Prayat Sawaingam

Prayat Sawaingam, known in the ring as Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym, is a retired Thai boxer who competed at bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight. Born in Khon Kaen on 7 August 1975 and based in Bangkok during his career, he boxed from a southpaw stance and stood 5 feet 7 inches tall. His professional record comprised 51 victories, four defeats and no draws, with 33 wins inside the distance. He held the WBF bantamweight championship and regional IBF titles, before making two unsuccessful challenges for IBF world championships.

Sawaingam came to conventional boxing with experience in Muay Thai. His professional debut took place on 6 September 1992 at the Crocodile Farm in Samut Prakan, where he defeated fellow newcomer Taweedej Sor Vorapin on points over six rounds. He was seventeen. His early progress was interrupted by a fourth-round knockout defeat against Anupong Saohin Srisuk in February 1993 and a points loss to Kaaj Chartbandit that April. Between those setbacks, he defeated Pornchai Sithpraprom, an experienced former Thai national champion. He subsequently reversed the defeat against Anupong, winning their return contest on points in July 1993.

Ten consecutive victories brought him to a championship opportunity against France’s Boualem Belkif in Bangkok on 22 October 1994. Sawaingam knocked Belkif down and won a clear twelve-round decision to take the WBF bantamweight title. The scores were 120-107, 120-108 and 119-106. He made seven successful defences, all by stoppage, against opponents including Sergio Gonzalez, Lucas Matthew and Vuyani Moss. His final defence, against Moss in December 1997, was followed by an absence of approximately twenty months before he returned against Rolando Pritos in August 1999.

Difficulty making bantamweight prompted a move to super bantamweight. On 24 December 1999, he defeated Indonesia’s Andrian Kaspari by split decision over twelve rounds in Bangkok to win the vacant IBF Intercontinental title. Defences against Said Chaku, Ravil Mukhamadiyarov and Edison Diaz helped him advance towards a world championship challenge. Although most of his career was conducted in Thailand, he also gained experience abroad, taking a decision over Nestor Martin Farias at the Carousel Casino in South Africa in August 2001 and beating Anthony Hanna on points in Dagenham, Essex, England that December. By the time he faced Manny Pacquiao, he had assembled 32 consecutive victories since his second professional defeat.

His challenge for Pacquiao’s IBF super bantamweight championship took place at the Rizal Memorial Colleges Gym in Davao City on 26 October 2002. Sawaingam entered with 37 victories and two defeats, but could not match the champion’s speed and sustained combinations. His attempts to keep Pacquiao away with straight punches were undermined by insufficient movement, and he was knocked down four times in the opening round. Referee Bruce McTavish stopped the contest at 2 minutes 46 seconds. Sawaingam required medical attention and was sent to hospital for examination after suffering a concussion. The defeat exposed the considerable difference between his established regional standing and Pacquiao’s effectiveness at world championship level.

Sawaingam rebuilt at featherweight, winning fourteen successive contests after the Pacquiao defeat. He took the vacant IBF Pan Pacific championship from Roberto Dalisay on points in October 2003 and defended it against a succession of visiting opponents. His victories included a twelve-round decision over Jackson Asiku and stoppages of Jack Asis and Alvin Clerino. On 18 February 2005, in Pattaya, he knocked out Bobby Pacquiao, Manny’s younger brother, in the ninth round. Sawaingam controlled much of that contest before a body attack put the Filipino down for the count. That performance showed a more effective side of his boxing: he could maintain distance, frustrate an opponent and finish through the body when given time to establish his rhythm.

His final appearance came against unbeaten Brazilian Valdemir Pereira for the vacant IBF featherweight title at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on 20 January 2006. Pereira won a unanimous decision over twelve rounds, bringing Sawaingam’s career to an end at the age of thirty. His record rested principally on sustained success in Thailand and lengthy runs of regional championship victories. The two IBF world title challenges ended in defeat, but the fourteen consecutive wins between them demonstrated his capacity to recover from the first setback and earn another opportunity. He retired with 55 professional contests completed across three weight divisions.