Muay Thai @ Lumpinee Boxing Stadium

 
Besides Rajadamnern Stadium, another stadium that is synonymous with Muay Thai in Bangkok is the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, located at Ram Intra Road since February 2014, the stadium moved to the present venue from their original location at Rama IV Road as they needed a bigger venue to accommodate the growing interest in the sports. With a capacity for 9,500, the new Lumpinee Boxing stadium is quite a testament to the Royal Thai Army’s aim to modernise the sports even more. I think the stadium is still very new so for tourists so it’s advisable to get a tour package (you can also ask your hotel to arrange if you did not go under a tour) so that transport will be arranged as the only constant public transport available at the moment is the taxi service and the planned train station is not opened yet when I visit the venue.

There's also bus services bu if you're visiting and not a local, it's not the right mode of transport to take. I tried to figure out the route from my accommodation to the stadium and I gave up after awhile cause it was quite confusing for a visitor to the city. Fights at Lumpinee Stadium is only Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so if you plan to visit the place to catch some of the fights, you can plan your trips around those days.



Just like Rajadamnern Stadium, Lumpinee Stadium have their own ranking system as well with championship titles from mini flyweight (105 lb) up to the super welterweight (154 lb). I’m quite proud to say that during my stay in Bangkok, I got to train and spar with Sam-A Kaiyanghadaogym , one of Lumpinee title holder.

At present, only 3 farangs have been awarded the most prestigious belts in Muay Thai, which is Lumpinee Champions. The 1st of which is French-Algerian fighter, Morad Sari, French fighter Damien Alamos and Ramon Dekkers. Unlike the Rajadamnern stadium though, walking into the Lumpinee stadium felt just like walking into any other normal sports stadium. The atmosphere, even though noisy and packed like the other stadium is more modern and facilities are very much updated.

Bangkok Muay Thai Tour 2014

The various rooms (management office, medical, weight-in room and changing rooms) are properly segregated and spread across the rear of the stadium near to the VIP/Office wing with plenty of modern facilities for the fighters to utilize. For fans attending the match, there’s a huge shop you can visit to buy boxing gears while the ring side seats are nicely spread out.

Check out the entrance below the VIP seating area as you can catch a glimpse of the next fighter coming out to fight. Unlike Rajadamnern where the fighters stands on a platform before their fight, the fighters in Lumpinee gets a nice sitting area where they can relax and get into the zone before entering the ring. But while I was there though, they spend most of their time standing as their friends and fans would want to get a photo with them before their fights.

Bangkok Muay Thai Tour 2014

Every day, the list of fights schedules and results will be displayed on their website, so you can head there, find out when your favorite fighters are fighting and make arrangements to get there. It is even easier if you know the fighter(s) themselves and can ask them to make arrangements for you to head into the stadium. As the fights are also broadcasted, the crowd do tend to be more muted in their volumes and as the whole place is brightly lit, you don't have to worry about experiencing the whole atmosphere from the gamblers reactions to the fights that is happening in the ring.

Lumpinee Boxing Stadium

No. 6, Ramintra Rd, Anusawaree
Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Phone : +66 2 252 8765
Ticket Price: Please refer to this website.
Waze: https://waze.to/lr/hw4rwckmnw

Map:
Click to Enlarge

Michael Yip

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