Drama ensued during Sunday night’s PNN Kun Khmer event, with young fighter Eh Amarin Phuthong left in tears after being unable to find a way to take a belt off Long Samnang.

Four of the Kingdom’s gold-medal winning boxers demonstrated their skills by defeating their foreign rivals, while Kim Bora was left frustrated after a loss on points which many considered biased or unfair.

At the December 10 event, Amarin was given the chance to challenge for his idol Samnang’s belt, with both of the men expressing their determination to fight hard.

Despite their assurances, neither of the fighters employed their well-known elbow strikes with both of them throwing numerous kicks and knee strikes throughout the five-round match.

Samnang landed more hits than his opponent, but due to the knees he received, was barely able to stand by the end of the second round 

Despite this, after the fifth and final round came to an end, the judges declared a unanimous victory for Samnang, allowing him to continue his reign as belt-holder.

Amarin wept outside the ring, saying that it had been his mother’s wish that he claim the title.

Saing Somaly, his mother, described the loss as a “bitter experience” for her son, suggesting that his respect for Samnang had contributed to the result.

“This is a lesson for my son. He should not treat any of his opponents differently in the ring. I know that my son went into the fight with sympathy and pity and did not use all of his skill. I know my son so well, but I don’t want him to fight like this,” she said.

“I told my son that he should have no regrets, but he very sorry and cried because he could not fulfil my wish. He is afraid of disappointing me because he loves me so much,” she added.

She also confessed that her family were dealing with another difficult issue.

“My mom [Amarin’s grandmother] is seriously ill and in the emergency department, but I haven’t told Amarin about it. I have begged he doctors to keep her alive for one or two more weeks, but they say it may be hopeless,” she explained, with tears in her eyes.

Samnang admitted that he was unsure he would be able to retain his title.

“I did not expect to beat Amarin. He is much taller than me and has a greater reach, so it is difficult to land knees. I just hoped that by putting in the maximum effort I could take the win. I threw as many punches and kicks as I could, but I admit that at the end of the second round, I was concerned, because I had absorbed so many kicks myself,” he said.

Four of the international friendly matches saw four 2023 SEA Games gold medallists, Roeung Sophorn, Lao Chetra, Lao Chantrea and Moeun Mekhea claim victories over foreign opponents.

Chantrea defeated Thai boxer Denpanum in the second round, while Chetra scored a first round victory over Iranian Abbasi Soleiman.

Sophorn was awarded a unanimous decision over Malaysia’s Wiliam Wayne, as was Mekhea, over Moroccan boxer Omar El Ouers.

Controversy surrounded the bout of gold fellow medallist Bora, who lost to Thai fighter Rongsaengtawan, with the judges scoring the match 4-1.

Many Kun Khmer insiders were critical of the decision, with the overwhelming feeling seeming to be that the Thai boxer won only the third round, ordinarily not enough to claim victory.

Bora’s brother Kim Dima, also a gold medal winning fighter, took to social media to level criticism at the judges who ruled in favour of his younger brother’s opponent. In his post, he likened the judges to be “people with eyes but no brains, only empty heads”.

Ma Sithet, a producer for PNN boxing, acknowledged that Bora had a good fight but still lost. PNN has already requested that the Kun Khmer International Federation (KKIF) review the footage of the match and assess the result. 

However, Bora himself accepted the perceived injustice.

“It was a little hard to accept the result, because in the first and second rounds I was in control, and only lost the third round. The judges evidently decided that one round beat two rounds ... but that was how they scored it. I have been in this kind of situation before, so we just have to get over it and move on,” he said.