Thai professional boxer Thangthong Kiattaweesuk and his wife were killed in a car accident in Chanthaburi yesterday.
The 35-year-old, who was ranked first in the super bantamweight division by the IBF, lost control of his car which hit a tree during a downpour, police said.
The boxer, whose real name was Thangthong Krongchan, his wife Theeraporn and their two six-year-old twin children were killed at the scene, while his two nieces were seriously injured.
Thangthong was a former Thailand national boxer and won a silver medal at the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines.
In his last fight on May 5, Thangthong stopped Macbute Sinyabi of South Africa in a IBF super bantamweight eliminator in Phitsanulok.
It was reported that he had got the green light to fight the winner between IBF champion Jeffery Mathebula of South Africa and WBO title-holder Nonito Donaire of the Philippines. The championship bout is scheduled for July 7.
