A sketch of Con Son island (known as Koh Tralach in Khmer) in 1942. Supplied

Taing Rinith
July 19 2019

As Chanmol was walking to the ring, surrounded by a large audience of French, Vietnamese and Cambodian attendees, he was praying to Buddha and his ancestors’ spirits to assist him in his match.

"It was a New Year’s Day evening in 1943 in Con Son Prison, which housed thousands of convicts from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. On such an important holiday, the “French warden”, despite his well-known cruelty and strictness, organised a kickboxing event to be watched by both prisoners and civilians. It featured six “international” fights between Vietnamese and Cambodian prisoners."

"The main fight was for the championship title of the prison. The defending champion was a Vietnamese prisoner known by the name Ah Be, who was reportedly undefeated for the past seven years. The challenger was Bun Chanmol, a 22-year-old political prisoner who had been sentenced to five years in Con Dao prison and 15 years in exile"

"The bout started almost immediately after both fighters entered the ring. With their fists wrapped with crude fabric instead of wearing gloves, Ah Be and Chanmol tried to knock down one another with their punches, knees and kicks. When the first round was about to end, an uppercut followed by a knee strike from Chanmol felled Ah Be before he gave up at the count of seven. Chanmol was declared the new champion of Con Son Island."

"According to Chanmol’s book, the victory helped raised his status on the prison island “that killed people itself”. Praising his fighting skill, the warden promoted him to a member of the Secret Group, who was responsible for capturing escaping prisoners, and later a caporal (foreman) over the ferocious prisoners in an area known as Guérêt on Con Son Island. Eight months later, Chanmol had to defend his title against and defeated the newly arrived Ya Ba Tong, who had been recognised at “the Indochina Champion” from Vietnam"

"Nothing is known about Chanmol, the “undefeated Con Dao Kickboxing champion”, when the Khmer Republic government collapsed in 1975. Yet, according to his friend Chhang Song, Chanmol was executed by the Khmer Rouge force, who entered Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975."

full https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50625612/t ... -champion/