Chickens from eight Asian nations were paraded in front of a crowd of hundreds of spectators at a lavish opening ceremony at the Native Chicken Academic and Demonstration Centre in southern Chon Buri province.

Up to 100 birds from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam are set to duke it out on Sunday for the title of the world’s meanest bird.

In the opening fight, organisers said a chicken from Viet Nam defeated a Thai contender. The fights last five rounds of 15 minutes each and are scored by a referee using a boxing computer system.

Weigh-ins and other preliminary events took place on Saturday.

Organisers of the world championships are determined to erase the sport’s bloody image by using match referees and even gloving the birds.

"Sometimes in the villages chickens die during the fights. They never give up, even when they’re close to death," said organiser said Abhichai Ratanavaraha.

"But the objective of the championships is to achieve some international standards for future events. The chickens will have gloves on their feet and if one gets injured the referee will stop the fight."