As Gamblers Gather, Thailand's Child Boxers Slug It Out
Under the fluorescent lights of the boxing ring, the boy could barely see out beyond the elastic ropes that surrounded the fighting stage. The crowd and the festival that pressed in around him were shadowy outlines. But the boy could hear them.
"Chai Lorlam, 9 years old, 22.9 kilograms [just under 50 pounds]," the announcer said.
Chai could hear his trainer shouting last-minute reminders about the basics of technique. He could hear the excited laughter of other kids his age, who had squeezed their way to the front of the spectators after ditching carnival rides and balloon dart-throwing games and fried rice-cake stands to watch his fight. And he could hear the gamblers — the gamblers who shouted "Two to one — blue!" "Three to one — red!" They were betting on the odds he'd win the fight.
Chai knew he had to win the fight.
There was the reputation of his gym to uphold, and all the fighters and trainers who had become like family to him — there was the pride of his community to defend — many of whom he knew to be in the crowd.
Child boxing in Thailand, known as muay thai, is a tradition that lives because it is a business. The child boxers bring prize money back to their families. And Chai's village and trainers, yelling advice and pushing up against the barricades of the ring, did not come just to cheer for him. They came to bet on him.
The tradition of child boxing has brought Thailand the ire of human rights activists, who see it as dangerous. But in Isaan, the northeastern and poorest region of Thailand, child boxing is a way of life.
It provides income to families that would otherwise have to rely on their rice paddies, athletic discipline in a place where drugs and gangs are rampant, and a way out of poverty for some children with few options.
Muay thai is sometimes called the "art of eight limbs" for a distinct style that uses the knees, elbows, fists and feet as striking points. It has been practiced as an art form and fighting technique in Thailand since the 12th century.
As the noise multiplied around him, Chai bowed obediently toward his trainer, and turned toward his opponent. They already knew each other. It was the third time the 9-year-olds had met in the ring, and this match was the tiebreaker.