Kunoi Vithichai ( th, กู้น้อย วิถีชัย; November 6, 1933 – January 3, 2008) was a former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. He fought in the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division in the 1950s–'60s.

Biography and career

Kunoi was born in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Yaowarat Yaowarat Road ( th, ถนนเยาวราช, ; ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading ...

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

, his parents are

Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...

immigrants living in Thailand. He had the birth name in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

"Aeayuh Sae-heng" (เอี้ยหยู แซ่เฮ้ง). He fights in the names "Kimyuh Vithichai" (กิมหยู วิถีชัย) and "Kunoi Vithichai" under Vithichai Boxing Gym by Chit Ampongsin as a trainer. He started with

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

by fighting regularly at

Rajadamnern Stadium Rajadamnern Stadium ( th, สนามมวยราชดำเนิน; ), also spelled ''Ratchadamnoen'', is a sporting arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Along with Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Rajadamnern is one of the two main stadiums for modern m ...

and changed into professional at a later time. He has been fighting with

Pone Kingpetch Pone Kingpetch ( th, โผน กิ่งเพชร, , ), born Mana Seedokbuab ( th, มานะ สีดอกบวบ, , ; February 12, 1935 – March 31, 1982), was a Thai professional boxer and three time world flyweight champion. Li ...

, a first world champion of Thailand, three times in 1956. At first, he was the winner by TKO (Pone's brows broken since the fifth round can't continue to fight) in the seventh round and won the Rajadamnern Stadium flyweight champion (comparable to Thailand champion). Second, he was defeated by knocked out in the sixth round at the ground in front of Lumpinee Park, and the last he was defeated by points decision over the 10 rounds lost the Rajadamnern Stadium flyweight champion. Later, he had three unsuccessful attempts at the

Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

flyweight title. And he also had twice boxes in the special bout against

Chartchai Chionoi Chartchai Chionoi ( th, ชาติชาย เชี่ยวน้อย; ) a.k.a. Chartchai Laemfapha ( th, ชาติชาย แหลมฟ้าผ่า; ) or birth name Naris Chionoi ( th, นริศ เชี่ยวน้อ� ...

before his retired in 1962. Kunoi is a fighter boxer with aggressive fighting style, many times he has to fight even though with less weight than his opponent. After Pone became a world champion, he had been interviewed. His best opponents are not Pascual Pérez, not

Fighting Harada Masahiko Harada (born April 5, 1943), better known as Fighting Harada, is a Japanese former professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the NYSAC, WBA, and ''The Ring'' undisputed flyweight titles from 1962 t ...

, but he is Kunoi Vithichai.''แชมป์โลกขวัญใจชาวไทยคนแรก รุ่นฟลายเวท 'เดอะริง' ''. "22 แชมป์โลกชาวไทย" นิตยสารคนเด็ด (เฉพาะกิจพิเศษ) โดย "ชายพจน์": ตุลาคม 38 หน้า 4-11.

Retirement and death

After retirement, he worked as a taxi driver for a while. Later, he worked as a driver for the Daily News newspaper and

Charoen Pokphand The Charoen Pokphand Group Company, Ltd. (CP) (; ) is a Thai conglomerate based in Bangkok. It is Thailand's largest private company and the largest privately held Royal Warrant holder of the Thai Royal Family. The company describes itself as havi ...

Company (CP). For the boxing circles he was a trainer for three Thai boxers who later became world champions viz

Saensak Muangsurin Saensak Muangsurin (แสนศักดิ์ เมืองสุรินทร์) (13 August 1950 – 16 April 2009) was a professional boxer from Phetchabun, Thailand. He was a Muay Thai fighter and professional boxer. He was WBC light w ...

Napa Kiatwanchai Napa Kiatwanchai (born July 27, 1967) is the former Lineal and WBC strawweight champion from Nakorn Rachasima (Korat) province, Thailand. Boxing career He was born in a Thai-Chinese family in Thailand and turned professional in 1987. The next ...

and Muangchai Kittikasem. He has four children, three sons and one daughter. His daughter, Busaba "TaNgaew" Mahattapong, was a famous and very popular

Channel V Thailand Channel Thailand was a music television channel. In August 2008 Channel Thailand moved studio and office from Sukhumvit 49/12 to Siam Discovery on 6th floor. Channel Thailand ended its exclusive broadcasting deal with TrueVision on 31 Au ...

's VJ in the 90s. Kunoi died on January 3, 2008, with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

that lasted more than four years, tote 74 years old, his official record to 8–10–0 (6KOs). But from his personal record to 77–14–4.''อำลาอาลัย กู้น้อย วิถีชัย อดีตแชมป์ 2 เวที คู่ปรับ โผน กิ่งเพชร''. หนังสือพิมพ์สยามกีฬา. ปีที่ 23 ฉบับที่ 8343. วันที่ 6 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551 หน้า 27.

Title and honour

*Rajadamnern Stadium Flyweight Champion (112 lbs) (1956) *Victory Jacket from Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vithichai, Kunoi Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 1933 births 2008 deaths Kunoi Vithichai Boxing trainers Kunoi Vithichai Flyweight boxers Kunoi Vithichai Kunoi Vithichai Kunoi Vithichai Deaths from dementia in Thailand