The fight, between a Russian and an Icelandic man (* later confirmed to be Irish fighter Cathal Murphy from Chanrit Muay Thai), was the final and main fight at the stadium last Sunday night (May 26).
After the final bell, ending five rounds of close competition, the Russian fighter held his gloves in the air and paraded around the ring in presumed victory. So confident that he had won, the Russian fighter even did a backflip off the ropes.
However, the judges awarded the fight to the Murphy, boxing in red shorts, by 49-48.
The decision saw one of the men from the Russian fighter’s ‘blue corner’ enter the ring. The Russian fighter met his trainer and appeared to disaude him from moving towards Murphy.
However, it then appears Murphy said something to taunt the Russian trainer, who then approached Murphy and punched him.
The punch evoked a reprisal, and a mass brawl ensued with members from both camps trading blows. Even spectators from the stands entered the ring to take part.
Bangla Boxing Stadium issued a public statement on Monday (May 27).
“Bangla Boxing Stadium would like to extend our sincere apologies to all affected parties for the incident that occurred at Sport Stadium on May 26, 2024,” the statement noted.
“We had initiated a thorough investigation into the two fighters and the dispute that the fighter The Red Corner exhibited signs of excessive jubilation towards The Blue Corner opposing team leading to misunderstanding. We had summoned both sides to mediate and admit their mistakes. Both deeply regret that this happened.
“Once again, Bangla Boxing Stadium apologizes for any inconvenience or discomfort caused by this incident. We are taking steps to address this issue internally and to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future,” the statement added.
Regardless, the boxers and their respective trainers and representatives were called to the Sports Authority of Thailand Phuket office yesterday to explain the incident.
Boxers from both sides shook hands to express their apologies and regrets about the incident.
Sulaimarn Kaewngamdee, spokesman for Bangla Boxing Stadium, repeatedly assured that the incident was quickly controlled and staff at the stadium were able to quell the brawl in less than two minutes.
“All events were resolved and were peaceful. No one was injured.” he said.
Regarding the sharing of video clips of the incident, Mr Sulaimarn said, “I would like to appeal to those who published the clip. The various clips should be uploaded in their entirety because in the real event there were no bad or violent incidents and no one was injured.”
“The clips that have been posted are incomplete. I would like to ask people to be fair to Bangla Boxing Stadium as well,” he added.
Mr Sulaimarn confirmed that Bangla Boxing Stadium would be taking legal action against people who entered the ring without permission.
“The boxing stadium will report legal action against everyone [who entered the ring without permission] because it is considered that they came to cheer on boxing but did not respect the rules of the boxing stadium. The boxing stadium therefore needs to prosecute,” he said.
“The boxing stadium management accepts the incident that occurred and will keep it as a lesson in order to improve. This is a lesson that requires more attention,” he added.