Suablack Relives The Aftermath Of Fight That Changed His Career
A knockdown, a comeback elbow, and a US$50,000 bonus changed everything for Suablack Tor Pran49. Now the Thai veteran wants to prove that rebirth was no fluke.
He meets Japanese phenom Shimon Yoshinari in a flyweight Muay Thai showdown at ONE SAMURAI 3 this Saturday, September 12, inside Yokohama Buntai in Japan.
Back-to-back losses had pushed Suablack to the edge before his flyweight debut against Stephen Irvine at ONE Fight Night 45 last July. After surviving a first-round knockdown, the 30-year-old landed a finishing elbow lifted straight from the playbook of reigning ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Superlek.
“I timed that elbow setup perfectly, waiting for him to step in with a punch before driving the elbow home. It connected flush with a loud crack!” Suablack said. “It was my last resort. I couldn’t afford another loss, so I just had to slash with it.”
The bonus that followed did more than validate the win. It funded a water well for his parents in the mountains, with the rest going to his wife as savings in gold.
“My confidence is completely restored,” he said. “I feel like my body can absorb strikes in this weight class now. I’m settling into the division, not getting tired or gassed.”
Japan represents a stage Suablack could once only admire from afar, and he is not approaching it quietly. Shimon, just 21, is a former WBC Muay Thai World Champion with a 26-1 professional record, and both men trained under the same mentor, Pakorn PK Sialaytentmungkorn.
“Pakorn used to train him back then, and Pakorn trained me too. We’re both Pakorn’s students,” Suablack said. “We’ll just have to see in the ring whose application of Pakorn’s techniques proves superior.”
Critics have already written him off, and Suablack knows exactly what they are saying.
“The critics are tearing me apart! People are saying, ‘Suablack just recovered. Is he bringing a satin mattress to sleep on again?'” he said. “Most people are giving me a 10 percent chance to win and him 90 percent. But I’m going to make that 10 percent a reality.”
He has already scouted the cracks in Shimon’s game, and he plans to exploit them in enemy territory.
“He’s very agile and well-rounded. He’s virtually flawless, but I still see openings to win. He’s tough, but when he gets hit, he flinches,” Suablack said. “To young Shimon: don’t think you can use me as a stepping stone. I’m going straight to your home turf to tame you.”
READ MORE: Hyu’s First Loss Reignited The Fire He Thought He’d Lost
Recent posts
