by James Goyder
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai’s last three title fights have all been broadcast by HBO, either on the undercard of a pay per view or as a headliner of the Superfly series. But fans wanting to watch his title defence against Iran Diaz this weekend won’t need to subscribe to any TV channels.
The entire ONE: ‘Kingdom of Heroes’ card is being streamed live and free on youtube. It means anyone can watch Srisaket take on Diaz in the headline attraction of a show that also features a mixture of Muay Thai, MMA and kickboxing bouts.
The event is set for the 11,000 capacity Impact Arena in Bangkok and will get underway at 5:30pm local time. With 14 fights on the card including a kickboxing title match that is scheduled for five rounds Srisaket and Diaz won’t make the walk until much later in the night.
HBO is leaving the boxing business, while online platform DAZN recently signed a deal with Eddie Hearn that will see it stream fights featuring the likes of Anthony Joshua, Amir Khan and Oleksandr Usyk. With the industry more fragmented than ever before it’s refreshing to see a major title fight being shown for free.
Srisaket (46-4-1) has established himself as a huge star in Thailand with a run of three wins in the US that saw him beat Roman Gonzalez (twice) and Juan Estrada. The WBC 115lbs champion will be defending the belt he ripped from Chocolatito on home soil for the first time.
The Thai will be a huge favourite but faces a challenger who has upset the odds before. Diaz (14-2-3) made his name with back to back wins over former world champions Luis Concepcion and Hernan Marquez but will be fighting outside of his native Mexico for the very first time.
The entire fight can be watched live and free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxpWm7PIfE0
