In just seven short years, ONE Championship has evolved from a start-up mixed martial arts promotion to what it is now, hosting other different styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, Lethwei and so much more.
ONE Championship adds another different flavor to its fifth trip to Bangkok this coming October as the card will be headlined by an intriguing 12-round world boxing championship contest.
Regarded as the world’s undisputed premier martial arts organization, ONE Championship made an epic announcement of entering into the sport of boxing last July, forming a partnership with Nakornloung Promotion (NKL) to co-promote the next world title defense of Thai superstar Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Sor Rungvisai puts his WBC Super Flyweight World Championship on the line against Mexican challenger Iran “MagnifiKO” Diaz in the main event of ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES, which takes place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on 6 October.
Loren Mack, ONE Championship’s Vice President for Public Relations and Communications, believes that the promotion breathes a new life into Asian boxing as the sport’s popularity in the region is slowly ebbing due to several factors.
“Boxing is waning down in Asia. ONE Championship is the guiding light of every discipline under the umbrella of martial arts in the world, including boxing,” he said. “We did it for mixed martial arts. We brought back Muay Thai and kickboxing into the limelight. So why not boxing?”
ONE Championship has taken martial arts in Asia into greater heights, broadcasting to over 1.7-billion potential viewers across 138 countries around the world.
With a highly-active fan base that is engaged in both digital and social media platforms, the biggest local and global brands in the world have been attracted to ONE Championship.
Forming a number of key partnerships, ONE Championship is at pace for a billion dollar valuation and an initial public offering in the next couple of years.
In line with ONE Championship’s strategy of developing local and homegrown athletes, the promotion ventured and scouted talents in new markets like Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, India and Vietnam as well as untapped areas of the Middle East, China and Russia.
“Boxing has a great and rich history. Celebrated boxers like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao have contributed to the growth of the sport that is celebrated around the world. ONE Championship will not just let this larger-than-life contributions to go in vain,” Mack stated.
Sor Rungvisai is one of the most celebrated pugilists in Thailand’s history, winning the prestigious WBC Super Flyweight World Championship on two occasions.
Holding a professional record of 46-4-1 with 41 knockouts, Sor Rungvisai is ranked No. 5 on the pound-for-pound best boxers list of Boxrec.com and No. 7 on The Ring Magazine’s rankings.
After regaining the WBC Super Flyweight World Championship in March 2017 and then successfully defending it two times, Sor Rungvisai will now defend his crown at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES against Diaz.
“This is going to be a very exciting fight. See you all at the Impact Arena. I can’t wait to climb into the ring again and showcase my talent in front of the whole world,” Sor Rungvisai promised.
On the other hand, Diaz is one of the fastest rising talents in today’s boxing scene of Mexico, a country known for its passionate adulation for pugilism.
Holding a professional record of 14-2-3 with six knockouts, Diaz’s most notable victories have come at the expense of dangerous former world champions Hernan “Tyson” Marquez and Luis Concepcion.
Looking to follow in the footsteps of Mexican boxing legends such as Ricardo Lopez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Diaz seeks to accomplish the feat of becoming Mexico’s 187th world titleholder in boxing as he is slated to challenge Sor Rungvisai for the WBC Super Flyweight World Championship on 6 October.
“This is without a doubt the biggest fight in my time as a professional. I have a great team behind me helping me prepare for this. I am coming into the ring in the best shape of my life and I can’t wait to score this huge victory,” Diaz assured.
Sor Rungvisai and Diaz were the marquee figures at the ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES Open Workout last Tuesday, 28 August, which was attended by hundreds of both local and international media.
“This bout will certainly leave an indelible legacy in well-entrenched boxing scene. Expect an epic action on 6th of October because this will be the biggest Asian boxing match in 2018,” Mack proclaimed.
For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.
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