Seconds out...

A look at the ring and last night's boxing match at Olympic Stadium

Last night I joined a healthy crowd in the Olympic Stadium indoor arena for the first of the new TV3 televised boxing promotions. Sophoin had a couple of free tickets so we thought we'd pop along and suss out the action. We had a seat high in the stalls with a good view of proceedings though it was breezeless and humid and the wooden benches uncomfortable to sit on for too long - next time I'll take a cushion. As for the action below, it was a combination of kick-boxing and regular boxing on the bill, together with a couple of appearances in the ring of two of the country's favourite pop stars, Meas Soksophea and Khemarak Sereymun, though singing not fighting! The first three matches were kick-boxing fights, two of which pitched Khmer fighters against foreigners. There was no match really as the Khmers were much better in their ring-craft and dominated from start to finish. One of the fighters was Nuon Soriya, one of the crowd favourites though Sophoin has a different take on it. It was Soriya who crashed his moto into hers over a year ago and escaped quickly, leaving a paltry sum of money to cover the damage, which it didn't and left Sophoin off work for a month. He won his fight easily but we didn't clap out of principle. The main bout was a real boxing match between Vy Savuth and Filipino Pol Apolinario, which Savuth won with style. Did I enjoy it? Some air-con would've helped keep me awake but I've never been a boxing fan and this didn't convert me either. One person who did stay awake was the PM Hun Sen, who banned an advert by the OK condom sponsors after seeing it between rounds.

Meas Soksophea entered the ring a couple of times to sing two songs. She really does have a lovely voice. More Soksophea, less boxing please!

Just through the door

I'm just back through the door after spending most of the day at the Olympic Stadium. First there was the friendly international between Cambodia Under-23 and their counterparts from Singapore. Eagerly anticipated, it all unraveled in spectacular fashion as Singapore netted six times without reply and you could literally see the steam coming out of coach Scott O'Donell's ears, he was that hopping mad. More on the game later. I then stayed at the stadium to watch a card of three kick-boxing bouts and one regular boxing match in the indoor volleyball area. It attracted a good crowd, as did the afternoon's football and we even had an appearance by Meas Soksophea, my favourite Khmer singer, who sang a couple of songs. Again more later.

Soksophea in action

Last Saturday at the Olympic Stadium, thousands of music fans turned up to see the cream of Cambodia's singing talent take to the stage in an anti-corruption rally. I was already at the stadium and had to weave my way through the crowd to leave after watching football, not realising that my favourite female artist, Meas Soksophea was performing that night. Damn. However, photographer Nick Sells has sent me a photo of the young lady in action at the concert. Her What You Don't Know song remains my favourite tune over here - until the next one. The rally itself has caused a bit of a stir as the American Ambassador made some comments about corruption which has upset some people here. I'm just gutted I didn't get to see Meas Soksophea in the flesh so to speak. Link: Nick Sells.

What you don't know

Occasionally I can be a hopeless romantic. Not often, but sometimes it comes up on me when I'm least expecting it. This song is one such time. I've loved this track for a while now and just found the video of What you don't know, sung by Meas Soksophea, a very talented Khmer singer. Yes I know it's soppy but it reminds me of a very good friend in Siem Reap and it makes me smile whenever I hear it. And I can't stop singing along to it either. Enjoy.