Yokthai Sithoar
Manit Klinmee, known professionally as Yokthai Sithoar, is a Thai former professional Muay Thai fighter and boxer. He is a former Lumpinee Stadium Super Flyweight Champion and also a WBA World Super Flyweight Champion in boxing.
Biography and career
He was born in Chonburi Province, eastern Thailand, along with his brother Tappaya Sit-Or and his nephew Rambaa Somdet. He trained in Muay Thai since childhood, and they later became prominent and successful Muay Thai kickboxers.Yokthai became a famous Muay Thai fighter under Songchai Rattanasuban's stable. Known for the power of his punches, he often defeated his opponents by knockout. He received the nickname "The Hell Cyclone Fist" for his devastating punching power.
Because his fists were so effective, he was backed by his promoter, Songchai, to turn to a professional boxing career in 1994, along with Pichit Chor Siriwat, in the junior flyweight division, with Cuba's Ismael Salas as a trainer. He had four wins and captured the vacant PABA super flyweight title against a Russian boxer; he won his next five bouts, including three title defenses.
On August 24, 1996, Yokthai challenged for the WBA super flyweight world title against Venezuelan titleholder Alimi Goitia at Kamphaengphet Provincial Stadium, Kamphaeng Phet Province; he won by TKO in the eighth round. He became the second Thai boxer to capture the WBA super flyweight world title after the legendary Khaosai Galaxy.
He would defend his title four times, defeating famous boxers such as Aquiles Guzmán and Jesús "Kiki" Rojas. He later traveled to Japan, where he lost the title to Satoshi Iida, a Japanese boxer and an old rival with whom he had previously fought to a draw, by unanimous decision at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya on December 23, 1997. He returned to challenge for a world title again on April 23, 2000, against the new titleholder Hideki Todaka at Rainbow Hall, Nagoya; he was defeated by TKO in the 11th round.
He continued to fight several more times but was not as successful. He retired from professional boxing in mid-2004.
After retiring, Yokthai moved to Japan to work as a Muay Thai trainer in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, where he had his own Muay Thai gym. While in Japan, he returned to competition in 2008. He married a Japanese MMA fighter, Hikaru Shinohara. Yokthai competed in his lone mixed martial arts match against Shinya Aoki in 2010, where he lost via first-round submission.
Titles & honours
Muay Thai
Boxing
- Pan Asian Boxing Association
- * 1995 PABA Flyweight Champion
- World Boxing Association
- * 1996 WBA World Super Flyweight Champion
Boxing record
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 37 | Loss | 28-6-3 |  Muay Thai record! style=background:white colspan=9 |! style=background:white colspan=9 | ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |