with the management at his former camp, Por Pramuk.
A month later his new sponsor Yokkao Boxing announced that Buakaw had resumed training at the Banchamek camp named after him, and he went on to complete a hat-trick of Thai Fight championships, beating Vitaly Gurkov in December 2012.
Since his Thai Fight victories, Buakaw has won kick-fighting contests (no elbow or knee weapons) against the Chinese stand-up fighters in Max Muay Thai in China, and was scheduled to fight in another Max Muay Thai Championship against Yoshihiro Sato in Japan in October but the fight won't happen.
Buakaw's name was linked with signing up to fight the best European kickboxers is the Golden Glory kickboxing tournament.
He was also spotted training Jujitsu that led to speculation he might be fighting with the MMA World League in the cage at the MMA World Series held in Myanmar on Aug 31.
But despite all the possible scenarios, Buakaw surprised the fight world by signing on with the reformed K-1 Max, and is scheduled to be the main star in the K-1 Max World Championship in Mallorca, Spain on Sept 14.
The no elbow, no grappling rules of K-1 will suit Buakaw's rapid kicking and punching style, especially as there are no known fighters currently on the K-1 circuit with the ability to prevent the famed Thai boxer winning his third K-1 Max title.
Meanwhile, agreements are being finalised for an elimination event of the WBC World Cup to take place on Nov 8 in Bangkok.
Jomthong Chuwatana, the WBC Muay Thai world champion and All-Asia boxing title-holder, will be representing the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation against a fighter approved by the British Boxing Board of Control for the lightweight elimination.
Should Jomthong go on and win the WBC World Cup he will become the mandatory contender for the WBC world championship.
