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Here is some information I was able to pull up for Grayfist and Diego:
For the young Thai boxer Terdsak Jandaeng, who works at the water processing plant in Sukhothai, life is about more than just living. It is about surviving; surviving in the impoverished villages of Thailand, and surviving in the ring. Jandaeng's life has been one constant act of survival after another- leading him to a professional boxing record of 24-1.
Terdsak is a young man, having turned 26 only this June, and sees the world as being full of potential. Raised by a father often sick due to his Opium addiction, and a mother struggling to raise her seven children without her husband's help, he knows the darker sides of the world; yet for Terdsak Jandaeng the world begins in the boxing ring- and ends somewhere past the horizon. As he puts it, "The sky is the limit for me, now that I am a professional boxer."
One of the middle children of his seven siblings, Terdsak was neither blessed with the fate of being the youngest, nor the burden of being the eldest. For him, early life was trying to pick up the slack of his drug-addicted father by working at the national zoo in ****kok as a janitor. Being unable to live with his family, working full time to send money back to his siblings, he often felt lonely and isolated- feelings that would find Jandaeng lacing up gloves and squaring off in the ring to alleviate his pain.
Since early adolescence Terdsak worked and lived in the feline exhibit in the ****kok Zoo- until a chance conversation with his boss would lead him to discover boxing. Jandaeng says, "I would work and sleep in the same place. Behind the jungle cat cage near the West part of the zoo. I had nowhere else to go- I just worked and slept. I had no friends, no life outside the zoo. It was horrible."
Then, Man Deuk Park, his supervisor at the zoo commented on a recent fight he had worked as a cut man for that piqued Terdsak's interest, "I heard about the local amateur boxing fights...and I have to say I was hooked. The idea of doing more than sleeping at the zoo every night, of actually being recognized and having something to do with my time- I funneled everything I have into the sport."
Everything Terdsak Jandeng has will be on display August 5th, 2006 against Juan Manuel Marquez in a WBO Featherweight title match on Shobox. It's been a long time since Terdsak went from a zoo janitor to a professional boxer- but if he loses he says, "I'm at the top now. If I fail from here...it will break my heart if I lose against Marquez. I can't lose. I won't. If I do, no questions, I would give all my money to my family in Sukhothai and keep my job at the water treatment facility. Just quit boxing. If I fail at this level...I can't stand taking a step back."
For the young Thai boxer Terdsak Jandaeng, who works at the water processing plant in Sukhothai, life is about more than just living. It is about surviving; surviving in the impoverished villages of Thailand, and surviving in the ring. Jandaeng's life has been one constant act of survival after another- leading him to a professional boxing record of 24-1.
Terdsak is a young man, having turned 26 only this June, and sees the world as being full of potential. Raised by a father often sick due to his Opium addiction, and a mother struggling to raise her seven children without her husband's help, he knows the darker sides of the world; yet for Terdsak Jandaeng the world begins in the boxing ring- and ends somewhere past the horizon. As he puts it, "The sky is the limit for me, now that I am a professional boxer."
One of the middle children of his seven siblings, Terdsak was neither blessed with the fate of being the youngest, nor the burden of being the eldest. For him, early life was trying to pick up the slack of his drug-addicted father by working at the national zoo in ****kok as a janitor. Being unable to live with his family, working full time to send money back to his siblings, he often felt lonely and isolated- feelings that would find Jandaeng lacing up gloves and squaring off in the ring to alleviate his pain.
Since early adolescence Terdsak worked and lived in the feline exhibit in the ****kok Zoo- until a chance conversation with his boss would lead him to discover boxing. Jandaeng says, "I would work and sleep in the same place. Behind the jungle cat cage near the West part of the zoo. I had nowhere else to go- I just worked and slept. I had no friends, no life outside the zoo. It was horrible."
Then, Man Deuk Park, his supervisor at the zoo commented on a recent fight he had worked as a cut man for that piqued Terdsak's interest, "I heard about the local amateur boxing fights...and I have to say I was hooked. The idea of doing more than sleeping at the zoo every night, of actually being recognized and having something to do with my time- I funneled everything I have into the sport."
Everything Terdsak Jandeng has will be on display August 5th, 2006 against Juan Manuel Marquez in a WBO Featherweight title match on Shobox. It's been a long time since Terdsak went from a zoo janitor to a professional boxer- but if he loses he says, "I'm at the top now. If I fail from here...it will break my heart if I lose against Marquez. I can't lose. I won't. If I do, no questions, I would give all my money to my family in Sukhothai and keep my job at the water treatment facility. Just quit boxing. If I fail at this level...I can't stand taking a step back."
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