Buakaw Banchamek

Buakaw Banchamek is a Thai Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer, born Sombat Banchamek on 8 May 1982 at Ban Song Nong, Samrong Thap district, Surin province, in northeastern Thailand. Known as "The White Lotus" and "Black Gold", he won the K-1 World MAX tournament in 2004 and 2006 — the first man to win it twice — and compiled a record of 246 wins, 74 of them by knockout, against 25 losses and 14 draws. He is regarded as one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters of all time. ^{1 2}

Banchamek started fighting at the age of eight in his home province of Surin, and at fifteen moved to Chachoengsao to train with the Por. Pramuk Gym. In his early Bangkok years he collected belts in succession: the Omnoi Stadium featherweight title, the featherweight championship of Thailand, a second Omnoi title at lightweight, and in December 2002 the Toyota Marathon 140 lb tournament at Lumpinee Stadium, beating Japan's Satoshi Kobayashi in the final. ¹

In July 2004 he won the K-1 World MAX tournament, defeating the previous champion Masato Kobayashi in the final; in 2005 he nearly repeated the run but lost the final to the Dutch shoot-boxer Andy Souwer in a controversial decision. In 2006 he met Souwer again in the final and beat him by TKO to take the title a second time. After his K-1 years he won the Shoot Boxing S-Cup in 2010 and the Thai Fight tournament in 2011 and 2012. ¹

In March 2012 Banchamek left the Por. Pramuk camp abruptly amid a contract dispute and founded his own Banchamek Gym in his home village in Samrong Thap district. On 6 May 2012 he was ordained as a Buddhist monk during the dispute, and on 31 May 2012 he announced his retirement, before returning to fight under his own camp and his new name, Buakaw Banchamek, after a contractual suspension had run its course. ³

Alongside his competitive career, Banchamek has been an ambassador for Muay Thai, promoting the sport worldwide; in 2023 he led the largest collective Wai Kru performance, setting a Guinness World Record. He acted in the Thai films Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya (2010) and Thong Dee Fun Khao (2017), played amateur football with a Thai club, and in April 2018 founded Buakaw Village in Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai province, a resort-style project with a Muay Thai gym, a restaurant and bungalows for people who come to train. ¹

In a UN Women interview for the HeForShe campaign, Banchamek spoke about gender equality and the Thai spirit of respect, including himself among Buddhists in his own words. ⁴ This record's faith entry states what each source gives, separately.

• The articles registered in this record's sources: English, Thai and German Wikipedia, Wikidata Q366494, and the UN Women interview.