Published on November 06, 2005
[BOXING] Win or lose tomorrow, when pint-sized Norngmai Sor Siriporn steps into the boxing ring to fight for the WBC women’s straw-weight world title championship she will have already achieved a great personal victory.
Norngmai is serving a four-year jail sentence for drug dealing. Her criminal record stems from severe drug addiction which she says has been overcome through the discipline of fighting professional women’s boxing.
Getting a crack at a world title is more than a sporting climax for Norngmai – it’s the culmination of a tough program that first got her off hard drugs and then prepared her for a fighting career. After many months of hard training Norngmai says she is determined to pay back all the trust and goodwill that has been bestowed upon her. The world title contest at the arena of the Central Correction Institution for Young Offenders at Pathumthani – where she is an inmate – will be the first WBC women’s world straw-weight title contest and the first women’s world championship to be held in a prison. Norngmai, a southpaw who can tactically swap over to an orthodox stance, is matched against Japanese orthodox champion Nanako Kikuchi. On the same card Thailand’s former world champion and glamour boxer Srimongkol will fight Chinese boxer Xieo Li Fu in a 10-round contest. Carina Moreno (US) was to fight Norngmai, but the American withdrew after coming down with a bout of phenomena. WBC Vice-President and President of the Asian Boxing Council, Pol Gen Kovid Bhakdibhumi, praised Norngmai for showing great courage inside and outside of the boxing ring. “Through her strong willpower Norngmai has been able to overcome severe drug addiction. She has been able to develop mental and physical strength through hard training and she is a fine example for others who suffer drug addiction and want to win the battle to get their life back together,” he said. Pol Gen Kovid said women’s boxing had become an important part of the rehabilitation program in the kingdom’s fight against drug addiction. The staging of the women’s first world straw-weight championship is a progressive measure in the kingdom’s fight against drugs. The event will be broadcast live on Channel 7 on Monday afternoon. ------------------ Ali in therapy Muhammad Ali has been treated for a back and neck condition, and is undergoing follow-up physical therapy. The former heavyweight champion, treated at Emory University in Atlanta, will return to his regular routine of public appearances when therapy is completed, Ali spokesman Craig Bankey said. Ali will be at the grand opening of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 19, Bankey said in a statement. Ali’s office was responding to recent published reports concerning his health. The 63-year-old Ali has Parkinson’s disease. “Like Parkinson’s patients around the world, Muhammad faces challenges each day,” Bankey said. “He continues to fight Parkinson’s disease with the same courage and dedication he brought to the ring and to his work aimed at alleviating poverty, hunger and intolerance.” Patrick Cusick The Nation
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