BANGKOK: Asia’s leading martial arts promotion ONE Championship has made its first move into professional boxing. On Monday, ONE announced its partnership with Nakornloung Promotion to co-promote the world title defense of WBC super flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai as the main event of ONE: Kingdom of Heroes, which is set to take place at the Impact Arena in the Thai capital on October 6.
Chatri Sityodtong, chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “This coming October, Thailand will host the biggest event in martial arts history as talented athletes from boxing, mixed martial arts and Muay Thai will join together under one roof in celebrating Asia’s greatest cultural treasure. ONE Championship will create an indelible legacy on 6 October.”
World Boxing Council vice president Kovid Pakdeepoom stated: “We are thrilled to work with ONE Championship for the upcoming event in October. Our association with a world-class organization like ONE Championship satisfies our goal in nurturing the legacy of boxing across the globe. ONE Championship has made groundbreaking initiatives in the development of mixed martial arts and other forms of martial arts in Asia and around the globe. Certainly, there’s so much that everyone should be excited about this event in Bangkok.”
The announcement comes three months after Sityodtong, at a press conference in Manila, Philippines had hinted at plans to establish a professional boxing league in addition to ONE Super Series, inviting boxers from all over the globe to join the promotion.
“When we started seven years ago, nobody wanted to talk to us. They didn’t even want to work with us. Of course, that changed eventually. We have experienced such exponential growth in all areas. If we could do it for mixed martial arts, we can do it for boxing as well,” Sityodtong stated.
