Born in July 1972 in Roi-Et in the northeastern part of Thailand, the boxer who came to be known as Samson Dutch Boy Gym was born with the name is Somboon Phantasi. It is common in Thailand for professional boxers to take ring names to honor the gyms they represent, or in exchange for money from a sponsor. While he is mainly known as Samson Dutch Boy Gym, the Southpaw-Puncher also fought as Samson Elite Gym, Samson 3K Battery, Samson Toyota-Thailand and a few other names. As is the case with most boxers from Thailand, Samson started out as a Muay Thai boxer, gaining a lot of ring experience and fame fighting as Saengmuangnoi Lukchapormasak (we will let this be the first and only time this name is used in this article).
Only 19 years old but with countless Muay thai battles and championships under his belt, Samson turned to traditional boxing and made his professional debut in February 1992, stopping curiously named Filipino Young Elmer in the first round. For some reason it would be over two years before Samson continued his boxing career, as he knocked out another Filipino, Edwin Casano, in the second round in May1994, but his return would be the start of a truly amazing journey. He was now on a fast track.
In June of 1994, in only his third pro fight, Samson stepped significantly up in class when he took on world-ranked Philippines champion Dan Nietes (26-6-1) in a ten rounder. Samson showed his great potential by beating Nietes by unanimous decision. His celebrity status growing, the management of Samson wasted no time in capitalizing on the Nietes victory and secured their man a September shot at the vacant WBF 115-pound title in Bangkok, against Australian champion Colin “Kid” Nelson. Samson repaid his handlers by dominating and stopping Nelson.
Over the course of the next two years, Samson was kept incredibly busy and defended his WBF title belt fifteen times, almost always winning by knockout. It must me said that some of the challengers were, to put it mildly, less than scary, but he also took care of quality fighters such as former WBC champion Rolando Pascua, future South African titlists Ndoda Mayende and Sandile Sobandla, undefeated Mexican contender Genaro Garcia and former world title-challenger Francisco Montiel.
In November 1996 Samson was pitted with Russian Alexander Makhmutov, who brought a 26-3 ledger and had lost a twelve round decision to another undefeated Thai world champion, WBA ruler Saen Sor Ploenchit, only two months earlier. Now 19-0, Samson got the job done in six rounds. Makhmutov would later win the European title twice.
Despite competing in a division where it is hard to get steady top-class opposition, Samson continued to fight often and always defending his WBF belt. He continued to face the occasional push-over, but he also took on true world class challengers whenever it was possible:
In March 1997 Samson destroyed Mexican Cruz Carbajal in four rounds. Five years later, Carbajal won the WBO world title, and made several defenses.
In June 1997 Samson defended his title with a sixth-round knockout over Argentinean Hugo R. Soto (47-4-2). Less than a year earlier Soto had gone twelve rounds in a losing effort against legendary Johnny Tapia for the WBO bantamweight crown, and less than a year later he would go on to win the WBA flyweight title.
On May 8, 2001, Samson was taken the distance for the first time in sixteen straight fights when he outpointed undefeated Filipino Diosdado Gabi (11-0). Gabi went on to fight for world titles again, and retired in 2008 with a 30-4-1 record after sharing the ring with big name world champions such as Vic Darchinyan and Abner Mares.
After the Gabi fight, Samson made two more title defenses, which he also won on points. The fact that he was no longer destroying opponents in the same manner that he used to, may have influenced his decision to retire from the sport at only 29 years of age shortly after beating Alfren Bulala in April 2002.
Undefeated at 43-0 with 36 KOs, and with thirty-eight successful defenses of his WBF world title, the career of Samson Dutch Boy Gym must be considered a success depite no major title fights. It can be argued that he was protected by only boxing in his home country, sometimes against undeserving challengers, but at the end of the day his accomplishments speak for themselves.
