It’s too bad that in a country where transgender folks are given a “third gender” status, posing on the cover of a gay magazine is still worthy of reprimand: Appearing in his underwear for the cover of Thai magazine Stage, boxer Worapoj Petchkoom now faces a year-long ban.
Officially, Petchkoom says he didn’t know the magazine was a gay title. Note to Petchkoom: Fire your publicist!
And while he’s spent half his time denying reports that he’s a homo (he says he has a girlfriend), he’s spent the other half trying to keep the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand from booting him. Nevermind that Petchkoom, 28, is fingered as a 2012 London Olympics competitor; in 2004, he took home a silver medal.
Now there’s a full panel investigating why Petchkoom supposedly disgraced the boxing association. Was it because he’s on a gay magazine? Or because he posed in his underwear? ‘Cause that was sort of his own fault.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Petchkoom, 28, told the Joh Jai TV programme: “I thought it was an honour to be invited to grace the cover of a magazine on its third anniversary.
“I became sceptical when I was told to wear just underpants.
“They said everything was going to be okay because it would show my abdomen muscles.”
The boxer said he was told he would have to pay compensation if he left the shoot.
Okay, scratch what we said earlier: Clearly he doesn’t have a publicist.
sal(the original)
look on the bright side Worapoj you’re famous now.
terrwill
They want to lower the Boom on poor Petchkoom!!!
Below the Belt
Talk about fighting for your life every time you step into the ring……
Helga von ornstein
It’s their loss (the boxing association). Many of you might not be aware of this but there is a Thai boxer who was out of the closet and everyone not only knew it but cheered “her” on.
Yes, she rose to be a champion and then had her sex-change operation. Her name is Nong Toom and if you are at a video store the movie title is Beautiful Boxer. And yes, she can still kick ass.
Again I say it is their loss because their dumb asses don’t realize how to capitilize on the ignorant. Imagine how many people would pay to see him get his ass stomped in the ring.
Didn’t anyone pay attention to wrestlers such as Georgeous George and Buddy Rodgers and company? That is why they did what they did so you would keep paying to see them get their asses kicked, though we all know wrestling always has and will be full of it.
Cam
I doubt posing in his undewear is an excuse to kick him out considering Boxing shorts don’t leave much to the imagination.
tommyb
poor kid – he’s hot though.
Disgusted American
ahh because the Boxing profession is so Full of Integrity? WTF..? And let me guess – if it were a straight mag it would be ok?
Brian
To be fair, though, wouldn’t it be a problem if Michael Phelps or some other American athlete posed in a porn mag, gay or straight? Maybe it wouldn’t get an American olympian disqualified, but it would definitely be a scandal. And just to clarify Stage magazine isn’t nearly as soft porn as those pics. They don’t do nudity but I’m sure they’ve got lots of pics of him in see through, wet underwear. And one more clarification I’m not saying America should disqualify an athlete for posing, just that the Thai authorities are only acting as stupidly as their counterparts around the world do.