What did Tawanchai's win mean last night?

[samuelsoncast]

I'd love to hear your opinions.

I admire Tawanchai, however, it is his Muay Thai that I admire. I'd not seen him kickbox before.
His bout with Smokin' Jo was interesting but didn't tell me much about a potential kickboxing future. Has he fought in kickboxing before (other than Kiria)?

He seemed (as I expected) to still be very stuck in Thai style. Once his combos were done, a few times he just stepped back with his hands down, ready to reset. Jo didn't quite capitalise on it but it showed a glaring space there. An Allazov would take that opening immediately.

I hope that the Superbon bout materialises eventually.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

I'd love to hear your opinions.

I admire Tawanchai, however, it is his Muay Thai that I admire. I'd not seen him kickbox before.
His bout with Smokin' Jo was interesting but didn't tell me much about a potential kickboxing future. Has he fought in kickboxing before (other than Kiria)?

He seemed (as I expected) to still be very stuck in Thai style. Once his combos were done, a few times he just stepped back with his hands down, ready to reset. Jo didn't quite capitalise on it but it showed a glaring space there. An Allazov would take that opening immediately.

I hope that the Superbon bout materialises eventually.

I really like Tawanchai, but I thought that decision was questionable.

He should stay in Muay Thai, in my uneducated opinion.

 

[samuelsoncast]

I really like Tawanchai, but I thought that decision was questionable.

He should stay in Muay Thai, in my uneducated opinion.

Oh, I don't think the decision was questionable.

 

[Nova44]

Oh, I don't think the decision was questionable.

Agreed.

He fought a lot smarter fight against Kiria than he did last night against Smokin' GOAT, but yes, he belongs in muay thai for sure.

 

[BoxerMaurits]

 

[Snubnoze707]

I dunno, obviously I'm bias but I thought Jo arguably took that under Kickboxing rules. He fucking took the fight right to Tawanchai non stop every round and was landing. Tawanchai had a few nice impactful shots and slick moments but that's generally what puts you over in a Muay Thai fight. I think if that fight was in Glory or K-1 the result may had been different. K-1 would've at least given an extension round.

 

[WolverReem]

Superbon would have won

 

[DastardlyMass]

I did not think it was particularly close. Yes Nattawut landed some good shots and brought the pressure but twanchai still landed more shots and the better/cleaner ones in my opinion. Twanchai right now reminds me a lot of superbon when he was first transitioning to kb as he still has trouble getting countered in punching range and leaving himself exposed during his own punching combinations . Until Twanchai gets more comfortable in the punching exchanges he would be better off adopting the style Sitthichai used in glory and rely on his big round kick and quick straight punches to dictate the range and speed/pace of the fight

 

[The MM Analyst]

Tawanchai is pretty clearly not very comfortable in kickboxing. In his stadium days he basically never punched in the pocket. Only ever used long-range 3-2 or 5-2 combos, and elbows were his only pocket weapon. He doesn't have the distance management/footwork that a lot of southpaw Thai converts do, since in Muay Thai he was comfortable being backed up in a straight line and teeping guys off him, only looking to pivot out once he was already near the ropes.

If he wants to have a shot at top kickboxers I think he'd have to commit to kickboxing full time and add a lot to his skillset. Otherwise I don't expect too much from him.

 

[UWanaPlayDaGame]

I don't think the Smoking' Jo fight tells us very much. In a Thai vs. Thai matchup in kickboxing, many of the challenges and openings presented by some farangs are not there (even though Jo did fight more kickboxing style).
Tawanchai has fought before in kickboxing other than Kiria (couple fights in China iirc, got KOed once). He is getting bigger and bigger and will have to stay in kickboxing and IMO he's got the tools to become elite (although probably not as dominant as other thais) but he would have to adapt his style and rely more on conventional Thai southpaw tactics. The Smoking' Jo fight just didn't present most of the challenges he would have to deal with in the long run.

 

[Kanka]

Jo is quite good and more experienced in kickboxing.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

One is an MT fighter and the other has done KB for years.

Tawanchai still won. Maybe it was a bad match up for him, but either way, obviously he is way better in MT.