00:08freedom through fight it's only possible in thailand criminals have the opportunity to box
00:16their way out of prison for each victory the detainee sees his sentence reduced
00:25the whole scheme is called prison fight and it takes place once a year it's difficult for us
00:31to understand violent crimes brought many prisoners here and now they can fight freely
00:38the klangpai central prison about three hours north of bangkok
00:43serious criminals are locked up here some of them will be in the ring in a few days
00:51this prisoner is considered one of the favorites for the prison fights
00:56my name is we and i'm serving a 10-year sentence
01:02i made the mistake of killing someone i was drunk and went into a murder frenzy
01:07the other fighters also have long-term sentences i was a drug dealer
01:13i stabbed someone and have to be in here for 25 years
01:16the training room is part of the prison here the criminals prepare for the fight
01:25for them prison fight is their last hope to see their families in freedom again
01:30the boxing hall is located in the high security wing only selected inmates get access only the best
01:36fighters are allowed to train here if i win the fight can reduce my sentence by two years
01:44we meet the man who came up with this the detainees have to serve a third of their prison sentence
01:51before the best have the opportunity to fight for me boxing for freedom how does that make sense
02:00i want to help the prisoners prison fight is a re-socialization and charity event through hard
02:06training they can change the competition is to be seen as a motivation as a reward a reduction of
02:12the prison sentence is possible my sole interest is in the prisoners i personally don't gain anything out
02:17of this the director brings us back to the training room there we meet mr peck a former muay thai
02:28champion
02:29he organizes the exclusively foreign opponents i'm the organizer of prison fights my idea was to
02:37have tourist boxers take on prisoners i organized the event for one reason only i want to help the
02:44prisoners everyone deserves a second chance in life no matter what he did the opposition for the
02:53prisoners are refereed to simply as boxing tourists one of them just arrived to the airport in bangkok
03:01the german will participate in the prison fight in three days hi i've come from germany for the most
03:08incredible tournament in the world the 20 year old eric masjon from stuttgart is considered a great
03:15talent in thai boxing he has been training thai boxing for six years now to him it's not crucial who
03:21he's
03:21fighting he says it's not a personal thing to me i don't care what he did to me it's just
03:30a different
03:30opponent and a normal match bangkok the metropolis of millions in the heart of southeast asia here every
03:41child dreams of a thai boxing career the bar is set high and only a few can make it eric
03:48goes straight to
03:48the training hall at this place removed from the city the boxing tourists are accommodated the prison
03:54is located in another district the organizer mr peck greets each newcomer personally
04:02the training side is barely sparely equipped mr peck leads the newcomer past the ring directly to his
04:14accommodation eric's room is also broom closet and has yet to be cleared out mr peck himself gets involved
04:24this is my bed he says it's dangerous here but i'll sleep well with this thing
04:32can i see the toilets and the showers the facilities are next door and are locked supposedly because
04:40they've often been broken into the shared bathroom is at best functional nobody comes here on vacation
04:53that much is what he doesn't know yet an old acquaintance is waiting for him at the ring mr peck
05:02asked him to be a training partner for eric
05:04hey we met in germany my suit is considered an experienced thai boxer he's of iranian heritage
05:17he met eric at a tournament a few years ago i already fight for 15 years so it's okay normal
05:25how does massoud rate eric's chances in the fight
05:38it's hot over 30 degrees in the shade due to the tropical temperatures the gym is open on all sides
05:46it's the only way the extremely demanding training is possible here at these temperatures you sweat
05:52several liters and then it's really hot and the training is really intense
05:59other challengers arrive they all came here to fight against felons probably the highlight of this fight
06:08well then you get nervous you don't know what will happen in the ring
06:11and anything can happen during a fight
06:17is that the kick fighting against people who have nothing to lose
06:21maybe that's just what makes the fight so honest
06:26okay today it's enough to go eat and sleep
06:33two more days till the fight we are back at klong pai detention center the thai boxers are separated
06:40from the other detainees by order of the prison director this for example is one of the cells of
06:46the prison fight contestants we're way better off here than the other inmates
06:51all boxers have previously spent part of their prison sentences in massive cells only then they were
06:58selected there's six of us but before that i was sitting in a mass cell with 165 others an absolute
07:04mess
07:05here we meet inmate ui the murderer again you have to be very careful in the overcrowded cells a single
07:12spark and the powder keg explodes which can be very dangerous and of course incidents happen people die
07:19they're killed now we want to find out how normal inmates live next door they're being chained up
07:29obviously we're not wanted here we film regardless the prison is hopelessly over crowned
07:39hundreds of detainees shared two drinking cups the latrines in the open air smell horrible
07:47the whole area is a dump and it's bursting at the seams our team is discovered again and stopped by
07:54security guard what happens here shouldn't be filmed under any circumstances now the guards have
08:00had enough we realize that our filming is finished at this point the next morning one day before the
08:10big event today the pairings will be announced eric and massoud are on their way to the prison
08:18the press conference begins in a few minutes in front rank high-ranking judicial officials line up
08:25in the back prisoners and boxing tourists side by side the media interest is huge especially now that
08:32the pairings are announced eric gets assigned to his opponent it's all even massoud thinks he's really
08:46tough but what difference does a five-year reduction make to a criminal with a hundred year long sentence
08:52nobody keep fighting maybe be 50 years then maybe be 30 years if he kept fighting win win win like
08:58they give him cut cut
09:01in fighting therefore is where hope lies
09:07the night before the fight the two stay in a hotel room next to the prison
09:15the fight is important to me to put on a good show
09:18i want to win but win or lose if the fight was good i'm satisfied
09:25how well the two are prepared we'll find out tomorrow
09:32it's over for the day both fighters need their sleep
09:39the big day has come the prison fight will begin in three hours
09:45the security measures are particularly strict today
09:48the last time a vehicle was taken and a mass escape was only just prevented
09:54so welcome to jail to the klong pai jail
09:59the foreign athletes are now being watched from all sides
10:02in groups the boxers go through the final security gates
10:06past the ring and into a preparation room
10:16mr peck and the director discuss the final details
10:20and they take bets betting of course you can bet at best with me
10:27so much for the charity of this event which is all about the prisoners
10:31apparently to the organizers the marketing of the event is just as important
10:42it begins the officers declare the prison fight as open
10:51the first fight is on a thai fighter against an englishman
11:01thai boxing is a full contact sport unlike normal boxing the use of knees and elbows is allowed
11:08the fight is over after three rounds you can win either by points or by a knockout
11:24in the preparation room the boxers hear the shouts from the spectators
11:29that makes them even more nervous it's clear the crowd goes wild only when a foreigner goes down
11:36imansud and eric bandage each other's hands an important measure to protect the wrists and ankles
11:43for the two friends this is the calm before the storm
11:50the first two fights are already over both times an inmate one
11:59the prisoners are aware of their aggressiveness they want to win
12:03they have to win to get a chance for freedom
12:11a tie also wins the third fight
12:16it's going to be serious for Massoud now he's by far the most experienced foreign
12:21fighter his opponent a murderer on three accounts the two give no quarter full
12:29contact from the first minute the first round goes clearly to Massoud
12:35Massoud stays calm he tries to counter his opponent but he's highly motivated
12:40after all he's fighting for himself in the end we underestimated his opponent we
12:46just thought he'd be a fall guy the fight goes into the third round Eric
12:52watches his friends from the stands Massoud raises his hands incredible the boxing
12:59tourist has won now it's Eric's turn all eyes are on him
13:06the fight begins with a ritual of ancient tradition the headband is called Mon
13:11Cole the boxer gets it from his trainer when he's ready for the fight then comes
13:18Y crew a bowing ritual to show respect coaches family and the public the ring is
13:25cleared the first of three rounds of three minutes each
13:32oh he looks like totally changed the first round clearly goes to the top
13:38left cheek jump and left cheek Massoud takes on the role of the coach next round
13:49the prisoners celebrate their hero the cheers are only for we
13:56this round also goes to the criminal
14:11the last round now Eric has to beat his opponent with a KO
14:16on points he's clearly behind a good combination from Eric he almost had him
14:22but we pulled back in time the fight is over how did the referees rate the fight
14:32boy is the winner for Eric the show is over the disappointment huge he clearly
14:40loses the fight on points he had no chance against boys will to win
14:47Eric can't really believe this just happened
14:55he doesn't want to talk to us no chance we respect that he's consoled by his opponent
15:02we he gave him five years less imprisonment with his defeat that was a good fight
15:08Eric's a strong fighter but for me it's about freedom and I'm not going to miss out a second time
15:14the prison fight it's no coincidence that this fight for freedom is considered one of the toughest fights in the
15:22world
15:26ignored
15:27you
15:28you
15:28you
15:28you
15:29I'm not! I'm not!
