Full Fight Video
Toyota Tournament fight – February 15, 2014 – Fight begins at minute 3:30
At the time of this fight Tanadet (Poda) had a record of 48 wins, 13 losses, 1 draw.
before the fight
after the fight
My Experience of Poda
About a year ago there was this kid that would come by the gym every now and then, sometimes with two or three other kids but most of the time by himself. He would just arrive and train by himself, generally bouncing on a tire and shadowboxing for hours until going into the ring to clinch with Big, Lanna Muay Thai’s top fighter. Big and Poda (the kid who comes by; Poda is is “play name” the name that is a nickname but used ubiquitously) are close in size, although Poda looks much bigger because of his build with broad shoulders, but he actually cuts down to be significantly smaller than Big. Poda could cut down to 44 kg (97 lbs) for his fights at Lumpinee, which is crazy to me because fighters must be 100 lbs to fight at that stadium – so basically they weigh in at 97 lbs, then go eat and drink and weigh in again to be at least 100 lbs before the fight.
Poda was a great kid though. Den really liked him, mainly because he’s so disciplined. He’s quiet and polite, unassuming; he’s Hill Tribe, from the mountains above Chiang Mai, so he’s ethnically and culturally an “outsider” in social contexts. His trainer would tell Poda to knee the bag and then leave and Poda would just keep going, kneeing the bag until the 500 or 1,000 knees (or whatever his trainer told him) were finished. Den loves that. “Hard to find boys like this,” Den would say. Interestingly, Poda’s style is exactly the opposite of what Den likes – Poda is a clincher and Den loves the evasive styles of Sangmanee, Saenchai, himself, et al. Poda’s style, however, is absolutely amazing. He fights guys bigger than he is and he beats them, just wearing them down with his tenacity and knees, like a Bulldog that’s gotten its teeth around an ankle and just won’t let go. At the time, when Poda was fighting up north, his fight name was after a cartoon character that is essentially a metaphor for the mind of Buddha. (I can’t remember the name; sorry.) He was named this because he just has one thing in his mind and he goes for it and simply cannot be deterred. (His trainer “sold” him to his current gym Tor. Pran 49 in Chan Buri – you can find the gym Facebook Page here, where Poda is having big success, and they changed his fight name to the current Tanadet, which is kind of like “powerful treasure/wealth”. I say “sold” which I heard, but basically his trainer from the north got I believe a little less than $1,000 at the time that Poda’s contract transferred over to the Chan Buri gym. This is not uncommon, as local fighters graduate down to the Bangkok circuit, and join more connected gyms.
When watching Den and Poda in the practice ring at Lanna, I was always amazed to see how Poda works. Den is pretty impossible to control in sparring – he’s got over 300 fights and is not only tricky but also very aggressive. Den is probably 55-57 kg and I’d imagine that Poda wasn’t walking around much above 49-50 kg; I’ve never seen someone smaller than Den is control him but I’ve seen Den control guys nearly twice his size. But Poda just walked through all of Den’s tricks, all his kicks (which were hard) and punches (which are accurate and at weird angles) until he got inside, grabbed hold and just dragged Den into the deep waters. He even put Den out of the ropes a couple times. This is crazy to see, let alone to believe it’s happening because Den doesn’t give anyone anything. He offers no quarter to let you feel good about yourself; if you get anything on him, you earned it.
Poda Tanadet at a Festival Fight Last Year
We filmed Poda at a festival fight in May of 2013, almost a year ago, before he was sent down to Bangkok. You can see the same middle-round unstoppable destruction. He always starts out a little behind in the early rounds (which gamblers love) but then he just starts grinding down in the third and there’s nothing for it by the fifth… if his opponent even makes it that far:
