Sean's email write-up of his first fight at Rajadamern, April 2005:
Before every fight I always try to calm myself down, try to control my nerves. I'll tell myself something like "It's no big deal, it's not like I'm fighting at Lumpinee, or Rajadamern or something. This is nothing. I can handle this no problem". I tell myself that the day I find myself in the ring in Lumpinee or Rajadamern, THEN I can feel nervous, but until then, it's just another fight. Well now I AM in the ring in Rajadamern, and surprisingly, I'm not nervous. I'm excited as hell, and bursting with pride that I've got the chance to fight here, but otherwise feel surprisingly calm. I run through my ritual dance, same as always, and finish by bowing into my corner as the Mongkon is removed. My cornerman Dorsak, a trainer at the camp and former world champion boxer, isn't one for drawn out pre-fight speeches.
"Okay Sean. Win."
First round starts in traditional Thai fashion, with neither of us throwing with any speed or power. Just testing each other a bit, we both exchange a few light low kicks, a few punches. We move into the clinch, but neither of us throws anything. Half way through the round he steps in, pulling my guard out the way with his left and lamping in a right cross. It glances off as I slip to the side. I respond with double-rhythm low kick, kicking out his standing leg as he tries to block. He's back on his feet pretty quick, and after after swinging in a couple of hard roundhouses to the body which I manage to bring my shin up to block, whips up his right leg into a high kick that would have taken my head off. I see it coming and front kick as his leg's in the air, putting him down for the second time. One good turn deserves another, so when he gets up I double rhythm a right low kick again and floor him for the third time. Towards the end of the round I landed some good box and low kick combinations, one two, right low, cross, uppercut, cross, right low again. He covers most of the punches, but dosn't defend his legs well and by the end of the round he's limping badly.
Second round. I get off to a good start, having more success with box and low combinations. Left jab. left inside low, cross, hook, right low. His lead leg is hurt, but he's still scoring with roundhouse kicks to the body. I've blocked them, but getting your arms to the kick instead of your shin dosn't count in Thailand, and he's still picking up points. He steps in to clinch. I scoop his left arm out the way and land a crisp right elbow on the side of the head, turn him on the ropes, and hammer in a solid side knee before the ref breaks us. We exchange a couple of kicks, then I step in high with my right leg, faking a knee, and as he goes to block, step forward and pound in a solid left front knee. It lands well, and as he steps back I cut across him with a right low. He half gets his shin to it, but goes over anyway. The ref starts counting, but he dosn't want to know and before I know it, it's all over.
And there it is. I'm in the ring at Rajadamern Stadium, and I've just won by TKO.
It all feels very strange. It wasn't a hard fight, not by a long shot. But it dosn't take away from the experience. If someone had told me when I started Muay Thai that one day I'd get the chance to fight at Rajadamern Stadium, I'd bever have believed them, but there I am. The next day I got my name in the paper. Just a wee footnote in the sports section saying a farrang called Chon from Sasiprapa won his fight at Rajadamern by TKO the night before. Not a big deal, but definitely a keeper I think.