page_title: Buakaw Banchamek
section_title: Leaving Por. Pramuk, retirement and comeback
hierarchical_section_title: Buakaw Banchamek / Biography and career / Leaving Por. Pramuk, retirement and comeback
caption_attribution_description: English: Buakaw Por. Pramuk ไทย: บัวขาว ป.ประมุข
context_page_description: Sombat Banchamek a.k.a. Buakaw Banchamek is a Thai middleweight Muay Thai kickboxer of Kuy descent, who formerly fought out of Por. Pramuk Gym, in Bangkok, Thailand, under the ring name Buakaw Por. Pramuk.
  He is a former two-time Omnoi Stadium champion, Lumpinee Stadium Toyota Marathon champion, former #1-ranked fighter in Lumpinee Stadium, Thailand Featherweight champion, two-time K-1 World MAX champion and 2011 & 2012 Thai Fight tournament champion. As of 1 August 2020, he is ranked the #10 lightweight kickboxer in the world by Combat Press.
  Buakaw also briefly played professional football as a forward in the Regional League Division 2 for RBAC F.C..
  Additionally, he has also embarked on an acting career, starring in 2010's Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya and 2017's Thong Dee Fun Khao.
context_section_description: On March 1, 2012, he was notably absent from his training camp. On March 12, he appeared on a Thai TV talk show to apologize to the fans and explain his disappearance, stating that he had recurring problems in Por. Pramuk Gym since 2009 and felt insulted by the behavior of the management there. He had been scheduled to visit Japan with the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for an exhibition match but it was canceled in favor of another fight. As a result of the complication, he decided to part ways with the gym. He said "I can stand tough training, but not poor treatment. It is about the mind, not the body,".
  On March 17, 2012, Buakaw's sponsor Yokkao Boxing announced that he would return to training. It was at this time that they began referring to him as Buakaw Banchamek. He had resumed training at the "newly-built" Banchamek gym (named after him), as of March 22, 2012. He was scheduled to fight Mickael Cornubet at ThaiFight on April 17, 2012.
  On March 30, 2012, Buakaw was prevented from fighting at Thai Fight in April 2012, until he filed a complaint with the Sports Authority of Thailand proving his claims of unfair treatment by Por. Pramuk. On April 4, he said that his fight name for the fight later that month would be "Buakaw", and that he "may not use the name of the boxing camp Por. Pramuk."
  Buakaw's first fight after leaving Por Pramuk Gym was a success. He knocked out Rustem Zaripov at 2:45 of the 2nd round with accurate punches. On May 31, 2012, Buakaw told the press that he wanted to end the dispute between him and Por. Pramuk Gym. For a time, Buakaw was seen in jiujitsu, judo, and wrestling classes. An MMA career would have allowed Buakaw to fight without breaching his contract with the Por. Pramuk boxing camp. Nevertheless, Buakaw returned to the ring on August 17, 2012, when he defeated Abdoul Toure by way of TKO in round 2.
  Buakaw beat Mauro Serra via TKO in the quarter-finals of the 2012 Thai Fight 70 kg Tournament at Thai Fight 2012: King of Muay Thai in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 23, 2012. He then defeated Tomoyuki Nishikawa by unanimous decision in the tournament semi-finals in Nakhon Ratchasima on November 25, 2012. He fought Vitaly Gurkov in the final on December 16, 2012, and won the Thai Fight tournament via decision.
  On March 27, 2013, Buakaw faced his friend and teammate Harlee Avison in a staged exhibition match, which was free to the public, at the brand new Beeline Arena in Cambodia. On May 6, 2013, Buakaw again went off script to KO Malik Watson in round two in an exhibition match at MAX Muay Thai 1 in Surin, Thailand.
  Buakaw made his return to legitimate fighting with a decision win over Dong Wen Fei in a three-round kickboxing match at MAX Muay Thai 3 in China on August 10, 2013. He re-signed with K-1 in August 2013 and returned with a first round body shot KO of David Calvo at the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final 16 in Mallorca, Spain on September 14, 2013. In their fourth meeting, Buakaw bested Yoshihiro Sato on points at MAX Muay Thai 4 in Sendai, Japan on October 6, 2013. He beat Enriko Kehl by decision at MAX Muay Thai 5: The Final Chapter in Khon Kaen, Thailand on December 10, 2013.
  Buakaw defeated Zhou Zhi Peng on points after an extension round at the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Quarter Finals - Part 1 in Foshan, China on December 28, 2013. Zhou attempted to turned the fight into a brawl, and despite Buakaw doing enough to win the decision, the judges sent it to an extra round in which Buakaw suffered a cut from a head butt. In spite of this, Buakaw was able to establish dominance to take the fight and advance in the tournament. At the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final 4 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on February 23, 2014, he beat Lee Sung-Hyun by unanimous decision in the semi-finals.
  Buakaw beat Victor Nagbe via unanimous decision at Combat Banchamek in Surin, Thailand, on April 14, 2014. He knocked out Adaylton Parreira De Freitas in round two at Muay Thai in Macau on June 6, 2014. Buakaw was scheduled to fight Fabio Pinca
caption: Buakaw, December 2012
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