Sura Saenkham (; born 15 May 1959), known professionally as Khaosai Galaxy (, ) is a Thai former professional boxer and Muay Thai fighter who competed between 1980 and 1991. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) super-flyweight title from 1984 and 1991. Khaosai and his twin brother Khaokor Galaxy became the first twins to win a boxing world title.
He is listed #19 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and named him the 43rd greatest fighter of the past 80 years in 2002. As of 2022, BoxRec rates him as the best Thai boxer of all time, pound for pound.
Muay Thai career Khaosai Galaxy, born Sura Saenkham () in Phetchabun province, northern Thailand, began his fighting career as a Muay Thai fighter in the early 1980s. He fought under the ring names Daoden Muangsithep () and Khaosai Wangchomphu. (). Later, he adopted the name Galaxy from a restaurant and nightclub owned by a friend of his manager.
Renowned for his devastating punching power, especially his soon-to-be-legendary left hand, Khaosai was advised by his manager and trainer to switch to the Marquess of Queensberry rules, and began training in western-style boxing.
He credited his mother as his first trainer. A passionate boxing and Muay Thai fan, she was inspired by the rise of Pone Kingpetch, Thailand's first world champion, who was becoming a national hero around the time Khaosai and his twin brother Kaokor Galaxy were born. Driven by her enthusiasm, she began training her sons from a young age, waking them at 4:00 a.m. to run before school and supporting their boxing journey in every way. Tragically, she died before witnessing Khaosai's rise to world champion.
Boxing style Lacking the amateur boxing experience common to most Western professional boxers, Khaosai's skills originally were limited, and he relied on toughness and his fearsome punching power to win. His southpaw style was based on closing his opponent and firing his left hand whenever he saw an opening. His right hand was used mainly to judge the distance for his left. He also studied recorded fights of renowned world champions such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler, which helped him refine his skills and expand his tactical understanding in the ring.
As he gained experience, Khaosai began to develop into a more refined boxer, learning combination punching to complement his deadly left. His favorite punch, a straight left to the midsection, translates roughly as "the left hand that drills intestines". Incredibly strong, he was never out-muscled, while opponents who tried the traditional stick-and-move techniques found he had quick feet and was able to block their movements.
Professional boxing career Khaosai began his international style boxing career in December 1980. He won all of his first six fights, which earned him a shot at the Thailand bantamweight (118-pound) title on 1981 against Sakda Saksuree. He lost on a points decision. It was to be the last fight he would ever lose in the ring.
Khaosai won his next three fights and claimed the Thai bantamweight title in 1982. He won 15 consecutive fights by knockout and climbed in the world rankings to become super-flyweight WBA world champion Jiro Watanabe's mandatory challenger by the summer of 1984.
When Watanabe failed to defend his title against Khaosai, the WBA stripped him and matched Khaosai against undefeated Eusebio Espinal for the vacant championship on 1984. Khaosai knocked out Espinal in the sixth round, beginning the longest title reign in his division's history.
Khaosai defended his WBA title 19 times over the next seven years, winning 16 of his title fights by knockouts. In the mid-1980s, when world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was in his prime and scoring knockouts over everyone, boxing fans nicknamed Khaosai The Thai Tyson for knockout wins.
Khaosai fought only once outside of Asia, when he defended his title in 1986 against unbeaten (and future WBA bantamweight titleholder) Israel Contreras in Curaçao. He had two title fights in Kōbe, Japan, one in South Korea and one at Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia. The rest were in Thailand, where he often fought for purses in excess of $100,000 in front of huge crowds. That, plus the fact that few top fighters anywhere were willing to challenge Khaosai, made him relatively unknown in the West.
In 1988, his twin younger brother, fighting under the name Kaokhor Galaxy, captured the WBA bantamweight title, making the Galaxy brothers (Saenkham brothers) the first twins to ever be world boxing champions.
Retirement He fought for the last time on December 22, 1991, in Bangkok, beating Armando Castro over 12 rounds. A few weeks later, he announced his retirement with a record of 47 wins against only one defeat, and never attempted a comeback.
Life after boxing Not long after his retirement to the boxing profession, Khaosai chose to take part in the Thai entertainment industry. He first took a shot at the music industry, releasing a single, "Khob Khun Krub", meaning "Thank You", then began taking part in TV series and movies, particularly comedies. His first role as an actor occurred during the TV series Poot Mae Nam Khong (1992 version), which was then followed by Mon Rak Luk Thung (1995 version), The Legend of Suriyothai (2001), and The Bodyguard (2004) etc. In 2005, while he was taking part in a film, he was punched in the face by a drunken fan, who wished to obtain Khaosai's shirt for collection but was denied. The incident made frontline news, which displayed a photo of Khaosai, with a bandage on his face but smiling and standing next to the drunk man.
In 2006, he starred in a music video for a song by fellow boxers Somluck Kamsing and Samart Payakaroon. In the video, Khaosai portrayed a shy man being approached by a young woman.
After retirement, he married Yumiko Ota, a Japanese woman whom he had met during a trip to Kōbe, Japan, for his second fight with Kenji Matsumura in 1989. The couple lived together for only one year before divorcing.
He later married a woman from Buriram, Sureerat "Fah" Saenkham (née Niwesram). Although they had no children together, Khaosai chose to adopt his wife's nephew as his stepchild.
In March 2013, he made headlines again when he unexpectedly married Wannapa "Nung" Kamboonsri before legally divorcing his previous wife. That same year, he became a father for the first time at the age of 54 when his wife gave birth to a daughter. In 2016, they welcomed their second daughter at the end of the year.
Today, Khaosai owns two Muay Thai gyms, one in Bangkok, and another in Phuket. He also served as Denkaosan Kaovichit's trainer for a one-off bout against Takefumi Sakata in late 2008 in Yokohama, Japan. Denkaosan won by knockout in the second round, becoming the next WBA flyweight champion.
Beyond boxing and entertainment, Khaosai has also dabbled in politics. In the 2007 general election, he ran as a party-list candidate for the Puea Pandin Party but was unsuccessful. Later, in the 2011 general election, he ran for Chartthaipattana Party in his native Phetchabun's 2nd district, but garnered only 8,485 votes and did not win the seat.
Legacy Khaosai's unmatched fame helped spark a tradition unique to Thailand, in which politicians or private companies organized world title boxing matches and allowed the public to attend for free. In exchange, the sponsors received publicity on televised broadcasts, had their names announced, and presented gold necklaces or other gifts to the fighters before the bouts.
This tradition began with his ninth title defense at the Crocodile Farm, Samut Prakan in 1989, against South Korean challenger Chang Tae-il.
Also, it was often said that whenever Khaosai fought, traffic in Bangkok eased, because everyone hurried home to watch him on TV.
He was selected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1999 and remains a well‑known boxer throughout Thailand. His induction came nearly a decade after his retirement, an exceptional honor for Asian boxer. At the ceremony, fans queued for more than three hours to receive his autograph, and included many supporters who wished to show their respect.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes48Win47–1 Armando CastroUD1222 Dec 1991 47Win46–1 David GrimanTKO5 (12)20 Jul 1991 46Win45–1 Je Suk ParkTKO5 (12)7 Apr 1991 45Win44–1 Ernesto FordTKO6 (12)9 Dec 1990 44Win43–1 Yong Kang KimKO6 (12)29 Sep 1990 43Win42–1 Shunichi NakajimaTKO8 (12)30 Jun 1990 42Win41–1 Ari BlancaKO5 (12)29 Mar 1990 41Win40–1 Kenji MatsumuraTKO12 (12)31 Oct 1989 40Win39–1 Alberto CastroTKO10 (12)29 Jul 1989 39Win38–1 Kenji MatsumuraUD128 Apr 1989 38Win37–1 Chang Tae-ilKO2 (12)15 Jan 1989 37Win36–1 Choi Chang-hoTKO8 (12)9 Oct 1988 36Win35–1 Jun LlanoKO3 (10)12 Sep 1988 35Win34–1 Kap Sup SongKO7 (10)9 May 1988 34Win33–1 Kongtoranee PayakaroonUD1226 Jan 1988 33Win32–1 Byung-Kwan ChungTKO3 (12)12 Oct 1987 32Win31–1 Chung Sup ChunKO3 (10)26 Jun 1987 31Win30–1 Ellyas PicalTKO14 (15)28 Feb 1987 30Win29–1 Israel ContrerasKO5 (15)1 Nov 1986 29Win28–1 Edgar MonserratTKO2 (15)23 Dec 1985 28Win27–1 Rafael OronoTKO5 (15)21 Jul 1985 27Win26–1 Dong Chun LeeKO7 (15)6 Mar 1985 26Win25–1 Eusebio EspinalKO6 (15)21 Nov 1984 25Win24–1 Young Ri MoonKO2 (10)2 Sep 1984 24Win23–1 Val de VeraTKO7 (10)11 Jul 1984 23Win22–1 Jae Sung UhmPTS1014 Mar 1984 22Win21–1 Joe ShiranuiTKO4 (10)14 Dec 1983 21Win20–1 Gil RagasTKO7 (10)12 Oct 1983 20Win19–1 Park Chan-yongPTS103 Aug 1983 19Win18–1 Luis IbanezKO3 (10)10 May 1983 18Win17–1 Jose Luis SotoKO2 (10)23 Feb 1983 17Win16–1 Marciano SekiyamaKO4 (10)24 Dec 1982 16Win15–1 Mun Kyun JooKO4 (10)27 Nov 1982 15Win14–1 Willie JensenKO2 (10)13 Oct 1982 14Win13–1 Adan UribeKO4 (10)26 Aug 1982 13Win12–1 Agus SuyantoKO4 (10)14 Jul 1982 12Win11–1 Ali FormenteraKO5 (10)24 May 1982 11Win10–1 Yu-Ok JooKO4 (10)14 Apr 1982 10Win9–1 Katsuyuki OhashiKO3 (10)10 Mar 1982 9Win8–1 Sakdisamai ChorsiriratKO7 (10)25 Jan 1982 8Win7–1 Tsuguyuki TomaKO4 (10)14 Oct 1981 7Loss6–1 Sak GalaxyPTS1029 Jul 1981 6Win6–0 Phichitsuk KorusayarmPTS624 Jun 1981 5Win5–0 Thanee SingchaowalKO1 (6)10 Jun 1981 4Win4–0 Tordsakdi PornthaveeKO3 (6)13 May 1981 3Win3–0 Prasong SithkempetchKO1 (6)26 Jan 1981 2Win2–0 Sentiang SithkempetchKO2 (6)31 Dec 1980 1Win1–0 Pook SritamKO5 (6)17 Dec 1980
Muay Thai record
|- style="background:#fbb;" | 1980-09-09 || Loss ||align=left| Kongsadan Sor.Prateep || Lumpinee Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1980-08-22 || Win ||align=left| Pairatnoi Chuwattana || Lumpinee Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#c5d2ea;" | 1980-08-13 || NC ||align=left| Ek Sit Por Daeng || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Ek dismissed || 3 ||
|- style="background:#fbb;" | 1980-07-09 || Loss ||align=left| Pairatnoi Chuwattana || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1980-06-19 || Win ||align=left| Phonpichit Sor.Sermphong || || Thailand || KO || 4 ||
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1980-05-21 || Win ||align=left| Thongnoi Porntawee || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1980-04-12 || Win ||align=left| Sorram Sor.Kingstar || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1980-03-22 || Win ||align=left| Sakchan Pornthawee || || Phetchabun province, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1980-01-26 || Win ||align=left| Banyat Sor.Sitthichai || || Lom Sak district, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1979-07-15 || Win ||align=left| Yodpetch Porntawee || Rajadamnern Stadium || Bangkok, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1979-06-29 || Win ||align=left| Khwanjai Lukkhaoluk || || Phichit province, Thailand || Decision || 5 || 3:00
|- style="background:#cfc;"