A Trilogy Forged in Carnage: Samson Issan vs Lakhin Wassandasit

Introduction

At its core, competition is about being pushed. Although victory is the ultimate goal, not everyone will complete their journey satisfied. It’s the trials and tribulations along the way that, in the process of overcoming them, make those victories at the end of the road worth it. If the journey was easy, anyone and everyone could do it, but that’s not how competition works. When a worthy rival comes along, they push you to go beyond your ability when said ability isn’t enough.

With pugilism, speaking from a spectator’s standpoint, we watch these visceral displays because, in the act of savage fighting, it is inspiring to see human willpower. Although incredible technique and demonstrations of dominance are their own reward to watch, at the end of the day, there’s an entirely different sense of awe in watching two combatants fight.

Stylistic matchups are the determiners of a contest’s quality and, given how much variety there is between outlying fighter archetypes, you are likely to see an aesthetically-pleasing contest. Typically, it can be as simple as ‘aggressive swarming power-puncher attempts to take the fight to long-ranged potshotter, who weaponizes space to get the upper hand and make their opportunities count’ - A Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier. In other combat sports, such as Mixed Martial Arts, this basically presents as ‘striker vs grappler’ - an Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic.

And when those two people have incredible in-ring chemistry, the results are fireworks. Sometimes, we may only see them meet once, but, with how volatile the competition pool is, rematches are often inevitable. And they may take it one step further, where it becomes a series. And today, we will be taking a look at one such series: The three duels between two of the most destructive-minded pugilists to ever live, Samson Issan and Lakhin Wassandasit.

Although missing footage is an unfortunate commonality for Muay Thai’s Golden Age, there is surprising accessibility to both of these fighters’ contests well enough to know that, one: they were among the most exciting competitors of their generation, and two; even their betters, as the phenomenal Veeraphol Sahaprom found out, were not going to have an easy night with them.

And a clash between them promised to set the ring ablaze because, whereas most ring contests would see one fighter take more of the backfoot, Samson and Lakhin had zero intention of taking even one step back.

Samson’s was a blend of two styles. He was a Muay Khao* fighter as known for driving an unrivaled pace as much as he drove his own knees into his opponent’s midsections, weaponized the closed distance to weave power punches and batter his man into a state of least resistance. Because Samson did have a reputation as a puncher, his style lended itself well to being a Muay Mat at times. Regardless, his relentlessness earned him reputable status as “The Bull of Rot Et”.

Lakhin, however, was more traditionally Muay Mat**, relying upon his concussive punching power and boxing background. Lakhin’s reputation as a historical puncher was well known through his nickname “Mat Phayayom” - ‘puncher from hell’.

*Muay Khao fighters are typically known for weaponizing their pressure to get into clinches. They want to use knees above all else.

*Muay Mat fighters are more in line with boxers in Muay Thai - that is they rely upon punching and combinations.

It was April 29, 1992 where the stage was set for a bout billed as a Battle of Muay Mats at Rajadamnern itself.

The First Meeting: A Battle of Attrition

April 29, 1992

Samson - Blue Trunks

Lakhin - Red Trunks

Lakhin presses Samson from the opening bell, forcing the threat of the pocket behind half-steps and kicks to keep Samson from staying too close. Once he corners Samson, he looked to pin him and work his guard.

At distance though, Samson finds his way to push forward. By punching off his kicks, Samson could collapse the distance and force Lakhin to reset. Even if Lakhin framed to defend, at least he was in a defensive state as opposed to trying to take Samson’s head off.

Furthermore, Lakhin’s frames actually became an enormous hindrance for him as the fight when on. Although they were used to post Samson at distance away from any tie-ups, Samson discovered that he could handfight Lakhin’s frames and then use them as a setup to an uppercut or a chance to step-in.

Because both fighters used long guards that relied upon the range of the forearms to defend, straighter punches were more obsolete. For both fighters to land, they had to be closer.

Of the two, Samson weaponized this knowledge better by actively handtrapping Lakhin’s wrists and forearms with immediacy at every chance. Once he did so, he could muscle his way forward as Lakhin would have to concede space to avoid falling into the clinch - Samson’s major advantage.

When Samson wasn’t up close, he turned Lakhin’s kicks against him by forcing constant exchanges. Even if both fighters were checking one another’s offense, Samson was forcing a higher-paced fight and opening up some chance to step-in on his man.

As the fight wore on, Samson’s adjustments paid off for him as he wore Lakhin down mercilessly. Lakhin was unable to find the range for his counters without every action being punished. By the end of the bout, there was no doubt whose fight was waged and won despite the contest’s ferocity.

But Samson’s unrelenting assault was also his best defense. If Samson stopped for even a second, Lakhin would unload, demonstrating that his raw power in the pocket was an equalizer.

Although their first collision was decisive with Samson’s workrate managing to smother and batter his rival, the two were set to meet months later, this time at Lumpinee, where Lakhin came in with only vengeance on his mind.

The Second Meeting: The Puncher’s Payback

August 4, 1992

Samson - Red Trunks

Lakhin - Blue Trunks

Conceding that Samson was going to press forward and that meeting him was just offering him the clinch, Lakhin chose to frame at a longer distance by trying to post them over Samson’s own. Ideally, he could read Samson’s entries and set up a significant counter.

Unfortunately, Samson found his moments first. Like he had in the first fight, he would punish Lakhin’s frames by handtrapping them to step in and uppercut. Because the frames were just horizontal extensions to the shoulders, Lakhin was offering a space right up the middle for a Samson to step in and get right to work.

But Lakhin took Samson’s surge of aggression in stride and stopped him right in his tracks. The “puncher from hell” then became one of the handful to send the iron-chinned Samson to the canvas.

In Muay Thai, you’re more likely to see fighters carry their forearms at a distance away from their heads. This is a “long guard”. A long guard borrows some of the same utility of a high guard for a catch-and-pitch style (and can easily be converted to a high guard), but its real utility lies in how it is equipped for handfighting and creating tie-ups - which makes it invaluable for Muay Khao practioners. But a long guard has a few key weaknesses and among its biggest is that very same distance from the head.

In other words, long guards cover wide shots with extended arm and shoulders - and even straight shots can be parried, but the gap down the middle is more difficult to close than the high guard. And if the long guard user is stepping in for a tie-up, then that gap actually widens. Said little margin is all that’s needed for a historical puncher with superlative timing to blast them into the stratosphere.

It didn’t take long for Lakhin to realize that the same frame engagements would let him set up more uppercuts by temporarily retracting his rear hand and only committing on the lead hand. Samson could no longer press forward and just handtrap Lakhin anymore without facing a serious consequence for doing so.

Samson was bloodied by the end of the five rounds, but he did find an answer. Knowing full well he couldn’t back up, Samson reinvented his clinch entry into a variation of the head and arm lock. He would draw Lakhin’s frames, step in on the outside and lock his arms around Lakhin’s head and lead hand. On the same side, Samson would knee his rival’s midsection and turn him to avoid any return fire from Lakhin’s free arm.

Not settling for just tying up, Samson would bully Lakhin into the ropes and corners, turn grips into more offense, or convert his grips into others (e.g. body locks, collar ties, new frames).

Samson had successfully found his way back into a fight far more intense than their first meeting, but his bloodied visage was all the proof everyone needed to know who the victor was.

With the score now even, there was really only one thing left to do: Finish it where it all began back at Rajadamnern, where they saved their best for last.

The Third Meeting: Declaration of War

September 28, 1992

Samson - Blue trunks

Lakhin - Red trunks

A prevailing theme of this rivalry has been both men weaponizing previous successes and adding to them. Lakhin once again used counter frames as a defensive tool, but he aimed to wrap his arms over Samson’s to handtrap him or to place the opposite arm across to the shoulder and frame with the elbow if Samson got too close. He now had more room to throw on the inside and Samson had an even stricter margin of error.

However, Samson came prepared for the uppercut that introduced him to the floor. At distance, Samson fought with a high guard. While this meant Samson would have to risk more pocket engagements when pressuring, it was one worth taking. And, to avoid Lakhin’s uppercut off the frame, Samson would make his clinch entries towards Lakhin’s lead shoulder.

Throughout the many rounds of fighting, Lakhin had usually conceded waiting to set up counters and found limited success for too many consequences. Although it was a fault of his ringcraft and he had given up too much time, Lakhin registered that something needed to change midway through the third bout.

So he chose to go to war.

While he had chosen to cut the ring off on Samson at a distance and then close in, Lakhin opted for all-out offense here. Posting behind his lead hand to touch Samson’s high guard, he showered a barrage on the ropes every chance he got.

Samson’s kicks at a distance had been a nuisance and Lakhin made a measure to put a stop to them: By stepping in and countering - he now had Samson having to step back and he could continue to take the fight to him.

But Lakhin had been too overzealous and Samson made him pay with a sequence of elbows that split the former open in what was the most significant moment of the fight.

Even if Lakhin came forward, Samson absolutely refused to take a backwards step - Lakhin had to earn his moments.

Samson would meet Lakhin’s retreats and assaults with a variety of clinch entries and then apply transitional offenses. In combination between his head-and-arm locks and strikes, he found ways to bridge the two sums of his game back together and even the odds.

With his brow supplying the only crimson red of the contest, Lakhin dedicated himself to making Samson wear the same marks. He started converting his frames and handtraps into elbows to carve his opponent’s skull into ribbons.

With Samson’s own elbow counters off the guard or handtraps, the two would enter a series of mesmerizing close-range handtrapping and transitional fighting where the differences and dangers between them were on a knife’s edge.

While their previous outings had slowed in the final two rounds, neither man chose to here. With a contest so physical, stopping any momentum was equivalent to giving too large a margin of error to an adversary too dangerous.

In a fight seemingly too close to call, Lakhin’s aggressive shift seemed to come too late in the eyes of the judges - and his face was the victim of the only blood spilled in the ring. Samson Issan had won, though only by the finest margin.

Conclusion

If you were to look at the records of many Thai fighters, you might find it a bit bizarre that, for a combat sport known for rivalries that might undergo a dozen fights, two of the most well-matched, violence-personified fighters of their era met three times all in one calendar year.

Nonetheless, I would argue that it makes what happened all the more meaningful. Having watched most of both fighters’ available library, I don’t think any of their other opponents quite brought out the same intensity to their contests with either Samson or Lakhin than they did with one another.

Over the course of three meetings, the dynamics didn’t just change - every tool was reused, reapplied, and revitalized to up the stakes and insanity of the last outing.

By the final bell, you could never deny that these two left absolutely everything they had in the ring. Combat sports are an experience to watch because human beings are exposed to conditions where they are asked to show the full depth of their competitive willpower - and the highest quality of fights occur when that happens. And like so many other great rivalries, that is exactly what makes the trilogy between Samson Issan and Lakhin Wassandasit so extraordinary.

They do not happen every time, but when they do, it’s unforgettable.