Eh Phouthong: The Koh Kong Fighter Who Became the Face of Kun Khmer
A national champion across several weight classes, he beat international opponents in Phnom Penh, taught street children for free and now coaches Cambodia's next champions.
From Koh Kong to Phnom Penh
Eh Phouthong was born Eh Lim in Koh Kong province, in south-west Cambodia; most profiles give his date of birth as 14 October 1975. He took the name Phouthong from Yuth Phouthong, the relative who first trained him. He began learning the national martial art, Kun Khmer, also known as Pradal Serey, at about the age of 12, and trained in Prey Veng province under Kung Sroy.
At 16 he moved to Phnom Penh to train under Chhit Sarim at the Ministry of Defence boxing club. He began competing in his late teens. According to the French news agency AFP, he grew up poor and did not go to school as a child.
A champion in several weight classes
He started fighting at 48 kilograms and moved up over the years to 63 and later 85. He won national gold medals in divisions from 45 to 67 kilograms, and by 2003 he had been national champion for more than three years.
In 2001 he beat the French fighter Jean-Charles Skarbowsky in Phnom Penh. In 2003 he won the Kun Khmer CBA International Championship against Faisal Zakaria of Sudan, and in Thailand he reached the semi-finals of the first S1 tournament.
His exact record is not certain, because bouts under different rules were counted in different ways. A profile published in 2007 credited him with 140 wins in 150 fights by 2006. In 2011, AFP wrote that he had nearly 200 wins over almost two decades in the ring. He was known for his right kick.
The later years in the ring
In March 2008 he lost on points to Adam Shahir Kayoom at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. He said afterwards that he was considering retirement, the Cambodia Daily reported at the time. He kept competing. In 2009 he won a bronze medal in boxing at the Southeast Asian Games in Laos, and in February 2010 he stopped Pitu Sans in the first round in Phnom Penh.
Teaching the next generation
Eh Phouthong opened his own boxing club in Phnom Penh's Tonle Bassac area in 2005. In 2011, AFP reported on his work in a resettlement village about 20 kilometres from the city centre, under the headline "Cambodia's 'Muhammad Ali' fights for street children". He had been giving free lessons to local children there, and then ran kickboxing classes for about 20 children aged 3 to 14 at a community centre operated by the Australian charity Child Wise.
He also appeared in two Khmer-language action films and co-hosted the television show Kun Khmer Champion on CTN.
The coach
He is now retired from fighting and works as a coach in Phnom Penh. His best-known student is Thoeun Theara, who in December 2023 became the first Khmer boxer to win a Thai title, the Phnom Penh Post reported. In 2023 Eh Phouthong received the Best Coach Award of the Khmer Boxing World Championship Techo Santepheap, and his club reopened under a new partnership as the Galaxy Navatra Eh Phouthong club.
