Chamuekpet Hapalang

Vichean Bootdee was born in Amphoe Si Racha, Chonburi province, Thailand on August 10, 1962. He was inspired to take up Muay Thai by watching his older brother train in the Sor.Worakulchai Muay Thai gym. He was later recruited by the famous Dieselnoi Chor.Thanasukarn who was also training at the Sor.Worakulchai camp at the time; Dieselnoi would then become Bootdee's mentor and teammate.[1] After taking the ring name of "Chamuekpet Sor.Worakulchai" as suggested by Dieselnoi, he began taking Muay Thai fights at the age of 11 in his neighborhood.[2] Before becoming an elite Bangkok fighter, he fought in Mueang Chon Buri and Pattaya until he ran out of opponents. He would then fight near and in Khon Kaen for 2–3 years.[3]

Afterward he traveled along with his older brother to Bangkok and made his debut at the prestigious Rajadamnern Stadium in late 1978. He won his first title in the Pinweight division at 17-years-old by defeating a peak Samart Payakaroon by decision in 1980, a fight that Chamuekpet himself doubted he could win. He and Samart would fight 2 more times, resulting in the two becoming best friends.[3]

During the 1970s to 1980s Chamuekpet was a Muay Bouk and Muay Khao hybrid fighter which meant that he was a pressure fighter who used a wide variety of strikes, especially knee strikes. While he was an adept clinch fighter like most Muay Khao fighters, he was known to throw straight knee strikes that did not always require clinching. Most Muay Khao fighters would rely on brute strength in order to land knees but Chamuekpet would change his style in order to find new ways to land straight knees into his opponent's sternums,[4] thus Chamuekpet received the nickname of Khun Khao Computer (Mr. Computer Knee) during the early 1980s. During this time he was also described as one of the three fighters to have the best teeps (push kicks) in Thailand; the other two were Samart Payakaroon and "Mr. Teep" Chanchai Sor.Tamarangsri.[5][6]

Chamuekpet was described in Thailand to have a "strong mind" meaning that he had a strong chin, ability to resist pain, and stamina that allowed him to last for all rounds of a fight, suiting his pressuring Muay Bouk style. In the 1990s, Samart Payakaroon advised Chamuekpet to stop taking unnecessary damage if he wanted to continue his Muay Thai career. Samart would then teach Chamuekpet the rope-a-dope Muay Femur style wherein Chamuekpet would keep his back close to the ropes of the ring and only throw strikes if necessary.[5][7]

Despite the massive change to his style, Chamuekpet would retain his disruptive teeps and well-timed straight knees. Chamuekpet would take advantage of his new fighting style to win 2 more belts in 2 weight classes. Even as Chamuekpet preferred to back away from his opponents to avoid getting hit, he would still be mostly unaffected by his opponent's successful strikes and as a result he was described in Thai as being "slow to lose."[5] His teeps and knees were his favorite techniques.[8]

Chamuekpet and Dieselnoi were purchased from the Sor.Worakulchai gym and transferred to the Hapalang gym where they would train during the 1980s. They would then become teammates with Panomtuanlek Hapalang who was also an elite Muay Khao fighter like them. The three of them would also represent the Sor.Sirinan and Sor.Thanikul gyms, but they only represented these gyms by name as they were still mostly training at the Hapalang camp.[1][9] In 1985 Chamuekpet would win the highly prestigious Fighter of the Year title by the Sports Writers Association of Thailand, the most respected variant of the Fighter of the Year award in Muay Thai history.[10]

He was consistently matched up against best possible opponents in the weight classes that he was in[11] such as Samart and Kongtoranee Payakaroon, Oley Kiatoneway, Samransak Muangsurin, Jaroenthong Kiatbanchong, Wangchannoi Sor.Palangchai, etc. In his first fight against Langsuan Panyuthaphum on March 4, 1988 in Lumpinee Stadium, his manager Chaiwat "Ngo Hapalang" Phalungwattanakit was publicly murdered while watching him fight.[12] The two fighters would later rematch with Chamuekpet emerging as the victor.[9]

During the golden era of Muay Thai, Chamuekpet broke the record for the highest number of accumulated belts from the Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadiums which are the 2 most prestigious Muay Thai venues in Thailand. He won 4 Lumpinee and 5 Rajadamnern belts across 7 weight classes,[3] a record that is still unbeaten.

Chamuekpet's time at the elite level of the Bangkok circuit was unusually long, as by the 1990s, almost all elite fighters of Chamuekpet's age had retired.[13] Despite often being around 10 years older than his opponents at this time, Chamuekpet would still be able to defeat younger elite fighters such as Chaidet Kiatcharnsing, Muangfahlek Kiatvichian, and Paidaeng Lerksak Gym (Paidaeng Devy). The Thai media would then label him as "Evergreen" or "Mr. Young Forever."[5][6]

In 1996 Chamuekpet began to have professional boxing fights and trained at Singwangcha gym under the ring name of "Chamuekpet Singwangcha." He would win the PABA Featherweight championship in 1997 defended it 4 times before relinquishing the title. Chamuekpet would have his last fight in 2000 against kickboxer Kensaku Maeda and won despite having his arm broken during the bout. Chamuekpet would retire from combat sports due to the injury.[11] Chamuekpet is one of the few Muay Thai fighters who fought at the elite level for around 15 years or longer; others include Vicharnnoi Porntawee, Saenchai, Detduang Por.Pongsawang, and Thongchai Tor.Silachai. These fighters are colloquially known in Thailand as muay amata (immortal fighters).

After retirement Chamuekpet set up a Muay Thai gym in Tokyo, Japan and became a well-known Muay Thai trainer in the country along with numerous other former fellow Muay Thai fighters.[11][8] He fought in the Muay Thai scoring system and rules for at least 200 times.[14][7]

• Lumpinee Stadium
  • 1980 Lumpinee Stadium Pinweight (102 lbs) Champion (one defense)
  • 1981 Lumpinee Stadium Light Flyweight (108 lbs) Champion
  • 1982 Lumpinee Stadium Flyweight (112 lbs) Champion
  • 1983 Lumpinee Stadium Bantamweight (118 lbs) Champion
• Rajadamnern Stadium
  • 1980 Rajadamnern Stadium Mini flyweight (104 lbs) Champion (one defense)
  • 1989 Rajadamnern Stadium Junior Featherweight (122 lbs) Champion
  • 1990 Rajadamnern Stadium Featherweight (126 lbs) Champion
  • 1994 Rajadamnern Stadium Junior Featherweight (122 lbs) Champion
  • 1994 Rajadamnern Stadium Featherweight (126 lbs) Champion
• Sports Writers Association of Thailand
  • 1985 Fighter of the Year
  • 1994 Fight of the Year (vs Chaidet Kiatcharnsing on July 27, 1994 for the Rajadamnern Featherweight title)

• 1997-1998 PABA Featherweight (126 lbs) Champion (four defenses)