Life is tough for Myanmar’s traditional boxing pros

Myanmar’s most popular sport, soccer, glues tens of millions of people to their television sets or their computer monitors worldwide with every competition.

The second favourite sport in this country, traditional boxing, still has a long way to gaining that level of international worship.

Myanmar traditional boxers are revered at home. The game has also been gaining foreign adherents since 2000, when sportsmen of other nationalities began joining tournaments hosted by the country.

Its traditional boxers started joining competitions abroad earlier.

Myanmar traditional boxing is similar to Thailand’s Muay Thai but its roots trace back to the ancient monastery martial arts called Pwe Kyaung.