Boxer enters Golden Gloves tourney in memory of infant son who lost fight with rare disease

Andre Soukhamthath, 20, holds up a photo of his son, LeAndre, who died of a rare terminal skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa, on August 30, 2008. He was just 9 months-old. Call photo/Ernest A. Brown

By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

WOONSOCKET -- Andre Soukhamthath hits a heavyweight punching bag with a ferocity that belies his 5-foot 8- inch, 152-pound frame.

With steely brown eyes fixed on his target and footwork as graceful as any dancer, he throws a few jabs at the 80-pound bag, moving it side to side as if it were nothing more than a down-filled pillow. The thuds from the blows echo throughout the 2,000-square-foot padded room where Soukhamthath trains four days a week.
He’s thrown that punch a thousand times, but at no time will it count more than on Friday, Jan. 9 when Soukhamthath, 20, fights his biggest bout ever as a novice boxer — the 2009 regional Greater Lowell Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
That Soukhamthath has even reached this point is a testament to his determination and dedication. Andre and his fiancée, Jamie Thompson, lost their baby boy, LeAndre, just four months ago. LeAndre, who was born on Thanksgiving Day in 2007, died this past August of complications from Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare skin disease that affects one in every 500,000 children.
It’s the kind of personal tragedy that can devastate a family and change lives forever, and while it certainly had that kind of impact on Andre Soukhamthath, his son’s life and death also taught him a lot about courage, perseverance and never giving up.
Soukhamthath could have put the gloves away that day and given up on his dream of one day becoming a mixed martial arts fighter, but he kept on training, inspired by his young son’s strength and courageous battle with a terminal disease few doctors know a lot about.
“I fight for LeAndre. He keeps me going. He keeps me strong. And he keeps me focused,” says Soukhamthath, who has been training at the United States Mixed Martial Arts (USMMA) studio in Bellingham for the past two years.
Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic disease characterized by the presence of extremely fragile skin and recurrent blister formation, resulting from minor mechanical friction or trauma.
The skin has two layers; the outer layer is called the epidermis and the inner layer the dermis. In normal individuals, there are “anchors” between the two layers that prevent them from moving independently from one another. In people born with EB, the two skin layers lack the anchors that hold them together, and any action that creates friction between the layers (like rubbing or pressure) will create blisters and painful sores. Sufferers of EB have compared the sores to third-degree burns.
“Right now is a very hard time for me because the greatest thing that was ever given to me, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, was taken away,” Andre says. “My son was a very special boy. He had to deal with a lot of crap in his life. He had to deal with pain, humiliation, numerous doctor visits, tests, and cold hearted people. He was innocent and didn’t deserve this, but you know what? He dealt with it and still smiled and played. He was happy because he knew that his mom and dad loved him dearly.”
“I know he is watching over me, over us, and I know he wants his mommy and daddy to do good for themselves,” he says.
Soukhamthath plans to do just that on Friday in Lowell.
The Golden Gloves is a series of United States amateur boxing events that culminates with the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. Former Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions winners include Muhammad Ali, Oscar de la Hoya, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather and Evander Holyfield. 

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It’s taken Soukhamthath two years to get to this point in his fighting career. His only previous fight was a Muay Thai (Thai-style kickboxing) event, which he won by unanimous decision last June.
But this will be his first western boxing event and, according to Matt Phinney, a 2008 Golden Gloves winner and a manager and trainer at USMMA, Soukhamath is ready.
“He played soccer when he was in high school so he already had a lot of natural athletic ability when he got here,” says Phinney whom along with Tom Hafers, owner of USMMA, and Peter Welch, a former Golden Gloves champion and boxing trainer, has been training Soukhamthath.
“Not only is he a natural, but he’s got a real gift for absorbing information,” he says. “He was a bit nervous when he first walked in, but he works hard in the gym and has really become one of the guys. He’s really grown as a fighter.”
If Soukhamthath wins his junior middleweight division fights in the New England Regionals in Lowell, he’ll qualify for the New England Tournament of Champions in February. If he wins on that level he’ll advance to the National Golden Gloves Tournament to be held this year in Salt Lake City May 3-9.
Fighting was never something Soukhamthath intended to do. He was a soccer player and planned to go to college on a soccer scholarship after he graduated Woonsocket High School in 2007. Those plans were put on hold when Jamie became pregnant.
“At that point I decided to take a year off to be a father,” he says. “At the same time, I wanted to stay physically active. A friend of mine told me about the USMMA studio and when I went there I knew it was where I wanted to be.”
According to Hafers, USMMA focuses on elevating the physical and spiritual well being of students through mixed martial arts and yoga. Classes offered include strength and conditioning, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Thai boxing, cardio Thai boxing, wrestling, cardio and open mat, kids mixed martial arts, pilates, power yoga and deep flow yoga.
USMMA’s state-of-the-art, 4,000-square-foot training facility on Hartford Avenue has a 2,000-square-foot padded mixed martial arts training floor equipped with heavy bags and conditioning equipment, and a 1,500-square-foot yoga studio.
It’s been Soukhamthath’s second home for the past two years. He trains there four days a week and twice a week sparring at Peter Welch’s gym in Boston.
“My life is simple, but not easy,” he says. “I wake up at 4 a.m., sometimes 5 a.m., to go to work,” he says. “I work for a sprinkler company on construction sites and come home just to leave again. When I leave I go train.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Just prior to this story going to print, Soukhamthath was laid off from his job).
Soukhamthath wants to become a full-time mixed martial arts fighter and hopes a Golden Gloves win will get him started in that direction. Mixed martial arts is a compilation of combat skills involving Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Thai boxing, wrestling, kickboxing and judo. His trainers say Soukhamthath, with his easy-going personality combined with a take-no-prisoners style of fighting, has got all the makings of an up and coming superstar.
Soukhamthath says he is particularly inspired by his trainer Phinney, who recently won the USA Boxing New England Championship finals held at the Portland Boxing Club in Portland, Maine. Phinney, a resident of Medway, Mass. won a unanimous decision over Hector Martinez of Holyoke, in the novice welterweight division. The New England Championship was his second big win last year. Back in May, Phinney won the regional Golden Gloves boxing tournament in Lowell, going 5-0 to be named champion in the 152-pound division.
Phinney, Hafers and Jorge Rivera, a veteran mixed martial artist who was featured on The Ultimate Fighter 4, were all there to support Soukhamthath and his fiancée, Jamie, when they lost their son on Aug. 30.
“It was a trying time for both of them because they knew what the outcome would be,” says Phinney. “Nevertheless, they showed such courage and strength of character.”
Earlier in the year, all the guys at the gym took part in a fundraiser, selling T-shirts to help raise money to send Andre, Jamie and LeAndre to Chicago so he could undergo a specialized medical procedure. They never made that trip because the baby had become too sick to travel.
Soukhamthath says he thinks about LeAndre every day. “There isn’t a day that goes by without me missing him.”
He also credits Jaime for helping him realize his dream.
“I am engaged to a wonderful woman. She gets the mother of the year award in my book,” he says.
As for next Friday’s fight, Soukhamthath says he’s ready.
“I’m anxious to get going and I’m a little nervous, but I’m feeling very confident. I feel strong and I know I’ve worked hard to get here. I have a great camp, great trainers, great training partners and great support. Win or lose I know I’ll be able to walk away knowing I did the best I could.”
And his son, LeAndre, will most certainly be there with him, he says.
“It’s because of LeAndre that I’m the person that I am. I’m a better man because of him. He’s taught me about being brave in difficult circumstances, never judging people by their appearance and never giving up.”