How I defeated Buakaw – Stoyan Koprivlenski breaks down K-1 fight
Buakaw Banchamek took a loss against Stoyan Koprivlenski during their K-1 World MAX kickboxing bout earlier in 2024. Thailand’s Buakaw was looking to turn back the clock and reclaim kickboxing gold, but the Bulgarian striker Koprivlenski defeated the kickboxing and Muay Thai legend over three rounds.
‘The Sniper’ Koprivlenski sat down with K-1 to break down his matchup against Buakaw Banchamek.
Buakaw Banchamek
The Thai-born Buakaw Banchamek has achieved legendary status throughout his iconic career between kickboxing and Muay Thai. The striker changed the landscape of kickboxing in 2004 when he won the K-1 World MAX Grand Prix, and repeated this feat in 2006. Buakaw fought the best of a golden era generation and was decorated in gold.
Retirement is not something on Buakaw’s mind. He is aged 42 and made his professional debut in 1999, competing in the Stadium Muay Thai scene, in 2024 he is showing no signs of slowing down. Buakaw fought Saenchai in a legends Muay Thai match in BKFC, plus has taken bouts in Rajadamnern World Series.
Stoyan Koprivlenski
Bulgaria’s Stoyan Koprivlenski is a highly talented kickboxer. The 30-year-old is well known for being an incredibly entertaining striker and is frequently in fight-of-year matches. Being one of the top-ranked fighters in this division, he has dropped contentious split decision losses to reigning champions Tyjani Beztati and Kaito Ono. However, these close losses did not deter him. Instead, he was determined to pick up K-1 Kickboxing gold in 2024.
Buakaw Banchamek vs Stoyan Koprivlenski
Buakaw and Stoyan Koprivlenski fought in the Quarter Finals round of the K-1 World MAX 2024 – World Championship Tournament. The two strikers battled for three rounds. The Thai veteran had a great first round showing incredible speed and defense but faded with the constant pressure of ‘The Sniper’ Koprivlenski. It was quite an exciting matchup.
Ultimately, Koprivlenski would get his hand raised. Next, the Bulgarian athlete defeated Brazil’s Dengue Silva in the Semi Finals, in another barnburner of a fight. Lastly, Koprivlenski would knock out Viktor Akimov in the tournament final to take home the K-1 World MAX Championship in 2024. All three fights took place in a single evening.
Koprivlenski spoke to K-1 about his matchup, he outlined the adjustments and gameplan for the fight. The Bulgarian-born striker also explained how he grew up watching Buakaw and what a legend he is.
“[Buakaw] is my fighting hero … I grew up watching his fights,” Koprivlenski continued, “I had to be more active.” He scored a knockdown in round 2 with a head kick, and said, “I don’t think the kick was that hard but he didn’t expect it.”
