Cambodian fighter Namthieu Kun Khmer chokes Myanmar boxer Joe Phyu, as referee Long Vibol looks on. Supplied
The slow response of referee Long Vibol in stopping Cambodian fighter Namthieu Kun Khmer after he grabbed and choked Myanmar boxer Joe Phyu has sparked widespread criticism of the Mas Fight event at Town Arena on Sunday, May 18. Many commentators have called for the organisers and relevant bodies to fix perceived shortcomings to avoid endangering the lives of fighters.
Both Cambodian and Myanmar fans who watched the live broadcast criticised Vibol for his inexperience in officiating Mas Fight matches. His delayed reaction in stopping Namthieu after the chokehold nearly caused serious harm — or even suffocation — to the Burmese fighter.
Vibol failed to intervene and support Phyu when he was gasping for air, causing the Myanmar fighter to collapse backwards and hit his head on the ring floor. His lack of care has become a hot topic of criticism both domestically and internationally, raising concerns about the safety and management of Mas Fight events in Cambodia.
Olivier Coste, a referee from ONE Championship, also commented on the issue.
“Khmer martial arts in an MMA-style fight is not appropriate. I think they want to incorporate MMA-style rules, but the referee lacks knowledge of the sport or of MMA. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen again,” he said, via social media.
Meanwhile, Myanmar sporting news outlet ANS, which has over 200,000 followers, posted a message addressed to Khov Chhay, the president of the Khmer Boxing Federation, urging him to take disciplinary action against the referee. ANS claimed that the federation should remove Vibol from his referee duties and assign him other tasks instead.
Chhay acknowledged that Mas Fight rules differ somewhat from traditional Kun Khmer rules. He claimed that Kun Khmer referees have always officiated Mas Fight events. However, regarding this particular incident, he promised an investigation.
Joe Phyu lies on the floor of the ring after collapsing from the chokehold. Supplied
“The federation’s working group is currently reviewing the matter,” he said.
Kim Srunkosal — better known as Tommy Kim, advisor to Town TV and head of Mas Fight Cambodia — told The Post on Monday that everything regarding Sunday’s Mas Fight incident has been resolved.
“We’ve already resolved this matter with the Myanmar side. We’ve explained everything to them,” he said.
Tommy revealed that problems like the one seen on Sunday occurred because Kun Khmer referees trained under Mas Fight rules have recently been reassigned to other venues, in line with new policies from the federation. This made organising Mas Fight events more difficult.
“In the past, we had a dedicated referee for Town TV, so organizing Mas Fight events ran smoothly. But now referees have been reassigned from one place to another. The people familiar with Mas Fight rules have all been rotated out, so now we face challenges organising every event,” he explained.
He expressed his commitment to continue organizing Mas Fights, where each bout is a single 9-minute round. Since launching the event at Town in 2019, he believes Mas Fight has helped train many skilled fighters.
“Mas Fight has produced many strong fighters, so we’ll keep trying to improve. I’ve already resolved this issue, and we’ll show the improvements next week,” he said.
According to his statement, Mas Fight Cambodia will introduce changes at Town starting next week.
