The great monsoon fight!

Fifty seven years ago last week one of the most extraordinary fights in boxing history took place in Bangkok. Let me set the stage

The Banatamweight champion was undefeated southpaw Jimmy Carruthers of Australia who had taken the title from South Africa's Vic Toweel in a KO1 in Toweel's hometown. Carruthers had then defended against Toweel and #5 ranked Pappy Gault. He was then offerred 175,000 tax free Australian Pounds to defend the crown in Thailand. The Thai government wanted to make a splash (upcoming joke) in the fight game and so they appealed to Nat Fleischer, founder of Ring Magazine, noted judge and boxing ambassador to the world to make all the arrangements and make sure the fight was seen as legitimate by the world.

Now the challenger was Thai Chamreon "The Fiery Lizard" Songkitrat, then ranked #2 in the world. His professional record at the time? 6-1-1. Songkitrat is example 2,317 why record alone tells one almost nothing. Songkitrat had a background in kickboxing, was already a national hero and in his very first boxing match faced Tanny Campo, the Asian flyweight champion and #5 ranked flyweight on the planet. Songkitrat got a ten round draw. By the time of the Carruthers fight the Thai had won the Asian lightweight title and beaten Pappy Gault.

The fight was scheduled for twelve rounds and 60,000 Thais, in their festival clothing, including the Royal Family showed up at the outdoor stadium for the fight. Three days before the fight a tropical storm began dumping wind and rain on the city and the stadium. But the fighters agreed to go on as Bangkok had no facilities to host a crowd of this size overnight. Carruthers suggested the two fight barefoot to improve traction and so the fight went on. Carruthers had his wife and trainer's wife acting as his seconds, and yes they wore dresses.

In driving rain the crowd roared and the fighters slogged through the in-ring puddles, Songkitrat trying to get to the Champions body while Carruthers pecked away with his jab which, when it landed jarred the Thai off balance. Between rounds water was swept from the ring and instead of the fighters getting water poured on them they were towelled off. As the winds rose the light bulbs illuminating the ring would occasionally fall and break. Despite the crew's best efforts by the tenth round both men had cut feet and Carruthers was bleeding over his eye. This was one of those fights where the boxer builds a lead and the attacker comes on late and it is a race to the finish line.

Songkitrat hurt Carruthers in both the ninth and the eleventh. Carruthers gutted out the twelfth in a round that may have won him the fight. Fleischer later wrote that had the fight been 15 rounds, Songkitrat would likely have finished him. The Australian referee raised Carruthers hand in victory and the soaked Thai crowd began to rumble in discontent.

It was at that moment that one of my favorite moments in boxing history took place. Songkitrat asked for a microphone and to his countrymen said " I am very proud to have been able to bring fame to my country by being the first Thai boxer to contend for the world bantamweight title. I am personally satisfied the decision was fair and beyond doubt. If I am not sorry, my friends and my countrymen, why are you?"

Chamreon Songkitrat would go on to lose a split decision in another championship battle, this time with Robert Cohen and then in his last title try would be dominated and stopped Mexico's Raul Macias. He would retire with a record of 7-5-1 having lost to three 118 champions while they were champions and the #2 ranked Billy Peacock.