She fights for the “Boxen im Norden” promotion, is a WBF and WIBF world champion and is one of the young hopefuls in German women’s boxing. BOXSPORT takes a closer look at the potential of “The Diamond” Fai Phannarai.
Her role models include German boxing queen Regina Halmich and multi-class world champion Amanda Serrano, who Fai Phannarai would like to emulate. She has already been WBF and WIBF champion since she forced Crystal Garcia Nova to retire after six rounds on May 29, 2022. She also has hopes of a title fight in the WBO, one of the four major federations, as she is currently ranked second in the Superbantam.
Next up for the 23-year-old, who fights for the Hamburg promotion “Boxen im Norden” , is a title defense of her belts on the Day of German Unity. On October 3, “The Diamond” will take on Australian Shannon “Shotgun” O’Connell, who will be her next test. Before that, BOXSPORT puts the German hopeful with Thai roots to the test in the analysis.
Experience
With 15 wins in 15 fights, the record of Fai Phannarai, who is listed on BoxRec as Phannarai Netisri, is flawless so far. Since making her professional debut in 2019, the Thai-born fighter has boxed at least two fights a year, having previously been active as a kickboxer, where she met her coach Jiri Resl. However, she has only boxed outside of Germany twice at the start of her career, at fights in Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic, where she came to the attention of Hamburg promoter Thomas Nissen.
Since then, Phannarai has held the majority of her fights in her “living room”, the Kiez disco “Große Freiheit 36”, in front of a home crowd of fans. Some stay-busy fights, for example against Vera Kubickova or Journeywoman Hasna Tukic, are also included. In between, however, Phannarai has steadily improved, defeating the powerful Cheyenne Hanson in June 2021 in the fight for the WBC Junior World Championships, for example, and recently defending her belt against the tough Maria Magdalena Rivera. Despite her 44 years, the Argentinian proved to be a bulky opponent who ultimately defeated “The Diamond” unanimously on points.
Fighting style
The Nuremberg native, who has been trained by Resl since the age of 15, presents herself as a technically strong boxer who can adapt to her opponents. One of her greatest strengths is her very stable double guard, which she uses to prevent her opponents from landing effective strikes. However, her avoidance movements and footwork are also important assets in her defensive work, especially against noticeably taller opponents such as Kim Angelina Jäckel or Manuela Zulj.
Phannarai is always on the lookout for opportunities with cover work and evasion, preferring to target single hands or one-two combinations. Her specialties include combinations of left and right hooks, but she likes to use the full repertoire of punches – whether straights, hooks or uppercuts – as soon as she sees an opportunity to score. However, if the situation requires it, Phannarai can also switch at lightning speed, dish it out in an infight or cover an opponent with volleys of punches.
Endurance
Phannarai prepares conscientiously for her fights, sparring with bigger and heavier men, for example, so that she can go the distance against tough opponents. Before the fight against Rivera, she completed a challenging training camp in Thailand in high temperatures to be prepared for the Argentinian fighter, who has also had to fight a few street fights in the course of her life.
“The Diamond” won six of her 15 victories by knockout, in the remaining fights she went the distance. These include the eight rounds against Hanson at the Junior World Championships as well as her ten-round title defenses against Ana Arrazola, Danielle Bennett and Rivera. However, Phannarai showed slight signs of fatigue in the later rounds against the grueling Argentinian, describing the fight afterwards as the toughest of her career to date.
Tactics
Phannarai’s technical ability, flexibility and ring IQ have helped her find the right tactics for every opponent so far. Against the knockout-prone Hanson, she stayed in double-guard and scored skillfully. Kim Angelina Jäckel worked her over with hard punches until her corner threw in the towel. Against the compact Rivera, she relied on evasive movements and precise combinations. Especially against taller boxers, the 1.61-metre tall “Boxen im Norden” fighter relies on her excellent cover work to bridge the distance and then land punches.
Fai Phannarai: Conclusion
Fai Phannarai really is a diamond that needs to be further honed in the next few fights. Her technical skills and variability in particular give her the potential to play at the very top, but she needs to be tested further. If she passes the next, tougher challenges with the same confidence as her previous fights, she will be ready for a title fight with one of the major federations. (Text: Nils Bothmann)