Loed of thr ring

The slab of concrete hidden behind thick walls and loops of barbed wire at the Central Correctional Institute for Young Male Offender may be the largest boxing gym in the world.For six hours each day.,160 wiry,lavishly tattooed ,thoroughly badass looking prisoners spar and attack punching bags with a single-minded determinated that underlies how high the stakes are.Many gifted pugilists have been released early on parole.Those who are still incarcerated but have fewer than 42 months left of their sentences can box in outside fights and keep their prize money to buy prison perks,like shrimp chips or enough space to sleep on their backs.According to prison officals,not a single boxer released from detention there has landed back in jail,compared to at least a 10 % recidivism rate among the prison's general population.



For all the sweat and testosterone,the young-offenders gym is a peculiar place,because it's missing the edge of aggresion you would expect in a boxing ring,not to mention a prison,Inmates finish pummeling each other and then deferentially bring their hands together in the traditional Thai greeting.Voices are gentle.One of the best boxers,a bantamweight nickname black lion who has already fought in 30 outside bouts,point out his favorite tattoo,It says Mam,It's dedicate to his mother,though he's embarrassed that the English word is mispelled.I have disappionted her for so long.I'm only finished first grade.I took drugs.Maybe with boxing and good focus,I can fix myself and make my mother proud.



Amnat Runeroeng can't make amends with his father.He didn't make it to his dad's funeral,because he was too high on heroin or crazy medicine or something else,he can't remember.Of all the mistakes the 29 years old has made-beating up his first grade teacher,snatching necklaces and wallets,robbing houses of everything including their fittings-missing his father's cremation is his biggest regret .Amnat is the ninth of nine childern.His parents sold pigs,and all his other siblings now sell pigs,but pigs just weren't Amnat's thing.So he stopped school in second grade and apprenticed himself to a Thai kickboxing gym.At 7 years old,he lost his first fight and cried from the pain in his ribs.He lost his second bout,too.But at least he stopped the tears from flowing.The years after that were a blur of highs and lows,well-aimed kicks that placed him among the top kickboxers in the region,drug-fueled robbery sprees that landed him in jail three times.


Then in 2006,Amnat decide to try his hand at international boxing.Having barely cracked a 15 year robbery sentence,he figured it would be a good way to pass time.A year later,Amnat had won a national title on the light flyweight division.Not coincidentally,he was paroled the day after that January 2007 fight-just two years and six months into his sentence.Last November,Amnat captured a bronze at the 2007 World Boxing Championships in Chicago.He's now on the Thai Olympic boxing team,which has been traning in Vietnam to avoid,as one coach puts it,girls ,nightclubs and other distractions.Amnat's Cuban coach Omar Puentes rates the former prisoner a medal contender in Bejing.The discipline and dedication that he got in prison are what account for his success,says Puentes.He's got more discipline than anyone else I 've trained.Amnat is even more direct.If I was not a champion,I'd still be in jail,That makes me try very hard.



The boxing narrative doesn't always end with redemption in the ring.Witness former world heavyweight champ Mike Tyson's slow motion self-destruction,the rape conviction,the bizarre facial tattoo,the ear he chomped during a 1997 title fight most everyone knew he'd lose.Out of the ring,pugilists can be unprepared for the pitfalls of fame.Convict boxers are more vulnerable than most.A stranger comes and promises you a second chance-who would turn that down?



In Thailand,for women jailbird boxers,Chuwong Toomkit is your man.Eddy favors dark suits,even when the mercury rises near 40c.His hair is dyed as black as his clothes.Eddy speaks English with an American twang and claims that Samson has about $15700 in the bank,courtesy of his promotional prowess.Some boxing insiders have hinted that Samson's success owes more to Eddy's ability to land her big fights than any proven track record.Eddy also says that since Time's policy is not to pay for interviews,he won't allow Samson wants?She trusts me on everything,he says I do everything for her.Asked,when Eddy isn't around,what kind of savings she has,Samson say she has no idea.Eddy knows all that,she says .And in Phnom Penh,the boxer admits she has no idea of the amount of the purse she just won.Eddy doesn't tell me things like that,she whispers.You'll have to ask him.




But for a girl who went to jail at 17,Samson's fairy tale continues.After her successful defense of her world title in Phnom Penh,the birthday girl went for dinner at the Thai ambassador's house.Imagine, a convicted drug dealer dining with diplomants and generals.She gave a speech and teared up.So did the men in suits and uniforms.