Cambodian "Muay Thai".

[Craig]

I am going to be backpacking around Cambodia over Christmas and News Years for 3 weeks. Does anyone know of any good venues in Cambodia (either in Phnom Penh or other cities such as Battambang, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville) where I can watch some live fights when I am out there. I am interested to see how it compares to Muay Thai.

[Yak]

big fights in Phnom Peng at stadium there. dont wear your muay thai writing shirt though ;-) main place for it - still not as big as MT though countrywide, they like a tear up in the capital and often get foreigners fighting there (from thai gyms)

[Craig]

I have heard they can be a little "sensitive" about Muay Thai. Think I will wear a plain t-shirt as I have no desire to get shot!

Any ideas if there are specific days when events are held (as in Bangkok), or is it a little random? I have tried a Google search, but not found much.

[lee kru]

There was a Kenyan lad called Leo fight in Cambodia last weekend, he got dehydrated cuting weight and then his opponent weighed in heavier on the day, Leo is training at 13 Coins although he has another promoter. He enjoyed the experience though.

I will ask him about gyms there and post later.

I heard that Cambodian Gyms are very Xenophobic, it may be worth a google search or check out some ex pat forums over there to check it out.
My only experiences have been Visa runs out there.

Good luck

[Craig]

Thanks a lot guys. Just found this information from last year, so hoping it is still up to date. It seems like Pradal Serey (Khmer Kickboxing) is live on TV most weekends, so I should be able to find a show once out there.

"There are 6 Kun Khmer cards every week in Phnom Penh. That’s about 40 fights every weekend.

Kun Khmer boxing is currently promoted by three Phnom Penh TV stations: TV5, CTN and Bayon. Each station hosts 2 cards per weekend.

TV5 has fights on Friday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in the arena at the Old Stadium. Tickets are 1,500 reil on Friday and 3,000 reil on Sunday ($US1 = approximately 4,100 reil ).

CTN hosts cards on Saturday and Sunday starting at 2 p.m. CTN fights are held at the CTN studios, located at Kilometer 3, National Road 5 (to Battambang). It’s just past the Coca-Cola factory on the right-hand side of the road. There is a giant TV antenna there. making it impossible to miss. Admission is free.

Bayon also hosts fights on Saturday and Sunday at their purpose-built arena, located about 2 kilometers past the Monivong Bridge on National Road 2 (to Vietnam). Fights at Bayon start at 4 p.m. Admission is also free.

It is recommended to arrive early at CTN and Bayon fights, in order to get a good seat.

Typically, fight cards consists of anywhere from 5 to 7 fights. Sometimes Western boxing matches are included. And at Bayon, sometimes girls fight on the undercard. Generally every card has two high-quality fights, with the rest of the card rounded out with one or two matches between noteworthy up-and-comers (or veterans) plus one or two matches between green rookies thrown in for entertainment value".

[Craig]

Ended up popping along to Bayon TV to watch an event and saw quite a few live on television. Very similar to Muay Thai but a lot scrappier than bouts seen at the Lumpini/Ratchadamnoen. Every bout I watched (at least 30, including those on tv) went to a decision, and there seemed to be a lot more elbows than in Muay Thai. It was a great atmosphere though, and people were taking the events seriously with locals betting more money than the average monthly wage on some bouts (unlike the Lumpini where the locals seem more interested in watching/betting on the sports on the big screen instead of the fights in the ring!). I was only the only "Barang" there, which is different to the Bangkok venues where the front rows are often taken up with clueless "Farang" who are attending as their guidebook recommended it.