Myanmar Lethwei Federation (MLF) (Burmese: မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရိုးရာလက်ဝှေ့အဖွဲ့ချုပ်) formerly known as Myanmar Traditional Lethwei Federation is one of two major organizations which sanctions professional Lethwei bouts worldwide and the only one who oversees Lethwei competitions in Myanmar.[2][3]
History
The Myanmar Lethwei Federation or MLF is a branch of the Myanmar's Ministry of Health and Sports.[4][5] The federation was initially founded in 1995 as the Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation,[6] since Lethwei is translated to Boxing in Burmese language.[1] In 2019, the federation adapted its name to the MTLF - Myanmar Traditional Lethwei Federation, reflecting a more modern approach to the world and later updated it to Myanmar Lethwei Federation.
On April 28, 2021, Dave Leduc criticized Muay Thai fighter Buakaw Banchamek and historical figure Nai Khanom Tom in a social media post. Leduc questioned the veracity and claimed that the Nai Khanom Tom folklore story is exaggerated and that he was simply a prisoner in ancient Burma, referring to Siamese prisoners captured by Burmese troops during the Burmese–Siamese War.[12][13] The post sparked considerable backlash from the Muaythai and combat sports community. In a letter, the Myanmar Traditional Lethwei Federation explained that Muaythai promoters made a complaint about Leduc. Muaythai promoter Nuttadaj Vachirarattanawong urged the MTLF to reprimand Leduc.[14][15] According to the MTLF, Leduc had "committed personal attacks" on Buakaw Banchamek and Muaythai history potentially tarnishing the relationship between Myanmar and Thailand.[16] The federation issued a two-year ban Lethwei competitions under the MTLF.[17] There were speculations that the ban was political due to Leduc denouncing the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état and supporting the freedom movement in the Myanmar.[18][19]
In response to the letter, Dave Leduc wrote on social media: "They’re not the World Lethwei Federation (WLF), the WLF is the most powerful, they have affiliated federations all accross [sic] the world [...] Nobody in the world tells me anything. The World Lethwei Federation can’t, and especially not the MTLF"[20]"They made an “official letter” saying they ban me from their federation “for 2 years” Am I supposed to care? Not only do I not care, I will go further and say: I will never fight in their federation (MTLF) ever again." Leduc added.[21][18][22][23]
^"Dave Leduc accuses Thai spies of poisoning him". Asian MMA. May 30, 2023. criticizing Buakaw Banchamek and questioning whether the legendary tale of Nai Khanom Tom was actually true. He was also banned from competing by one of the major sanctioning bodies for lethwei after making these comments
^"Sanction sévère contre un combattant québécois". Journal de Montreal (in French). May 8, 2021. Ils ne sont pas la fédération mondiale de lethwei [WLF]. Celle-ci est la plus puissante, elle a des ententes avec des fédérations partout sur la planète. [...] Personne au monde ne me dit quoi faire. La WLF ne peut pas et encore moins la MTLF
