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ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon Singha Mawynn has had an incredible run in ONE Championship since his arrival in 2020.
The skilled striker has posted wins over the world’s top fighters in the ultra-competitive featherweight division, with names such as Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Giorgio Petrosyan, and Marat Grigorian on his growing resume.
On September 30, he will look to add ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Champion Chingiz Allazov to that list when he defends his crown at ONE on Prime Video 2. The action will emanate from the Singapore Indoor Stadium and will broadcast live at US primetime via Amazon Prime Video.
While he appears to be an invincible force in the sport, his flawless technique and skills did not come instantly. Ahead of his second world title defense later this month, here are three facts that you didn’t know about the Thai superstar.
#3. He started competing in Muay Thai at 6 years old
Born into a family of martial artists in the southern province of Patthalung, Thailand, Superbon was naturally inclined to dip his toes into combat sports at some point in his life.
His father owned a Muay Thai gym, while his brother and cousins all trained in combat sports. At five years old, he started to train in Muay Thai, mostly so that he can stay out of trouble. Illegal drugs ran rampant in the country’s rural areas, so his dad felt that keeping him busy with training would help him stay out of trouble.
At six years old, he started entering competitions and earned money for himself while competing in two or three bouts in a month. As a kid, though, he sometimes wanted to play rather than train and earn money. He was punished by getting pushed harder in training when he got caught sneaking out of training.
While he felt that he was robbed a bit of his youth because he trained instead of playing with other kids, Superbon is thankful that his father helped him stay on course with training because he’s still reaping the rewards of it today.
#2. He graduated with a business degree
When he was 16 years old, Superbon started competing in the elite Bangkok fighting circuit and eventually moved to the city two years later to pursue a degree in business.
Fighting in the nation’s capital was a huge step up in the number of audiences watching the fights. It was the first taste of the big stage for the up-and-coming warrior, and he certainly enjoyed the spotlight.
As the competition got fiercer, so did the training sessions. He needed to improve his skills quickly to keep up with the tougher field, but he had to do it while he was attending university.
Balancing his responsibilities in the sport and in his studies weighed heavily on him, causing a dip in his performances. Even as he claimed victories, his earnings weren’t quite enough to give him and his family a comfortable life. After getting his business degree, he seriously contemplated whether martial arts was the right path for him.
His parents suggested that he consider a career as a civil servant, so he joined the police academy to do just that. It wasn’t long before he realized it wasn’t the life he wanted.
#1. Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek led Superbon to kickboxing
The fire and thirst for competition still burned for the young Superbon, but the circumstances (not earning much and disappointing performances by his standards being two particular examples) pushed him away from a career in combat sports.
In 2013, he had a chance encounter with the legendary Buakaw Banchamek while competing in Australia. Upon their return to Thailand, Buakaw offered Superbon a spot in his famed gym, promising to put him in international tournaments if he adopted the Banchamek name.
The young prodigy took up the offer and followed the advice of his mentor to shift his focus to kickboxing. The transition was not difficult, given Buakaw’s wealth of experience in both Muay Thai and kickboxing. Superbon soon found himself comfortable in his new sport, winning prestigious contests like the Kunlun Fight World MAX Tournament and the 2019 IPCC Kickboxing world title.
After making a name for himself in the international kickboxing scene, he made his way to ONE Championship in 2020 to break his stalemate with Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, winning via unanimous decision in their clash. The next year, he delivered perhaps the most devastating knockout in the sport’s history, putting down one of the greatest ever to lace up kickboxing gloves, Giorgio Petrosyan.
