The bare knuckle Muay Thai match between Buakaw Banchamek and Saenchai PKSaenchaigym is back on. The two were originally set to fight in March but the bout was called off for reasons which remain a little murky.
Buakaw and Saenchai had been scheduled to fight on March 18th. But two weeks before the match promoters issued a statement declaring that they weren’t sure whether or not their ruleset was legal and had decided to call it off.
However the BKFC promoter declared on Facebook today that the fight was back on again and would be happening on November 4th.
Free agent
The fight was originally set for 68.5kgs (151lbs) which is the weight that Buakaw has been fighting at for the past 20 years. Saenchai has fought at this weight in the past but will be significantly smaller than the two time K-1 Max winner.
Buakaw and Saenchai are the biggest names in Muay Thai and this fight has been the subject of speculation for decades. It was always felt that the size difference was insurmountable while both men used to be signed to rival promoters.
But these days Buakaw is a free agent while Saenchai is very much his own man. The rescheduled fight is likely to take place at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya.
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Different venues
The fight was originally mooted to take place in the Middle East. But it was then confirmed for BKFC 4 at the Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall in March.
It was called off at the last minute with the explanation that the promoter had become concerned after seeing that the Boxing Association of Thailand had registered an objection to ONE Championship using the term ‘Muay Thai’ to describe their three round fights with MMA gloves.
The dispute between ONE Championship and the Boxing Association of Thailand has long since been settled and the promotion never had to postpone or cancel any events. In fact it has been business as usual with fights taking place at Lumpinee Stadium every Friday night.
