ONE Championship boss Chatri says judges wrong and Hiroki Akimoto ‘clearly won’ Wei fight
- Chinese fighter Wei Rui was awarded unanimous decision win on his ONE debut in bantamweight kickboxing clash
- But promotion’s CEO Chatri Sityodtong says ‘cloud of controversy’ hangs over outcome
Wei Rui would not be celebrating a debut win if ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong had been judging his fight against Hiroki Akimoto this weekend.
While the Chinese fighter was awarded victory by unanimous decision in the bantamweight bout at ONE Fight Night 22, Chatri said a “cloud of controversy” hung over the outcome.
And although Wei felt his next fight should be challenging bantamweight kickboxing champion Jonathan Haggerty for his title, CEO Chatri has other ideas.
There is also the fact Haggerty is expected to defend is bantamweight Muay Thai title against Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168 in September, meaning he is unlikely to be putting his kickboxing belt on the line again until the end of the year.
“It was a super close fight, but I thought Akimoto won,” Chati said. “I would love to do a rematch, fans all over the world are debating the outcome, even in China.”
The Chinese fighter found a home for his left kick in the first round and won it on all three judge’s scorecards. Akimoto responded in the second and came on strong, attacking relentlessly.
