For those not familiar with the Diamond Championship Belt, the WBC (boxing division) created the belt in September of 2009 as an honorary championship exclusively to award the winner of a historic fight between two high-profile boxers. The first WBC Diamond Championship belt was awarded to Manny Pacquiao when he defeated Miguel Cotto on November 14, 2009. The win was Pacquiao's seventh world title in seven different weight classes at the time.
Kevin Ross is probably the most recognizable American Muay Thai fighter and has helped continue the growth of Muay Thai in America, while Saenchai is arguably considered the best fighter in the world. The WBC has explained the Diamond Championship Belt before stating “There are no rules. This is not a championship which has to be defended. It doesn’t have the same obligations as the world champion. It is a tribute to the fight, to both fighters and the winner takes it without having to defend it. It has no rankings. It’s simply a fitting recognition of a brilliant career.”
The boxing version of the WBC Diamond Championship Belt is made of an 18 carat gold plate, 598 diamonds, 196 emeralds, rubies and 150 6 Swarovski gemstones. The cost of the belt is estimated to be $50,000 although there is no word on what the WBC Muay Thai version of the belt will be made out of or what the cost of the belt will be. The picture shown to the left is of the boxing version of the Diamond Championship Belt.
Aside from Pacquiao two other fighters hold WBC Diamond Championship Belts. Sergio Martinez won his Diamond Belt in March of 2011 after beating Serhiy Dzinziruk, and Bernard Hopkins won his Diamond Belt in May of 2011 by defeating Jean Pascal.
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