Sponsored by Paddy Carson Promotions, Friday Night Fights begins every Friday at 4 p.m. at the CTN boxing arena in Russey Keo.

In addition to traditional bouts of Khmer boxing, aka Kun Khmer, the show also hosts professional English boxing matches. A typical card comprises three to four undercard bouts and two main events, both of which are Kun Khmer fights.

The Friday card at CTN brings to eight the total number of weekend fight cards in Phnom Penh. In addition to Friday Night Fights, CTN hosts fights every Saturday night at 8 p.m. and every Sunday at 2 p.m.

TV5, Bayon Television and TV3 also host live boxing every weekend.

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.

Khon Reach, blue, just barely eked out a victory over Kun Khmer Champion Season One winner Cheam Adam on Sunday Nov 16. The loss knocks Cheam Adam from the 65kg title tournament. Khon Reach joins Ty Bunhan, Pich Arun and Him Saran in the semifinals.

Full story from The Phnom Penh Post.

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.

Vorn Savy and Um Piseth open the third season of Kun Khmer Champion on Sunday at the CTN boxing arena. The two are not friends, and there has been some simmering tension between the two recently. Should make for a firecracker of a fight. Start at 2 p.m.

Season 3 lineup:

1. Prak Makara             Kandal
2. Keo Savy                  Kampong Speu
3. Morn Kimlong        Kandal
4. Hourn Soknim        Kandal
5. Heng Vichay           Kratie
6. Um Piseth                Battamabang
7. Min Seila                  Kampong Thom
8. Sek Kimkim             Siem Reap
9. Meas Socheat         Banteay Meanchey
10. Pen Song                 Kandal
11. Vorn Savy              Siem Reap
12. Sam Piseth             Kampong Cham

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 1
Paddy’s fight Club Cambodia, Antonio Graceffo began his Khmer boxing training with Paddy Carson, at the old Paddy’s Gym, in 2004. Now Paddy Carson has a new gym, dedicated to the training of professional fighters, doing both western boxing and Khmer boxing (Bradal Serey). For Antonio it is an exciting opportunity to work with his old coach and clean up some bad habits he has acquired in his quest across Asia, training with so many different teachers.

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 2
Paddy Carson explains to Antonio Graceffo his vision to create a world champion boxer in Cambodia. He watches Antonio spar, Khmer Boxing, and gives Antonio feedback, mainly that Antonio needs more consistency in his training, because he has been training with too many different kinds of teachers around the world.

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 3
Paddy Carson tells Antonio Graceffo about Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin and the influence which that art had on his boxing and Khmer Boxing training.

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 4
Paddy Carson teaches Antonio Graceffo to hook more effectively. Paddy discusses the impact Mas Oyama had on the fight world and what a visionary he was. Paddy also explains the importance of throwing all of your weight into a punch and of exploding.  Antonio is not good at exploding, but listening to Paddy is always instructive.

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 5
Paddy Carson watches his fighters spar and tells them what they are doing wrong. He calls Antonio Graceffo a brawler and says that Antonio lacks technique because he was roughing up his opponent, with grabbing and throwing in a sparring match that should have been English boxing rules. Antonio strongly agreed.

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 6
Paddy Carson watches Antonio Graceffo spar, while preparing for his upcoming black belt exam. Paddy isn’t happy with what he sees. He says Antonio is rushing in and punching. Antonio isn’t using the art and isn’t using combinations of kicks. He also warns Antonio that in a tournament fight, the Khmer boxers would be using knees and elbows and Antonio would get cut to ribbons, smothering his opponent on the inside. The interview continues, and Paddy talks about how the overall sport of fighting has evolved in the mare than forty years he has been involved in the fight game.

Martial Arts Odyssey: Paddy’s Fight Club Part 7
Antonio Graceffo gets tapped out by Garin Etcheberry. And Paddy Carson speaks the simple truth about fighting, “just prove it in the ring.”

Great night of fights at the Titan King Casino in Bavet Friday night. Preview story from The Post.

1. Cheam Adam beat Sam Ounluong on points
2. Voy Sothun beat Um Dara on points
3. Lao Sinath stopped Rafael Simonides in the 4th
4. Nuon Soriya beat Danny Taylor on points
5. Thun Sophea Stopped Jason Woodham in the 3rd 4th with low kicks
6. Vorn Viva beat Dominik Zidov on points

Some photos here. Videos of the fights via Love Khmer 2007. Text story at The Phnom Penh Post.

Check out the videos. Everyone fought with tremendous heart, and there were electrifying toe-to-toe exchanges in every fight.