Somjit Jongjohor: Thailand’s Olympic Boxing Champion

Somjit Jongjohor is a Thai amateur boxer who won the men’s flyweight gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Born on January 19, 1975, he represented Thailand in the flyweight division at two Olympics. Olympedia’s athlete record lists his results at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

A breakthrough in Bangkok

Jongjohor established himself among the world’s leading amateur flyweights with a gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. The Asian Boxing Confederation’s historical review identifies him as the champion after the final against Pakistan’s Nouman Karim. He later won flyweight gold at the 2003 World Championships in Bangkok, a result noted in an Asian Boxing Confederation retrospective.

Two Olympic campaigns

At Athens 2004, Jongjohor won his opening bout before losing to Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa; Olympedia records him in a joint ninth place. Four years later in Beijing, he advanced through the flyweight bracket to the final. There, he defeated Cuba’s Andry Laffita to take Thailand’s Olympic gold. The official Olympics results list Jongjohor as the 48–51 kg flyweight champion, and Reuters reported his final victory on August 23, 2008.

A world championship silver

Jongjohor also reached the 51 kg final at the 2007 AIBA World Championships in Chicago. The International Boxing Association’s published draw records his route to the final and his loss to American boxer Rau’shee Warren, confirming a silver medal. His results across the Asian Games, world championships, and Olympics made him one of Thailand’s most accomplished amateur boxers.

Sources

Sources: Olympedia athlete profile and Olympic results; Beijing 2008 official boxing results; Reuters report on the 2008 final; Asian Boxing Confederation on Busan 2002; IBA 2007 51 kg draw and final results; Asian Boxing Confederation retrospective on the 2003 world champion.

Tags

Boxing, Boxing History