Saengsakda Kittikasem

Saengsakda started training at the age of 14 at the Singsamai camp in the Pattani province under Heng Singsamai. He competed over 50 times in various provinces under the name Joe Louis Singsamai before joining the Kittikasem camp to start his Bangkok career. Under Kitti Akrasanee he changed from a knee fighting style to a punching one.

A heavy handed fighter Saengsakda became a fan favorite of the stadiums and earned the nickname of Drunken Punch for his ability to make his opponents stagger. On April 13, 1981, he captured the Lumpinee Stadium 122 lbs title when he knocked out reigning champion Lom-Isan Sor.Thanikul in the third round.^[1]

Saengsakda was a marking figure of the 1980s Muay Thai circuit.^[2] He defeated notable opponents of his era such as Paruhat Loh-ngoen,^[3] Wanpadet Sitkrumai or Jitti Muangkhonkaen. He faced Samransak Muangsurin three times, winning the first bout by knockout.^[4] He lost the rematch and his Lumpinee stadium title a month later in a fight where Saengsakda couldn't maintain his lead after scoring a knockdown and saw Samransak win by last minute comeback knockout.^[5]

Saengsakda also fought under boxing rules, he faced Muay Thai legend Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn on August 4, 1981, with an 800,000 baht side-bet at stake at the Lumpinee stadium.^[6] He won by knockout in the second round.

Saengsakda stopped competing in 1988 and became the regular sparring partner of IBF and WBC world champion boxer Muangchai Kittikasem.^[7] After retiring from the fighting world he got involved with a DBS Production, a company working on the production and recording of musicians. In 2022 Saengsakda suffered a stroke, he survived but lost the use of the left side of his body.^[8]

• Lumpinee Stadium
  • 1981 Lumpinee Stadium Super Bantamweight (122 lbs) Champion
    • Two successful title defenses