‘He’s My Blueprint’ – How Yod-IQ Finds Inspiration Through His Unshakeable Bond With Tawanchai
Every fighter has an idol they once watched on a screen and dreamed of one day meeting. For Yod-IQ Or Pimolsri, that hero eventually became his best friend.
The 24-year-old returns to action in a bantamweight Muay Thai battle against undefeated Russian warrior Kiamran Nabati in the main event of The Inner Circle on Friday, May 22, available exclusively with a monthly subscription at live.onefc.com.
He enters this assignment in Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, riding a nine-fight winning streak, a 126-36 professional record, and access that very few strikers in the sport have.
The man he sharpens his craft with on the mats and shares a room with at PK Saenchai Muaythaigym is reigning ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai – the very fighter Yod-IQ once idolized from the other side of a screen.
The story of how that early admiration became a daily brotherhood goes back to a quiet day in southern Thailand:
“I first got to know him through the television. I remember watching him fight back when he was still using the name Jatukam [Petchrungreung]. Back then, I wasn’t even serious about it. I was working in Surat Thani and happened to see a newspaper.
“It had a story about his fight with Kingsanglek, and I remember thinking, ‘Wait, who is this kid?’ Throughout high school, I followed him constantly – both for his skills and his good looks.”
As his own career began to take shape, the Thai studied every available frame of Tawanchai he could find. Three years his senior, the future ONE World Champion was the blueprint for everything Yod-IQ wanted to be inside the ring, and, by his own admission, outside of it too.
Idolizing him from afar, however, was never going to be enough. When the opportunity to join PK Saenchai Muaythaigym arrived, the young gun took it without hesitation. The hero had become a friend. The friend, eventually, became a brother.
Yod-IQ recalled:
“I’d looked up to him as an idol since his days at Sor Thanapetch. I never dreamed I’d end up at the same gym as my hero. But when we first met at the gym, we weren’t close. We stayed in different rooms for about a year and a half before we really started hanging out.
“Tawanchai shared a room with Saensatharn, but once [he] retired, Tawanchai was on his own. He asked me to move in and be his roommate. Since then, we’ve been close, and we train together all the time.”
Training and practically living with Tawanchai has fast-tracked Yod-IQ’s rise to stardom. He had the chance to share daily pad work sessions with one of the most talented nak muay on the planet.
But Tawanchai also knows the road to elite-level success carries its own quiet costs. Whenever Yod-IQ steps into the ring, Tawanchai’s voice echoes the same reminder from his corner.
The PK Saenchai Muaythaigym representative added:
“The best advice he ever gave me was that he wants me to follow in his footsteps, and when I’m in a fight, he reminds me to never give up easily. I carry that with me constantly. No matter how much it hurts, you don’t just quit.
“If I hadn’t known Tawanchai or ended up at PK Saenchai, I’d probably just be another local circuit fighter back in the province.”
The Matching Gold That Would Complete The Story
The proof that the apprentice had absorbed every lesson came on the night Yod-IQ Or Pimolsri exacted revenge against Alexey Balyko with a picturesque head kick at ONE Friday Fights 137 last December.
As a result, he earned a US$100,000 main roster contract that most fans saw coming. However, Tawanchai PK Saenchai wasn’t like most followers.
The 27-year-old had spent years quietly believing in his protege long before the world ever knew his name. The celebration on the global stage belonged to both of them, per Yod-IQ:
“When I finally got my ONE contract, we were both just so happy. I gave him a huge hug, and he told me, ‘You’re great, man. You did it. I knew you could do it, and you actually proved it.'”
Now, the apprentice has begun chasing the one chapter that would seal the entire story.
Tawanchai already owns a ONE World Title. Yod-IQ wants to follow in his footsteps. Two brothers from the same gym, side by side, with a pair of 26-pound gold belts wrapped around their waists.
The Thai added:
“I have this dream in my head – if I could become a World Champion alongside him, holding our belts together, that would be the most incredible, beautiful dream come true for me.
“He’s my blueprint for boxing. His Muay Thai is so fluid and beautiful. I just love that style.”
