Pone Kingpetch


Pone Kingpetch, born Mana Seedokbuab, was a Thai professional boxer and three time Undisputed World Flyweight Champion.

Early life

Pone Kingpetch was the seventh of nine children born to Hoi and Riew Sidokbuap in the Hua Hin district. He attended Sathukarn Secondary School until the fourth grade before transferring to the Hua Hin District School, where he completed his ninth-grade studies. Kingpetch completed his secondary school education at Hua Hin Wittayalai School.
Kingpetch was extensively involved in many sports. But his favorite sport was always boxing, going on to tell his friends he would become the first boxing world champion from Thailand. At the time, Chamroen Songkitrat had unsuccessfully challenged for the world bantamweight championship three times from 1954 to 1955.

Boxing career

Early career

Pone Kingpetch turned to professional boxing and won the Thai flyweight title with a TKO victory over Kunoi Vithichai in April 1956. He defended the Thai title against Vithichai on October of that same year.
In January 1957, Pone Kingpetch defeated Danny Kid in Bangkok to win the OPBF flyweight title. He made one title defense of the OPBF belt against Hitoshi Misako in September 1957.
His ring name, 'Phon,' was given to him by his manager Thongthot Intharathat, the owner of the Kingpetch boxing gym. It was taken from the name of Major Phon Intharathat, Thongthot's younger brother, who had been a Free Thai member and was killed in the Palace Rebellion.

World flyweight champion

He became Thailand's first world boxing champion on April 16, 1960, when he defeated Pascual Pérez of Argentina at Lumphini Boxing Stadium in Bangkok for the world flyweight championship.
In his fourth title defense, he lost the title to Fighting Harada of Japan via 11th-round knockout on October 10, 1962. Pone Kingpetch regained the world championship after outpointing Harada in a rematch on January 12, 1963. However, his second reign proved to be short, as Hiroyuki Ebihara knocked Pone out in the first round to become the new world flyweight champion.
On February 14, 1963, with the creation of the World Boxing Council, Kingpetch was named the inaugural WBC world champions#Flyweight|WBC flyweight champion]. Several other champions had been named in some divisions while in others, the reigning champions fought for the inaugural title. In his final title win he defeated Ebihara in a rematch on January 23, 1964, to become a three-time world flyweight champion. After the win in Japan, he travelled to Italy to defend his title against Salvatore Burruni and lost a 15-round decision to the Italian in his final world title fight. He retired from the sport altogether in 1966 at the age of 31.

Later life and death

After retiring, the money he earned from his boxing career was invested into other businesses. However, the Manawitthaya School, which was built in his hometown during his career, had to be sold. His attempts at running other businesses resulted in financial losses, as Kingpetch proved inadept in the many aspects of business and trade.
Kingpetch was also afflicted with a chronic illness: diabetes. While having a family meal at home, he choked on his food, which got stuck in his windpipe. This resulted in rotting and blood poisoning, leading to Kingpetch's health deteriorating significantly as he was already suffering from both a cold and pneumonia. He was admitted to Ramathibodi Hospital, although his condition did not improve. Kingpetch died on March 31, 1982, from pneumonia and heart failure, He was 47.
Pone Kingpetch was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2023.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
35Win28–7Kumanthong YontarakitKO4 Apr 13, 1966 Phuket Province, Thailand
34Loss27–7Baby LoronaSD10Feb 17, 1966 Bangkok, Thailand
33Loss27–6Salvatore BurruniUD15Apr 23, 1965 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, ItalyLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring flyweight titles
32Win27–5Hiroyuki EbiharaSD15Jan 23, 1964Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, ThailandWon WBA, WBC, and The Ring flyweight titles
31Loss26–5Hiroyuki EbiharaKO1 Sep 18, 1963 Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring flyweight titles
30Win26–4Fighting HaradaMD15Jan 12, 1963National Stadium Gymnasium, Bangkok, ThailandWon WBA and The Ring flyweight titles
29Loss25–4Fighting HaradaKO11 Oct 10, 1962 Kokugikan, JapanLost WBA and The Ring flyweight titles
28Win25–3Kyō NoguchiUD15May 30, 1962 Kokugikan, JapanRetained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
27Win24–3Baby DemilonnezTKO8 Feb 19, 1962Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
26Win23–3Mitsunori SekiSD15Jun 27, 1961 Kokugikan, JapanRetained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
25Win22–3Jose Luis MartinezPTS10Mar 2, 1961 Bangkok, Thailand
24Win21–3Pascual PérezTKO8 Sep 22, 1960 Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
23Win20–3Pascual PérezSD15Apr 16, 1960Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, ThailandWon NBA and The Ring flyweight titles
22Win19–3Baby RossKO4 Jan 31, 1960 Bangkok, Thailand
21Win18–3Manuel ArmenterosPTS10Feb 17, 1959 Bangkok, Thailand
20Win17–3Dangtoy SingmorakotPTS8Nov 4, 1958 Bangkok, Thailand
19Win16–3Somyod SingmorakotKO5 Jun 28, 1958 Bangkok, Thailand
18Win15–3Masaji IwamotoPTS10Mar 14, 1958 Bangkok, Thailand
17Win14–3Dommy UrsuaTD5 Jan 11, 1958 Bangkok, Thailand
16Win13–3Hitoshi MisakoPTS12Sep 14, 1957 Bangkok, Thailand
15Loss12–3Leo EspinosaPTS12Jul 7, 1957 Bangkok, Thailand
14Win12–2Danny KidPTS12Jan 6, 1957 Bangkok, Thailand
13Win11–2Kunoi VithichaiPTS10Oct 14, 1956Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
12Win10–2Mintan KampuchKO4 Jul 22, 1956 Bangkok, Thailand
11Win9–2Kunoi VithichaiKO6 Jul 14, 1956Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
10Win8–2Porn PantukiatKO3 Jun 28, 1956 Bangkok, Thailand
9Win7–2Prayuth YontarakitPTS6Jun 3, 1956 Bangkok, Thailand
8Loss6–2Kunoi VithichaiTKO7 Apr 15, 1956Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
7Win6–1Boontam ViteechaiPTS6Feb 5, 1956 Bangkok, Thailand
6Win5–1Opas RorsorporPTS6Sep 29, 1955 Bangkok, Thailand
5Win4–1Dejnoi SorsorPTS6Aug 11, 1955 Bangkok, Thailand
4Win3–1Yutapon RaksuPTS6Mar 27, 1955 Bangkok, Thailand
3Loss2–1Suwan NapaponPTS6Feb 1, 1955 Bangkok, Thailand
2Win2–0Saotong TorsorPTS6Jul 1, 1954 Hua Hin, Thailand
1Win1–0Noknid SorsorKO2 May 1, 1954 Hua Hin, Thailand

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

Undisputed titles