Even his coach would leak information slowly to Moberly. The faceless prisoner Moberly knew initially became Noy Khaopan, murderer with a son and an extensive Muay Thai background in a matter of weeks. As much as Moberly wanted to say it was just another fight, he noticed that even training became a bit of a spectacle.
“It seemed like I would train normal and then anytime the documentary crew would come and do a little interview or shoot more footage it became more real and I would be more motivated for a little bit and then I would just go back to not putting too much pressure on myself,” Moberly said.
With 40+ Thai bouts under his belt already, everything from his spinning elbows to his wai krus were fine tuned. Moberly had an understanding from the jump that this fight would be unique, but the more attention that came his way from both the documentary crew and the prisoners, the more it hit him.
This would be a fight like none other.
Freedom and a relationship with his son were on the line for Khaopan and he put it all together and defeated Moberly in a decision by only one point.
In a stroke of odd timing, Moberly’s flight back to the U.S. from Thailand was scheduled months prior, for the day of the fight. He sat on the plane next to dozens of other people going about their everyday lives while he juggled the happiness for Khaopan and the bitter taste of defeat.
“I fought my heart out,” Moberly said. “I remember sitting on the plane and thinking, ‘Wow, I just fought this Thai prisoner and now I’m on a plane and nobody even knows.’”