BOXERS from Thailand

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Thai Boxers of all time. This list of famous Thai Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Payao Poontarat (1956 - 2006)

With an HPI of 50.47, Payao Poontarat is the most famous Thai Boxer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Payao Poontarat (Thai: พเยาว์ พูลธรัตน์, RTGS: Phayao Phuntharat, pronounced [pʰā.jāw pʰūːn.tʰā.rát]; October 18, 1956 – August 13, 2006) was a Thai boxer who, at the age of 18, won the bronze medal in the men's Light flyweight (-48 kg) category at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He was the first Thai athlete to win an Olympic medal in any sport.

2. Parinya Charoenphol (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 45.48, Parinya Charoenphol is the 2nd most famous Thai Boxer.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Parinya Charoenphol (born 9 June 1981) (Thai: ปริญญา เจริญผล; RTGS: parinya charoenphon), nicknamed Toom, also known by the stage name Parinya Kiatbusaba and the colloquial name Nong Toom or Nong Tum, is a Thai boxer, former muay Thai (Thai boxing) champion, model and actress. She is a kathoey (ladyboy), a Thai word referring to what is often considered a distinct gender in Thailand and elsewhere generally considered to be gender-nonconforming men or transgender women. At the age of 18, she underwent gender-affirming surgery.

3. Manus Boonjumnong (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 41.26, Manus Boonjumnong is the 3rd most famous Thai Boxer.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Manus Boonjumnong (Thai: มนัส บุญจำนงค์; RTGS: Manat Bunchamnong, born June 23, 1980) is a Thai boxer who won the Olympics at Light Welterweight (60–64 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is the older brother of Non Boonjumnong.

4. Wijan Ponlid (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 40.53, Wijan Ponlid is the 4th most famous Thai Boxer.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Police Lieutenant colonel Wijan Ponlid (Thai: วิจารณ์ พลฤทธิ์; RTGS: Wichan Phonrit; born April 26, 1976) is a Thai boxer who competed in the Men's Flyweight (– 51 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal. He returned to Thailand to a hero's welcome: honored with a new house, over 20 million baht, a job promotion (as a police officer in Sukhothai), and paraded at the head of a procession of 49 elephants through the city of Bangkok. He has the nickname "Thai Pea", in reference to another great southpaw defensive boxing master, Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker.