If you’re into Muay Thai, kickboxing, or martial arts in general, you’ve already come across the name Superbon Banchamek. You may have also heard that Superbon Banchamek is also a kickboxing world champion and one of two people in the world to knock out Giorgio Petrosyan, one of the best of all time. According to Combat Press, Superbon is currently ranked as the number 01 Lightweight and number 01 Pound-For-Pound kickboxer in the world right now.
What you may be asking is where Superbon came from, and what the secret to his success in martial arts has been. Keep reading to find out about Superbon Banchamek’s childhood, how his training with a legendary Muay Thai fighter turned his career around, how he became the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion, and some of the highlights of his martial arts journey so far.
The Childhood Of Superbon Singha Mawynn
Superbon was born as Superbon Singha Mawynn in the Phatthalung province, located in Southern Thailand. The Singha Mawynn family were farmers, but the young Superbon took up training in Muay Thai at the early age of five because his father was a fan of the combat sport. By the age of 16, Superbon Singha Mawynn had made it to the super-competitive Bangkok stadium fighting circuit.
He moved to Bangkok at 18 and was attending a local university to obtain a business degree while also training as a professional fighter. The next four years were a tough time for the young up-and-coming fighter to balance the intense training required to be at the top of his game in pro fighting while also studying to keep up with his lessons.
Superbon’s Early Fighting Days
Image taken from www.asianmma.com
Superbon’s martial arts training suffered during his university years, and while he had won matches at Lumpinee Stadium, he had not achieved much notoriety to really stand out from his peers, nor accomplished much other than winning the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (PAT) Thailand Lightweight Championship title in 2010, the Muay Thai Warriors Light Middleweight Championship title in 2013, and the M-ONE Middleweight title in 2013.
He also made two failed attempts to win the 22nd Isuzu Cup Tournament Welterweight title and the Toyota Vigo Marathon Tournament title during this time. By the time Superbon Singha Mawynn graduated from university with his degree, he had not made a significant dent in the world of martial arts. Nothing that allowed him to make a living out of fighting anyway.
Superbon considered stepping away from martial arts altogether and even entered the police academy to start a new career in law enforcement. It was at this important crossroads of his early fighting days that young Superbon Singha Mawynn met one of his heroes, the modern kickboxing and Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek.
Superbon’s Guiding Light: Buakaw Banchamek
While visiting Sydney for the Real Hero – Australia vs Thailand competition, Superbon Singha Mawynn had a chance to meet his childhood idol, Buakaw Banchamek, who was already a kickboxing world champion at K-1. Buakaw was the Thai team coach for the Real Hero event, and the two fighters had a chance to train together at this time. The seasoned veteran saw potential in the struggling young fighter and invited him to join his Banchamek Gym when they returned to Thailand, promising a shot at international-level matches.
It’s not every day a young fighter receives such an irresistible offer to train with a martial arts superstar like Buakaw Banchamek. This meant that Superbon would have to transition to kickboxing, a different combat sport with its own rules and fighting techniques. However, the unremarkable career he’d had so far in Muay Thai convinced young Superbon Singha Mawynn that it was time to make a change. To learn more about the differences between Muay Thai and kickboxing, read Muay Thai vs Kickboxing.
Unsurprisingly, Superbon took the offer and joined the Banchamek Gym. He was also not under contract with any other gym at the time, making it an easy choice to make. The young fighter took to his new path in kickboxing quickly under the guidance of Buakaw Banchamek. He learned all the techniques from the veteran and adjusted to the different ruleset of kickboxing. He also took on the Banchamek name to fight under. Superbon Singha Mawynn was no more. It was time for Superbon Banchamek to shine.
Superbon Banchamek’s Kickboxing Career
In less than two years after joining the Banchamek Gym and training with his new mentor, Superbon’s martial arts career finally took off, making him an international superstar in kickboxing.
Kunlun Fight, Enfusion, IPCC, and La Nuit Des Champions
Image taken from www.mmaplus.co.u
Superbon quickly started to make a name for himself at the Chinese promoter Kunlun Fight’s 2015 70kg World Max Tournament, where he made it to the semi-finals. In the following year, he made it to the finals after defeating many world-class kickboxers like Cedric Manhoef and Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong by decision. He also knocked out Russian fighter Khayal Dzhaniev, who had controversially defeated his mentor Buakaw a year earlier.
At the World Max finals held in China, Superbon faced off against another Thai fighter, Jomthong Chuwattana. He managed to knock out Jomthong in the third round with a right hook and became the Kunlun Fight World Max Tournament Champion in 2016. He contested again for the same title in 2017 but lost to Marat Grigorian after being knocked out.
Superbon then entered the Dutch promoter Enfusion’s Live 72kg Tournament in 2017 and qualified all the way to the finals to face Endy Semeleer. Although he lost this match by unanimous decision, he returned in 2018 for the Enfusion Live 72.5 kg Tournament, and this time he won the fight by decision against Morrocan-Dutch kickboxer Marouan Toutouh.
Superbon Banchamek also won the International Professional Combat Council (IPCC) Kickboxing World 70 kg Championship in 2019 and the La Nuit Des Champions (Night of Champions) 70 kg title in the same year.
Becoming the ONE Championship Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion
Image taken from www.sherdog.com/
Following his impressive runs with Kunlun Fight and Enfusion, Superbon Banchamek looked to further his career and reach new heights by signing up with ONE Championship. The Singaporean combat sports promoter has some of the largest audiences in the world for combat sports and is well-known for featuring martial artists from kickboxing, Muay Thai, submission grappling, MMA, and other similar disciplines.
Superbon made his ONE Championship debut at the No Surrender event, competing against former rival Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong. After beating Sitthichai, Superbon met Giorgio Petrosyan in the ring and defeated him to become the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion. He later successfully defended the title against Marat Grigorian, who had defeated him earlier in their Enfusion days. He also won the ONE Championship Super Series Fighter of the Year award in 2021.
Becoming one of the most popular fighters of his generation, it is said that Superbon now receives upwards of 1 million Baht for a kickboxing fight in ONE Championship, a huge increase from the 60,000 Baht fight purses he received in his Muay Thai days. He was also named the number 01 Lightweight and Pound-For-Pound kickboxer in the world by Combat Press, truly cementing his position as one of the best in martial arts today.
Superbon: The Gold Medalist
While he transitioned his professional fighting career towards kickboxing, Superbon has not completely forgotten his roots in Muay Thai. Before he made his debut at Kunlun Fight and ONE Championship events, he won the World Boxing Council (WBC) Muay Thai Intercontinental Welterweight Championship by defeating Brazillian fighter Amadeu Cristiano in 2014.
Furthermore, Superbon represented his home country in the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) events held in Thailand (2015), Sweden (2016), Belarus (2017), and Poland (2017). Superbon brought home the gold medal at all of these Amateur World Muay Thai Championship events.
Superbon’s Most Memorable Fights And Rivals
Superbon Banchamek has faced many formidable opponents over the years, including the likes of Singdam Kiatmuu9 and even the legendary Saenchai. He has accumulated an impressive record of 113 wins and 27 knockouts in 147 matches. And he’s still at the top of his game and has a long way to go before retiring. Here are some of the most memorable fighting moments and rivalries of Superbon’s career.
Sitthichai Vs Superbon
Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong is another Thai fighter that has signed up with ONE Championship. Not only that, but he is also a former Lumpinee Stadium Champion, which is one of the most prestigious titles to hold in the world of Muay Thai. Superbon fought him for the first time at the Kunlun World Max 2015 event and was defeated by Sitthichai’s right hook in the second round. Sitthichai went on to win that tournament.
They met again the following year, contending again for the Kunlun Fight World Max title. Superbon settled the score by winning this match by decision and went on to win the tournament like Sitthichai did the previous year.
Their trilogy fight was at the ONE Championship: No Surrender event. This was Superbon’s debut in the ONE Championship and he won the fight by unanimous decision. While these are the official kickboxing encounters they’ve had, Superbon has stated that they have even competed during boxing meets during their time in the Thai Army, although it is unclear how those fights went.
Petrosyan Vs Superbon
Giorgio Petrosyan, also called ‘The Doctor’, is an Armenian-born Italian kickboxer who has multiple world championship titles to his name. He is also in consideration for the GOAT (greatest of all time) of kickboxing. Superbon encountered him during the ONE Championship: First Strike event in 2021. In the first round, Petrosyan tried to close the distance and strike out with his punches, although Superbon kept out of range using his kicks and delivered some knee attacks of his own.
Superbon’s attempt to push kick Petrosyan away in the second round almost caught him in a sweeping move, although the Thai fighter managed to avoid that. While The Doctor kept dealing punches, Superbon returned with body kicks. While Petrosyan was countering one such attack, he left an opening which Superbon capitalized on with a high kick to the jaw.
The kick knocked out Petrosyan, who immediately fell to the canvas. This made Superbon the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion. It’s an even more impressive feat when you consider the fact that Petrosyan was going strong and has had an amazing winning streak of 105 wins with only 2 losses up to this point. He is also known to be great at his defense and has only been knocked out once, nearly seven years ago.
Giorgio Petrosyan, who was the favorite to win the match, had to undergo surgery for his broken jaw. The surprise victor of the event, Superbon Benchamek became one of two people to have ever knocked out Giorgio Petrosyan, and he won the ONE Championship Super Series Knockout of the Year 2021 award for this amazing performance.
The Rising Star Of Muay Thai And Kickboxing
As the current ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion, the time will soon come when Superbon Benchamek will have to defend it. Not content to just stick with kickboxing forever, Superbon has also expressed interest in competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and even called out Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Conor McGregor for a match, claiming that it wouldn’t be difficult to beat him.
After recently knocking out one of the best kickboxers of all time, there is a chance Superbon could succeed and take his fighting career to new heights if he makes the transition to MMA. While Superbon is constantly praising his mentor Buakaw, he also doesn’t want to stay in the veteran fighter’s shadow forever. As Superbon continues building his own legacy, combat sports fans everywhere will have plenty to look forward to.
FAQs
Muay Thai has its drawbacks, which includes frequent injuries as the technique puts an emphasis on kicks and arm punches. In these cases, practitioners are more prone to harm if taken down to the ground. Another drawback of Muay Thai is that it doesn’t use the common bobbing and weaving strategies seen in other forms such as traditional boxing.
Muay Thai training sessions done correctly can help blast up to 1,200 calories in a mere 60-90 minutes! This intense aerobic and anaerobic workout will not only work to reduce stubborn fat but it also tones your muscles and increases flexibility. Additionally, Muay Thai is an ideal way to strengthen your core for optimal physical performance.
