Somboon Pantasi (; born July 11, 1972), best known as Samson Isaan (), is a Thai former professional Muay Thai fighter and boxer. He is a former Lumpinee Stadium and Rajadamnern Stadium champion across two weight divisions, the 1991 Sports Writers Association of Thailand Fighter of the Year, and the 1994–2002 WBF Super Flyweight champion in boxing.
As a Muay Thai fighter, his official ring name was Saenmuangnoi Lukjaopormehasak () and as a boxer he was internationally known under the ring name of Samson Dutch Boy Gym ().
Early life
Childhood and beginning of Muay Thai career
Somboon Pantasi was born on July 11, 1972 in Changhan district, Roi Et province in the Isaan region. His father, Naipon, and his mother, Laem raised cows and farmed. He and his 8 siblings lived in poverty in Ban Bak in tambon Phak Waen. Laem died when Pantasi was 6 years old. After completing primary school, he could not continue his education since his family could not afford it. Since becoming a Muay Thai fighter was the only option he had to escape poverty, he started training at home and began his Muay Thai career at the age of 12 under the ring name of "Ayjoy Sitsiansai". After achieving a winning streak starting with his first fight, he joined the Sitkru-Am gym and began training under Pratan Chantaret. He then adopted the ring name of "Saenmuangnoi Sitkru-Am". He later transferred to and began living in the popular Lukjaopormehasak gym which was owned by Prisak "Pele" Inthapan. There, Pantasi would become a teammate of Yodkhunpon Sittraiphum and changed his ring name to "Saenmuangnoi Lukjaopormehasak". During his time fighting in the Isaan region, the only fighter who was able to beat Pantasi was Saenklai Sit Kru Od.
In the Lukjaopormehasak gym, Pantasi became more adept with pressure fighting and punching under Apisit Petsanghan and his kicking style was taught to him by Tawat Petsanghan. He would jog for 8-10 laps around the Bueng Planchai park every morning and again for 2 laps in the afternoon, totaling around 11–12 mi (18–20 km) every day. He would sleep at noon, resumed his training at 2 PM, and ended his training at 7 PM by throwing hundreds of knee strikes on punching bags. Pantasi ate all his meals in the Bandit restaurant owned by Khundaeng Inthapan, Prisak's wife. He helped run the restaurant when he was able. Onesongchai was Pantasi's first Muay Thai promotion. The promotion initially wanted him to take fights in Bangkok, but it was believed that Pantasi's short stature, dark skin, and facial features would prevent him from becoming popular in the capital city. The promotion instead had him take fights in the Samrong Stadium in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region where he would begin his rise to fame. His forward fighting style attracted high numbers of audiences and resulted in the nickname of "Samson Isaan" (translates to "Samson of Isaan") based on the biblical figure of the same name. This nickname has been anglicized in multiple ways such as "Samson E-sarn", "Samson Isan", "Samson Esarn", etc.
Rise to popularity in Bangkok
Pantasi was an orthodox fighter when he was younger but later switched to southpaw. Notably, he fought in an orthodox stance at 17-years-old for the 100 lbs (45.36 kg) Thailand title in 1989 against Rittidej Sor.Ploenchit. Pantasi eventually ran out of opponents in the Samrong Stadium, hence he started fighting for the Petchyindee promotion and began competing primarily in the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. Due to his popularity, each of his fights produced around a million baht or more in profit for the stadium. From 1990–1992, Pantasi was earning between ฿100,000 to ฿250,000 (equivalent to ฿ to ฿ in ) per fight.
Pantasi was a Muay Bouk and Muay Khao hybrid fighter meaning that he was a pressure fighter who was also adept at knee fighting in the clinch. 1991 was the most significant period of Pantasi's career as he had 11 fights with no losses. Pantasi had what is considered to be one of the best fights in his career against Veeraphol Sahaprom with the Super Flyweight Muay Thai World title at stake. Pantasi knocked him out with punches. In his next fight, Pantasi would win the Lumpinee Bantamweight title against Saenklai Sit Kru Od by way of knockout. He was 19-years-old when he was awarded the 1991 Fighter of the Year Award by the Sports Writers Association of Thailand, the most prestigious Muay Thai accolade at the time.
1992 was also a significant year of Pantasi's Muay Thai career. He extended his win streak by beating Muay Bouk fighter Chartchainoi Chaorai-Oi. The streak was broken by Muay Khao fighter Langsuan Panyuthaphum; Pantasi was then awarded , the highest fight purse in his Muay Thai career despite losing. In between his 2 losses to Jaroensak Kiatnakornchon, Pantasi was able to beat knockout artist Lakhin Wassandasit who had just won the Isuzu tournament and was at his top form at the time. Taweesaklek Ploysakda had his final fight against Pantasi. In their bout, Taweesaklek's lingering injury on his left eye was aggravated and had to be treated by surgeries. He retired afterwards. Lakhin then had his rematch in August wherein he became the first person to knock down Pantasi. The third match between them had the Rajadamnern Super Flyweight title at stake; Pantasi won the fight by decision. He concluded his trilogy against Jaroensak by knocking him out.
Final Muay Thai fights before career switch
After starting 1993 by knocking out Kiewmorakot Praianan and beating Dara-ek Sitrungsap, he had a 4-fight losing streak, during which Veerapol became the first person to knock out Pantasi. Pantasi then went into a 4-fight win streak afterwards. For his final fight of that year, he and his opponent Detduang Por.Pongsawang were awarded the Lumpinee Stadium Fight of the Year award for their bout in December. Pantasi would only have 3 Muay Thai fights in 1994, retiring from the sport after losing to Dara-ek in May.
He and Saenklai Sit Kru Od were noted for their 11-fight rivalry that ended with Pantasi getting 5 wins and Saenklai getting 6. Pantasi was possibly matched up against Karuhat Sor.Supawan but the two never fought. His knockout victories against Veerapol and Pepsi Biyapan were considered to be the best fights in his Muay Thai career. He was 22-years-old when he switched to boxing.
Boxing career
Shifting his focus to boxing, he changed his ring name to "Samson" which was previously a nickname but not his official ring name. As a boxer, he would also represent various Thailand-based companies in his ring name. Krating Daeng, 3K Battery (SamK Battery), Dutch Boy, and Toyota-Thailand either owned or sponsored boxing gyms which Pantasi represented. Within Thailand, his most referred-to boxing ring name was "Samson Krating Daeng Gym", meanwhile he was mainly referred to internationally as "Samson Dutch Boy Gym". Pantasi's first boxing fight was held in 1992, in the middle of his prime Muay Thai years. He would only resume boxing 2 months after his final Muay Thai fight in 1994.
In his 3rd professional boxing fight, Pantasi beat his first top opponent, Philippine champion Dan Nietes, by decision. He won the minor World Boxing Federation (WBF) World Super Flyweight title by TKO in September 1994 in his fourth boxing fight. He had his first title defense against Indonesian challenger Ippo Gala in 1994 in Chiang Rai on the undercard of Johnny Nelson vs. Nikolay Kulpin. In total, he had 38 consecutive defenses. Pantasi had most or all his boxing fights in the super flyweight division where it was difficult to find reputable opponents. He usually faced weaker boxers but also was able to beat some top opponents such as Cruz Carbajal, Hugo Rafael Soto, and Diosdado Gabi. He held his super flyweight title for 8 years. His boxing fights generated millions of baht in profit.
Pantasi was criticized for not competing in larger boxing organizations. The Petchyindee promotion had brought him to the United States to negotiate his fight under Don King and the president of the World Boxing Council (WBC) José Sulaimán, but the negotiations were unsuccessful. In 1998, Pantasi was involved in a car accident and had to get rib surgery afterward. Despite the injury, he continued defending his WBF belt and retired from boxing in 2002 with no losses. Pantasi's purses in professional boxing were the highest in his life, reaching around ฿1,000,000 per fight. He also received gold necklaces from each of his boxing sponsors. Upon finishing his combat sports career, it was rumored that he had over ฿20,000,000 in assets.
In the middle of his boxing career, Pantasi starred in a low-budget biographical film titled Leut Isaan (Blood of Isaan). In it, he played an interpretation of himself named Samson Leut Isaan. The film was shot over 3 days and was not released in theatres.
Life after retirement from combat sports
Pantasi married his wife Charipda, a police officer, in around 1998. Their daughter, Suchanya Pantasi received her college degree from Srinakharinwirot University in 2021. Pantasi attempted to run a grocery store but was unsuccessful. As of 2017, he co-owns a restaurant with Charipda and drives taxis as a side job. He considers himself to be living a happy life.
Post-retirement Muay Thai fights
In late 2004, on the 48th anniversary of the Lumpinee Stadium, Pantasi participated in a Muay Thai fight against his role model "Rambo" Pongsiri Por.Ruamrudee. Pantasi and Veerapol had their 3rd fight in Rajadamnern Stadium on December 27, 2017 arranged by Petchyindee promotion. Both fighters received a fixed purse of ฿300,000. Before the fight, both men received the Best Boxer of the Country award by the Creative Media for Boxing in Thailand organization. Under the ring name of "Samson Petchyindee", he won by decision.
Titles and accomplishments
Muay Thai
Lumpinee Stadium 1991 Lumpinee Stadium Bantamweight Champion 1993 Lumpinee Stadium Fight of the Year (vs. Detduang Por.Pongsawang on December 10) Rajadamnern Stadium 1992 Rajadamnern Stadium Super Flyweight Champion Sports Writers Association of Thailand 1991 Sports Writers Association of Thailand Fighter of the Year
Boxing
World Boxing Federation 1994–2002 World Super Flyweight Champion (1 time, 38 defenses) Creative Media for Boxing in Thailand Best Boxer of the Country (award shared with Veeraphol Sahaprom)
Professional boxing record