Vorn Viva and Meas Chantha will defend their title July 8, 2011, and the indoor arena at the Olympic Stadium.

Cambodian fighters went 2-2 today in four international fights at Old Stadium.

Thun Sophea was upset by South African fighter Bakhulhule Baai, who earned the decision behind prolific punching. Baai beat Thun Sophea around the ring in the second. Thun Sophea countered with hard kicks to the body through the later rounds, slowing the Cape Town native, but he never did enough to take back the momentum of the fight, which in the final two rounds was marked by long stretches of inactivity, as each fighter waited to counter.

Sen Bunthen smashed Iranian Hesam Fadaei, as well he should have. Fadaei, who boasted an amateur career or more than 200 fights, was making just his second professional appearance. After cruising through the first, Sen Bunthen opened the second with half a dozen hard right kicks to the body, sending the Iranian to his knees wincing in pain.

Phan Phonna scored a knockdown in the third round against Kenyan kickboxer Leo Nganga, but otherwise struggled against a game opponent. The Kenyan scored with low kicks and good body work, and he cut Phon Phanna with a knee to the right eye in the final round. But Phon Phanna, who has yet to lose a professional bout since returning to the local scene 11 months ago, turned it on often enough to stay out front, cruising to a points decision.

Van Chanvey got KTFO’d. An elbow in the third round from Spanish champion Juan Montenegro put the Battambang powerhouse to bed. Despite the evidence, referee Chhit Sarim counted all the way to ten, but Van Chanvey was still disconcertingly unresponsive. He finally work up about the 25 mark.

A 32-year-old man was beaten unconscious in Kandal province on Sunday after a wager over a boxing match turned ugly. Witnesses at a coffee shop where the brawl occurred said four men decided to bet on a televised boxing match. Three men chose a red-clad boxer, whereas the fourth man, the eventual victim, selected a boxer wearing blue shorts. By the third round, it was becoming increasingly apparent that the red pugilist was not going to be successful in his endeavour to pummel his rival. The three men who bet on him broke off their wagers and allegedly began pummelling the man who bet on the blue boxer. Witnesses said they did not dare to intervene while the man was getting the living daylights beaten out of him. Then they blamed the shop owner.

Gambling is as much a part of the local fight scene as bruises and blood. Sometimes, the two even mix.

Chit Sarim’s boys at the Ministry of Defense ran away with field this year, taking five of the seven titles on offer at the 2010 National Championships.

• Thun Sophea (MoD), 71kg
• Pich Seyha (MoD), 67kg
• Lao Sinath (Commando 911) 63.5kg
• Van Chanvey (Preah Khan Reach), 60kg
• Somruth Sopheap (MoD), 57kg
• Sarim Nga (MoD), 51kg
• Chut Ngoy (MoD), 48kg

Thun Sophea stopped fellow MoD fighter Um Dara, who threw in the towel in the first round. Pich Seyha outpointed  Ot Phutang (MoD). Lao Sinath stopped Phan Phanna (MoD) in the first. Van Chanvey stopped Put Chay Rithy (Put Sereyvong) in the third. Somruth Sopheap outpointed Brigade 71 mainstay Chan Virea. Sarim Nga outpointed Morn Virea. And Chut Ngoy stopped Reachsay Chaokdeap in the first.

[PHOTO: Ot Phutang, blue,  and Pich Seyha]

The fields are now down to the finalists, which should portend a lot of good fights today and tomorrow, when things wrap up. The most anticipated match will unfold on Friday, when Phon Phanna faces Lao Sinath in the 63.5 kilogram final.

Otherwise, Ministry of Defense fighters have pretty much run away with the field. Pich Seyha will face Ot Phutang at 67 kg, and Um Dara will face Thun Sophea in the 71 g final. All four are from the same team, so it seems likely that those match ups will amount to little more than sparring sessions.

Further down the list, Van Chanvey (Preah Khan Reach) will meet Put Chayrithy (Put Sereyvong, Kandal) in the 60 kg final. And Somruth Sopheap (MoD) will take on Chan Virea (Brigade 70) at 57.

At 51, Reacehsay Chaokdeap (Krung Ngean) will go against Chut Ngoy (MoD). And I am not sure who is in at 54.

Correction: TV5 is out this year, replaced by Bayon. So fights are live on Bayon 1, not TV5, as stated in the post below. Gone, too, are nearly all of the prizes of previous TV5 years. Tv5 annually gave away televisions, DVD players, fans and boxing shoes. This year, prizes are limited to cash and medals only. And flowers, if you consider that a reward for getting punched in the head.

PICTURE: Viet Bunduon, MoD, taking the count in a losing effort to Bridage 70 fighter Chan Virea.

The National Championships will be held this month, beginning June 9th at the Olympic Stadium and televised on TV5. The tournament includes both Western boxing and pradal serey, and hosts about 100 fights per day for 10 days. Typically held in late October, the tourney has been moved to June this year. Last year, more than 700 fighters took part.

Though there is no evidence that lions ever populated Southeast Asia, the Cambodians certainly took no chances. According to their legends, lions once roamed the countryside attacking villagers and their precious buffalo, and long before the great Khmer Empire began in the 9th century, farmers developed a ferocious martial art to defend themselves against the predator. These techniques became bokator (sometimes written as boxkator).

Meaning “to fight a lion,” bokator is a martial art depicted on the walls of Angkor Wat. There are 10,000 moves to master, mimicking animals such as monkeys, elephants and even ducks. King Jayavarman VII, the warrior king who united Cambodia in the 12th century, made his army train in bokator, turning it into a fearsome fighting force. The Khmer Empire wasn’t just an empire of grand temples, says bokator grandmaster San Kim Sean. It was also “an empire of martial artists.”

Great stuff.

[Phon Phana]

TV3 holds international matches every other week. Today, Van Chanvait from Club Preah Khan Reach takes on Spanish fighter Arturo and Phon Phana from Club Koh Kong faces Yuki from Japan. Starts at 3:30.

TV5 just announced that Pich Sophan will fight Mey Sopheap and Ot Phutang will face Vung Sitou Sithai next weekend. The fighters are back.