ONE championship has been sued by the boxing association of Thailand. They are accused of infringing on the Boxing Act of 2022.
The act amends the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, that states that sanctioned organizations may not profit from a boxing match unless “it files its bylaws” to the Federal Trade Commision.
The promotion was issued a lawsuit by Director of Boxing Palat Suwannametakorn for their use and implementation of the word “Muay Thai”. The lawsuit is intended to stop ONE from labeling fights under the Muay Thai banner.
ONE Championship Holds Special Rule Fights
ONE is known for putting on events with special rulesets. The promotion has implemented many combat sports in their programming, including Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, and grappling. In March 2022, ONE held a special rules super-fight between MMA champion Demetrious Johnson and Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon. The four-round fights alternated between Muay Thai and MMA. It only lasted two with Johnson securing a rear-naked choke to end the fight.
Now, the company is being blasted for not following standard traditions and harming the prestige of the sport. Thai boxing enthusiast Sid Chef Boontham Pakpoh issued a statement supporting the recent lawsuit.
“Upon inspection, it was found that Boxing ONE does not follow standard rules and regulations for Boxing Competition (No. 2) 2013, Region 4 … I’ll give you an example to see if in this regulation: Muay Thai fighters must pay homage to teachers, wear auspicious clothes, and dress up to be neat like Muay Thai that fight each other today. But ONE doesn’t follow the rules.” (H/t MMA Mania)
ONE is scheduled to make its United States debut on May 5.
