Childhood and beginning of Muay Thai career Somboon Pantasi was born on July 11, 1972 in
Changhan district,
Roi Et province in the
Isaan region. His personal nickname is Joy (). His father, Naipon, and his mother, Laem, were impoverished farmers with 9 children. They also
raised cows in their home village of Ban Bak in
tambon Phak Waen. Laem died when Somboon was 6 years old. After completing primary school, he could not continue his education since his family could not afford it. Since becoming a Muay Thai fighter was the only option he had to escape poverty, he started training at home and began his fighting career at the age of 12 under the
ring name of Ayjoy Sitsiansai. After achieving a winning streak starting with his first fight, he joined the Sitkru-Am gym and began training under Pratan "Kru Am" Chantaret. He then adopted the ring name of Saenmuangnoi Sitkru-Am (The latter half of this ring name, Sitkru-Am, translates to "student of Kru Am"). After winning numerous fights in Isaan under Kru Am's coaching, he later transferred to and began living in the popular Lukjaopormehasak gym which was owned by Prisak "Pele" Inthapan. There, Pantasi would become a teammate of "The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches"
Yodkhunpon Sittraiphum and changed his ring name to Saenmuangnoi Lukjaopormehasak. During his time taking Muay Thai matchups in the Isaan region, the only person who was able to beat Pantasi was
Saenklai Sit Kru Od, another fighter from Isaan. In the Lukjaopormehasak gym, Pantasi became more adept with
pressure fighting and punching under the tutelage of Apisit Petsanghan, a gold medalist in the 1998
Thailand National Games. His kicking style was taught to him by Tawat Petsanghan, a police officer. Samson would jog for 8-10 laps around the Bueng Planchai park every morning and again for 2 laps in the afternoon, totaling around 11–12 mi (18–20 km) every day. He would then sleep at noon and resumed his training at 2 PM. He ended his training at 7 PM by throwing hundreds of knee strikes on punching bags. Notably, he fought in an orthodox stance at 17-years-old for the 100 lbs (45.36 kg) Thailand title in 1989 against Rittidej Sor.Ploenchit in Samrong stadium. He also beat the experienced Nongnarong Looksamrong 3 times. Samson eventually ran out of opponents in the Samrong Stadium, hence he transferred to the Petchyindee promotion owned by
Virat Vachirarattanawong to begin competing primarily in the
Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. Due to his popularity, each fight that he participated in produced around a million baht or more in profit for the stadium. Samson was a
Muay Bouk and
Muay Khao hybrid fighter, meaning that he was a pressure fighter who was also adept at knee fighting in the
clinch. After beating other elite fighters in 1990 including
Takrawlek Dejrath, Kiewmorakot Praianan, and Denthaksin Sor.Suwanpakdee, 1991 was the most significant period of Samson's career. He had 11 fights with no losses after he was matched up against
Thongchai Tor.Silachai, Pepsi Biyapan, Graiwannoi Sit Kru Od, among others. Samson had what is considered to be one of the best fights in his career against
Veeraphol Sahaprom, In his next fight, Samson would win the
Lumpinee Bantamweight title against Saenklai Sit Kru Od by way of knockout. He was 19-years-old when he was awarded the 1991
Fighter of the Year Award by the Sports Writers Association of Thailand, the most prestigious variant of the Fighter of the Year award in the country. 1992 was also a significant year of Samson's Muay Thai career. He extended his 11-fight unbeaten streak by beating
Muay Bouk fighter
Chartchainoi Chaorai-Oi. The streak was broken by
Muay Khao fighter (knee fighter)
Langsuan Panyuthaphum; Samson was then awarded , the highest fight purse in his pre-boxing career even though he lost against Langsuan. In between his 2 losses to Jaroensak Kiatnakornchon, Samson was able to beat knockout artist
Lakhin Wassandasit, a
Muay Maat fighter who had just won the
Isuzu-sponsored tournament and was at his top form at the time. Taweesaklek Ploysakda, a
Muay Bouk fighter referred to as "The Sadist" by the Thai media had his final fight against Samson. In their bout, Taweesaklek's lingering injury on his left eye was aggravated and had to be treated by surgeries. He retired afterwards. Lakhin then had his rematch in August wherein he became the first person to
knock down Samson. The third match between them had the
Rajadamnern Super Flyweight title at stake; Samson won the fight and earned the championship. Samson concluded his trilogy against Jaroensak by knocking him out.
Final Muay Thai fights before career switch After starting 1993 by knocking out Kiewmorakot Praianan and beating Dara-ek Sitrungsap, Samson went into a 4-fight losing streak, during which Veerapol Sahaprom became the first person to KO Samson. Samson then went into a 4-fight win streak afterwards. For his final fight of that year, Samson and his opponent Detduang Por.Pongsawang were awarded the Lumpinee Stadium Fight of the Year award for their bout in December. Samson would only have 3 Muay Thai fights in 1994, retiring from the sport after losing to Dara-ek in May. He and Saenklai Sit Kru Od were noted for their 11-fight rivalry that ended with Samson getting 5 wins and Saenklai getting 6. Samson had a missed fight against
Karuhat Sor.Supawan. His knockout victories against Veerapol Sahaprom and Pepsi Biyapan were considered to be the best fights in his pre-boxing career. Samson was 22-years-old when he switched to boxing. ==Boxing career==