Yasuhiro Kido and Buakaw Banchamek were meant to face off ahead of their Sep. 9 matchup on RWS Muay Thai. While the K-1 Kickboxing icon Yasuhiro Kido showed up in Kabuki makeup, the kickboxing legend Buakaw did not show up at all.
RWS Muay Thai
On Sep. 9, RWS Muay Thai is hosting the event Legend of Rajadamnern live from Rajadamnern Stadium. Fans around the globe can enjoy this fight card DAZN, while fans in Thailand can watch it live on YouTube.
It is a marquee fight card featuring the final four of their super welterweight tournament that has notable fighters such as Dani Rodriguez, Petchmorakot, Yodwicha, and Thananchai. The main event is a showdown of kickboxing royalty between Yasuhiro Kido and Buakaw Banchamek.
Buakaw Banchamek
The Thai-born Buakaw Banchamek is a legend of kickboxing and Muay Thai. After a promising start to his Muay Thai career, he transitioned to kickboxing and exploded onto the scene in 2004 by capturing the K-1 World MAX Grand Prix Championship.
Buakaw would continue his kickboxing success being a two-time finalist and adding one more Grand Prix title to his name. The Thai-born athlete fought through the golden era of kickboxing facing notable strikers such as Nieky Holzken, Andy Souwer, Masato Kobayashi, and Giorgio Petrosyan, among many others.
Yasuhiro Kido
Japan’s Yasuhiro Kido is an important figure in the history of K-1 Kickboxing. In 2008, he would capture the K-1 World MAX Grand Prix Championship. He would collect more titles in his career such as in KRUSH and was a runner-up in the K-1 Grand Prix in 2017.
Yasuhiro has kept busy throughout his storied career, overall he has put together a record with over 50 career victories.
Buakaw vs Yasuhiro Kido
Buakaw and Yasuhiro Kido will meet in a professional kickboxing match this weekend live from Bangkok, Thailand. The two strikers were meant to share a face-off during the RWS press conference.
The 41-year-old Buakaw sent a video message instead and explained:
“Hello, I am Buakaw Banchamek. First and foremost for being unable to join in today’s press conference due to unforeseen personal circumstances. Kido and I know one another from the kickboxing circle in Japan. I personally am not ready to meet Kido right now. I do not want to meet my contender before the match. I want to meet him on the day. We both can take the match seriously. If we meet each other before the match I might elbow him first.”
Kido showed up at the press conference in good spirits while wearing full Kabuki makeup and clothing, inspired by Japanese comedian Shimura Ken. He would also do an open workout for attending media.
Confidently, Kido explained to the media and fans that has is ready and prepared for this matchup and would not be right here right now if he did not believe he could beat Buakaw.
Buakaw and Yasuhiro Kido still have the weight-ins ahead of their Sep. 9 match in RWS Muay Thai.