Karuhat Sor.Supawan

Yoochumpon was born on May 22, 1968 in tambon Phon located in Khon Kaen province. After training Muay Thai for several months in the Sitkru-O Kongnachai gym, he had his first Muay Thai matchup at 13-years-old. He had his first fights under the ring name of Siannoi Sitkru-O Kongnachai or Siannoi Sor.Ponsaming.[1][2] His father was a fan of Muay Thai and encouraged him to continue fighting in his local area to lukewarm success. At this time he was a Muay Khao and Muay Femur hybrid which meant that he was a knee striker who also specialized in rope-a-dope fighting. He eventually stopped practicing the Muay Khao fighting style since its exhausting nature caused him to vomit during fights.[3] His father gave him the new ring name of Karuhat (translates to "castle" or "fortress"). He had 30 fights in Khon Kaen.[4]

2 years into his Muay Thai career, Karuhat moved to Bangkok to begin training under Choi Malithong in the Sor.Supawan/Sor.Kanokrat gym owned by Mrs. Suwimon Pinsathienket.[5] Karuhat would then change his ring name to Karuhat Sor.Supawan. He could not return home since he was constantly being given fights to prepare for. On top of being the youngest fighter in the camp when he first joined, he was also tasked with doing chores in the gym.[3] Karuhat would become popular after a successful run in the suburban Bangkok stadiums at 100 lbs/45.36 kg and later attracted further attention of the Thai audiences by beating Chatchai Sasakul AKA Nuengthoranee Petchyindee. He would later change his legal name to Chayakorn Yoochumpon.[4]

The first time Karuhat fought at one of the two most prestigious Muay Thai stadiums in Thailand was his Lumpinee Stadium debut in his rematch against Chatchai Sasakul. After defeating other elite fighters such as Toto Por.Pongsawang and Panomrunglek Chor.Sawat, he was eventually qualified to compete for Hippy Singmanee's Lumpinee mini flyweight title in 1987. Both showcased unusual techniques against each other, but Karuhat could not take his title.[6] They competed for the vacant junior flyweight title but Hippy beat him once again. Nevertheless, Karuhat's level of competition continued to grow as he was able to beat Parnpet Muangsurin and Morakot Sor.Tamarangsri; his talent prompted the Thai media to nickname him Sian Nuea Sian (The Master of Masters) among an array of other names referencing his skills. At this point he was already picked up by Onesongchai which was considered the best promotion of the golden era of Muay Thai.[7] While the Sor.Supawan gym also housed other reputable fighters, Karuhat would become its most famous representative.[2]

Karuhat's cornerwoman and boss Mrs. Suwimon Pinsathienket was often shooed away from his corner during fights as women were heavily discouraged by superstition from touching the ring,[8] but she would get on top of it anyway in order to give him advice between rounds. She would corner for him during the most significant wins in his career, often pounding the ring as she told him what to do.[9]

His most preferred techniques were low kicks and elbow strikes.[10] Karuhat was competent in switching stances whenever needed as he was proficient in fighting in both orthodox and southpaw.

Karuhat would enter the peak of his career in 1988 by beating Kaensak Sor.Ploenjit, Veerapol Sahaprom, Oley Kiatoneway, and Hippy Singmanee. In 1990, he was qualified to compete for the vacant Lumpinee flyweight title against the elite Muay Khao fighter Pairojnoi Sor.Siamchai, an opponent who had been declared the victor of the record-breaking "Fight of the Century" held just months earlier.[11] Karuhat would use clinch and knee defense and counters to nullify and outscore Pairojnoi in the latter half of the fight. Karuhat won the bout and was awarded his first Lumpinee title.[12] Decades later Karuhat stated that this victory was his favorite memory from his Muay Thai career.[10]

Karuhat would also be the trainer of the twin fighters Chaiyai and Chailek Sitkaruhat.[13] The latter half of their ring names "Sitkaruhat" translates to "student of Karuhat." The twins would both go on to be elite Muay Femur themselves with Chaiyai earning a Lumpinee junior bantamweight belt.[14] Karuhat was matched up against the Dutch Michael Liewfat for the World Heritage Muay Thai event in 1990. Karuhat won the fight while being unusually aggressive,[15] possibly pressured by the fact that the fight was being broadcast around the world.[4] Around this time, Karuhat was also fighting at bantamweight (118 lbs/53.52 kg) which was above his ideal weight class. The Onesongchai promotion would force their top bantamweight fighters including Karuhat to move up to junior featherweight (122 lbs/55.34 kg)[16] where he was able to fight Samkor Kiatmontep, Hansek Prasanthinpanomrung, and others. Despite fighting far above his ideal weight, Karuhat was still reliably winning against the most significant junior featherweight fighters such as Jaroensap Kiatbanchong, going so far as to win the Lumpinee junior featherweight title twice.

His 4-fight rivalry against Kaensak Sor.Ploenchit were considered the greatest fights in his career. In their third fight where he knocked down Kaensak with left cross,[17] Karuhat received a purse of 240,000 baht,[10] making him one of the few fighters who were paid above the 200,000 baht threshold. In their 4th fight Karuhat would give a difficult defensive performance against him, shutting down Kaensak's trademark counter-kicking style and consistently manipulating his balance.[18] Karuhat also gave excellent defensive performances against other elite fighters who excelled at pressure fighting such as Nongnarong Looksamrong[19] or the KO artist Veeraphol Sahaprom,[20] controlling their aggression and maintaining his distance well. Nungubon Sitlerchai, a Muay Femur fighter who knocked out both Samkor Kiatmonthep and Wangchannoi Sor.Palanchai singled out Karuhat as the most difficult opponent in his career; in the 3 bouts between them Nungubon was unable to win once.[21]

Although he belonged 2 weight classes below junior featherweight, Karuhat is considered by numerous Muay Thai practitioners as the greatest junior featherweight fighter of the 1990s as well as one of the most skilled fighters in the sport's history.[1] The Thai audiences referred to him by several nicknames such as The Fabulous Fighter, Aysian (The Talented), Yodmuay Atchariya (The Muay Genius), and Yodsian (The Top Master).[2]

Karuhat would no longer be in his prime in 1995,[4] the final year of the Bangkok portion of his Muay Thai career. While he took fewer fights in that year as a result, he was still able to secure the Lumpinee junior featherweight belt by elbow KO and beat Dokmaipa Por.Pongsawang as well as Silapathai Jockygym. After he took a hiatus for several years, Karuhat began fighting again despite not training seriously, resulting in him getting fewer wins and a KO loss against Alexei Pekarchyk.[2]

In the early 2000s, Karuhat opened the Sitkaruhat Muay Thai gym in Bangkok on top of being a trainer in various gyms in Thailand and abroad. He married Joy Pakamas, the daughter of his former boss Suwimon Pinsathienket. The couple had one son and later divorced.[4][10]

Saenchai was nicknamed "Little Karuhat" when he began fighting in the Thai circuit[22] and Prajanchai P.K.Saenchai has been compared to Karuhat due to their short stature as well as due to their combinations of low kicks, elbow strikes, and punches.[1]