Chartchai Chionoi (; ) a.k.a. Chartchai Laemfapha (; ) or birth name Naris Chionoi (; ; October 10, 1942 – January 21, 2018) was a Thai professional boxer, WBC world champion and WBA world champion in the flyweight division. He took the WBC World Flyweight Championship two successive times and the WBA Championship one time before finally relinquishing it.
Early life He was born into a poor family near Hua Lamphong quarter in Bangkok. Later, he moved with his family to settle down on the Thonburi side close to Wat Mai Phiren temple, where he started boxing for the first time in the event organized by the Royal Thai Navy.
Professional career Chartchai Chionoi was the second world boxing champion from Thailand, following his idol Pone Kingpetch. Unlike most Thai fighters, Chartchai was never involved in the Thai combat art Muay Thai.
Chartchai Chionoi turned pro on March 27, 1959, with a second-round knockout over Somsak Kritsanasuwan. He went 7-0-1 in his first eight pro fights, with a six-round draw against Sala Kampuch the only blemish. In his ninth professional fight, he lost a 6-round decision to Singtong Por Tor. He avenged this loss five years later with a 10-round decision against Por Tor.
Chionoi traveled to Japan for his next 11 fights, going 8 and 3 in the process. All three of his losses were by 10-round decisions, including a loss at the hands of the reigning OPBF Jr. Featherweight Champion Haruo Sakamoto. The other two fighters that defeated Chionoi during this time, Mitsunori Seki and Akira Oguchi, lost rematches with him.
After fighting in Japan for a year, Chionoi returned to his native Thailand for his next four fights, his only loss to Ernesto Miranda, whom he later defeated in a rematch.
On September 22, 1962, in Quezon City, Philippines, Chionoi met Primo Famiro for the vacant OPBF Flyweight Championship. Chionoi decisioned Famiro over twelve rounds to capture the vacant title. In July of the following year, Chionoi lost his first defense of the OPBF Flyweight Championship in a decision to Tsuyoshi Nakamura in Osaka, Japan. Nakamura made ten successful defenses of the OPBF Championship, before finally losing it in October 1969.
Chionoi went 19-2-1 over the next three years to earn his first world title shot. During that stretch, he won a 10-round decision over WBA and WBC Flyweight Champion Salvatore Burruni. Burruni had captured his world titles by defeating Chionoi's predecessor, Pone Kingpetch, in April 1965.
On December 30, 1966, Chionoi challenged the World Flyweight Champion Walter McGowan (lineal champion, recognized by EBU, BBBofC and The Ring). He stopped McGowan in the 9th round to capture the vacant WBC Flyweight Title, his first world title."Ring Results" The Associated Press, December 31, 1966 Spokane Daily Chronicle, newspaper in Spokane, Washington, United States."Last Night's Fights" December 31, 1966 Youngstown Vindicator, newspaper in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. Chionoi made four successful title defenses during this first reign as champion, including victories over McGowan in their rematch, and Efren Torres.
On February 23, 1969, Chionoi lost his title to Efren Torres in a rematch. The fight was stopped in the 8th round because Chionoi's left eye had swollen shut. He won two out of three fights to earn a rematch with Torres.
In March 1970 in front of over 40,000 of his countrymen, Chionoi won a 15-round unanimous decision over Torres in their rubber match, to once again claim the WBC Flyweight Championship. He won by scores of 148–142, 147-144 and 145–141. His second title reign was short lived.
In his first title defense, Chionoi was knocked out by Erbito Salavarria in the second round. Salavarria made several successful title defenses before losing the WBC Flyweight Championship; he later reigned as WBA Flyweight Champion as well.
Undeterred by losing the WBC Flyweight Championship for a second time, Chionoi went undefeated in his next six fights to secure a title shot against long time WBA Flyweight Champion Masao Ohba. On January 2, 1973, Chionoi faced Ohba in a very memorable fight. Chionoi put Ohba on the canvas early, but the champion rebounded and stopped Chionoi in the 12th round.
Ohba died in an auto accident 22 days after this fight. As a result, Chionoi was paired against Fritz Chervet in May 1973 for the vacant title. He knocked out Chervet in the 5th round to capture his third World Flyweight Championship.
Two successful defenses of his WBA Flyweight Championship followed, before Chionoi lost it on the scales in October 1974. Despite being stripped of the title, he still fought Susumu Hanagata in a fight that was for the vacant WBA Flyweight Title, at least on Hanagata's part. Hanagata stopped Chionoi in the 6th round to walk away the WBA Flyweight Champion.
After losing his third World title, Chionoi won a ten-round decision over Willie Asuncion, then lost by knockout to Rodolfo Francis in August 1975. He retired from boxing after this loss, finishing with a career record of 61-18-3 (36).
Retirement Chionoi lived a comfortable life in retirement with his wife of over 45 years, spending as much time as possible with their four children. Despite some lasting ill effects from his years as a boxer, he had fond memories of his career, and no regrets.
He had lasting effects from Parkinson's disease, including come paralysis, a by-product of his boxing career.
He died on the evening of January 21, 2018, at 75 years old.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound(s)DateLocationNotes82Loss61–18–3 Rodolfo FrancisTKO6 (10)Aug 16, 1975 81Win61–17–3 Willie AsuncionPTS10Apr 11, 1975 80Loss60–17–3 Susumu HanagataKO6 (15)Oct 18, 1974 79Win60–16–3 Fritz ChervetSD15Apr 27, 1974 78Loss59–16–3 Fernando CabanelaUD10Jan 29, 1974 77Win59–15–3 Susumu HanagataUD15Oct 27, 1973 76Win58–15–3 Fritz ChervetRTD4 (15)May 17, 1973 75Loss57–15–3 Masao ObaKO12 (15)Jan 2, 1973 74Win57–14–3 Esteban RangelKO2 (10)Oct 18, 1972 73Win56–14–3 Shiomi TanakaPTS10Jul 5, 1972 72Win55–14–3 Edmundo EjandraTKO9 (10)Apr 5, 1972 71Win54–14–3 Kenji EndoPTS10Jan 31, 1972 70Win53–14–3 Berkrerk ChartvanchaiPTS10Nov 15, 1971 WBA flyweight title eliminator69Draw52–14–3 Snappy AsanoPTS10Apr 19, 1971 68Loss52–14–2 Erbito SalavarriaTKO2 (15)Dec 7, 1970 67Win52–13–2 Al DiazPTS10Jun 19, 1970 66Win51–13–2 Efren TorresUD15Mar 20, 1970 65Win50–13–2 Ely AxintoKO6 (10)Jan 13, 1970 64Win49–13–2 Rudy AlarconKO9 (10)Sep 7, 1969 63Loss48–13–2 Willy Del PradoUD10Jun 24, 1969 62Loss48–12–2 Efren TorresTKO8 (15)Feb 23, 1969 61Win48–11–2 Bernabe VillacampoUD15Nov 10, 1968 60Loss47–11–2 Eduardo MojicaUD10Jun 8, 1968 59Win47–10–2 Efren TorresTKO13 (15)Jan 28, 1968 58Win46–10–2 Mimoun Ben AliKO4 (10)Dec 8, 1967 57Win45–10–2 Walter McGowanTKO7 (15)Sep 19, 1967 56Win44–10–2 Puntip KeosuriyaKO3 (15)Jul 26, 1967 55Win43–10–2 Baby LoronaUD10Feb 28, 1967 54Win42–10–2 Bonny BoromeoTKO4 (10)Feb 3, 1967 53Win41–10–2 Walter McGowanTKO9 (15)Dec 30, 1966 52Win40–10–2 Terry GoKO6 (10)Nov 15, 1966 51Win39–10–2 Saknoi Sor KosumKO1 (10)Aug 16, 1966 50Win38–10–2 Chaythong SingchiopleongKO3 (10)May 21, 1966 49Win37–10–2 Clever LunaKO4 (10)Apr 10, 1966 48Win36–10–2 Ernesto MirandaPTS10Mar 15, 1966 47Win35–10–2 Salvatore BurruniUD10Feb 8, 1966 46Win34–10–2 Pornchai Poprai ngamKO1 (10)Jan 7, 1966 45Win33–10–2 Michel LamoraPTS10Sep 28, 1965 44Loss32–10–2 Hajime TarouraPTS10Aug 22, 1965 43Win32–9–2 Cherry MontanoKO2 (?)Jul 8, 1965 42Win31–9–2 Cherry MontanoKO2 (10)Jun 10, 1965 41Win30–9–2 Rudy VillagonzaKO3 (10)May 12, 1965 40Win29–9–2 Rudy VillagonzaTKO4 (10)Apr 24, 1965 39Win28–9–2 Singtong Por TorPTS10Feb 2, 1965 38Win27–9–2 Anandech SithhiranPTS10Sep 12, 1964 37Loss26–9–2 Bernardo CaraballoPTS10Jul 12, 1964 36Win26–8–2 Little ParamountKO2 (10)Jun 10, 1964 35Win25–8–2 Rudy VillagonzaPTS10Feb 8, 1964 34Win24–8–2 Pat GonzalesKO7 (10)Jan 7, 1964 33Win23–8–2 Leo MacamlintonPTS10Nov 21, 1963 32Draw22–8–2 PTS10Aug 28, 1963 31Win22–8–1 Tadao KawamuraPTS10Jul 26, 1963 30Loss21–8–1 Takeshi NakamuraPTS12Jul 7, 1963 29Loss21–7–1 Takeshi NakamuraPTS10Jun 7, 1963 28Win21–6–1 Seisaku SaitoTKO8 (10)Feb 19, 1963 27Loss20–6–1 Hiroyuki EbiharaUD12Dec 31, 1962 26Win20–5–1 Baby EspinosaKO6 (10)Oct 4, 1962 25Win19–5–1 Primo FamiroPTS12Sep 22, 1962 24Loss18–5–1 Ernesto MirandaPTS10Jul 12, 1962 23Win18–4–1 Mitsunori SekiMD10Apr 24, 1962 22Win17–4–1 Kyo NoguchiPTS10Dec 9, 1961 21Win16–4–1 Akira OguchiTKO5 (10)Sep 28, 1961 20Win15–4–1 Masao OgawaRTD5 (10)Sep 7, 1961 19Loss14–4–1 Haruo SakamotoPTS10Aug 17, 1961 18Win14–3–1 Masakatsu KurokiRTD7 (10)Jul 21, 1961 17Loss13–3–1 Akira OguchiPTS10Jun 8, 1961 16Win13–2–1 Shotaro AidaKO2 (10)May 15, 1961 15Win12–2–1 Kazuyoshi AmadaTKO6 (10)Apr 19, 1961 14Loss11–2–1 Mitsunori SekiUD10Jan 4, 1961 13Win11–1–1 Masao OgawaPTS10Dec 4, 1960 12Win10–1–1 Yoshikatsu FurukawaPTS8Oct 19, 1960 11Win9–1–1 Atsuto FukumotoTKO2 (10)Sep 29, 1960 10Win8–1–1 Masanobu KambayashiKO8 (10)Sep 2, 1960 9Loss7–1–1 Singtong Por TorPTS6Aug 1, 1960 8Win7–0–1 Suparit BenjamasitKO4 (6)Jun 4, 1960 7Win6–0–1 Willy LertritKO2 (6)Feb 2, 1960 6Win5–0–1 Wan WanphoPTS6Dec 29, 1959 5Win4–0–1 Yu SamangKO2 (6)Nov 1, 1959 4Win3–0–1 Opas RorsorporPTS6Sep 27, 1959 3Draw2–0–1 Sala KampuchPTS6May 31, 1959 2Win2–0 Surin PraromdeeKO2 (?)Apr 8, 1959 1Win1–0 Somsak KritsanasuwanKO2 (6)Mar 27, 1959
See also List of flyweight boxing champions List of WBC world champions
References
External links
Chartchai Chionoi - CBZ Profile