Power-punching southpaw Srisaket Sor Rungvisai will defend his Ring and WBC junior bantamweight titles against Mexico’s Iran Diaz at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday.

As well as the main event between Sor Rungvisai and Diaz, there will be several other fights in various combat sports, including kickboxing and Muay Thai. The event is being promoted by ONE Championship with the overall aim to alter the combat sport dynamic in Thailand.

Sor Rungvisai (46-4-1, 41 knockouts) intends to do his part and thrill an expected sold-out capacity crowd of 12,000 faithful fans.

“I am extremely excited to be back in the ring defending my world title, especially in front of my Thai fans,” Sor Rungvisai told The Ring through his promoter Bank Thainchai Pisitwuttinan.

“I believe it’s going to be the biggest boxing event in the history of Thailand and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity. Defending my world titles in Thailand will be something very special and I need to thank everyone who made this possible, especially ONE Championship, NKL team, WBC, and M150.”

And the 31-year-old champion isn’t taking anything for granted because he knows Diaz is coming to win.

“Iran Diaz is a very skillful boxer, and it will be a great fight between us,” predicted Sor Rungvisai. “Diaz is a tall junior bantamweight with long reach. He has impressive boxing style, and he is a real challenge. As for his areas I can exploit, we will see in the ring.

“Both of us are top class boxers. I will prepare to be 100 percent for the fight, and I am sure Iran Diaz will be at 100 percent as well.”

Sor Rungvisai edged Juan Francisco Estrada in February by majority decision on the SuperFly 2 show, adding The Ring 115-pound title to his WBC belt. He is currently rated No. 8 pound-for-pound and hopes to enhance his reputation further on this new platform.

“I have been at ONE Championship event earlier this year in Thailand, and it blew my mind,” said Sor Rungvisai. “The level of production and excitement was truly world class. I am honored to be part of this event.”

Bank Thainchai Pisitwuttinan of Nakornloung Promotion (NKL), co-promoter of the WBC world title fight, concurs with his fighter and believes the event will produce fireworks.

“I think it will be a great fight,” said the young promoter. “Iran Diaz is a great fighter that can fight backward and forward. A lot of fans in Thailand have been comparing his style to that of Estrada. Their styles are similar in a lot of ways. Diaz has less experience than Estrada, but he’s significantly bigger. I believe that he has Mexican blood in him, and that he will trade with Srisaket, so it will be a war.

“We all know what Srisaket is capable of. He’s one of the most exciting fighters in the world today. He also fights extremely well in front of his fans in Thailand in important fights. It’s like he gets extra energy and motivation from the fans. We are expecting tens of thousands of fans this time. ONE: Kingdom Of Heroes will be the biggest boxing event in the history of Thailand.”

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @AnsonWainwright

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