“He was crazy strong” - Masaaki Noiri has utmost respect for Tawanchai PK Saenchai’s power after their Saitama slugfest
Masaaki Noiri knew he had to exceed his perfect form when he faced Tawanchai PK Saenchai for his career's most important fight.
The Japanese superstar pulled out all the stops when he beat Tawanchai for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title at the stacked ONE 172 card in March at the historic Saitama Super Arena.
Despite carrying the underdog label heading into the fight, Noiri unleashed pure, unrelenting power to take out the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion in the third round of their Saitama showdown to capture the interim gold.
In a video that ONE Championship recently released on Instagram, Noiri was adamant that he felt the brunt of Tawanchai's terrifying power during their matchup.
"I did it! Thank you so much! He was strong, he was crazy strong!" exclaimed Noiri as he made his way to the locker room.
Masaaki Noiri was a two-division K-1 Kickboxing champion before her arrived in ONE Championship in 2024.
Despite a slow start to his new life in the promotion, Noiri kept at it and eventually earned his shot at the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title when he broke Shakir Al-Tekreeti's leg in their ONE 170 matchup.
Noiri, however, had the odds stacked against him heading into his fight against Tawanchai.
The featherweight Muay Thai king was coming off a dominant second-round knockout of Superbon, the ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion, to retain his throne at ONE 170 in January.
Nevertheless, Noiri showed an uncanny tenacity when he pushed forward against Tawanchai in their ONE 172 clash.
Noiri knocked Tawanchai down with a clinical left hook before unleashing a storm of punches that forced the referee to stop the match 1:55 into the third round.
Masaaki Noiri wants to take a breather before facing off against Superbon their unification bout
Masaaki Noiri has had a busy first quarter in 2025, and he wants to take a bit of a break before embarking on his world title unification duel against ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon.
In an interview with My Navi News, Noiri said he'll take it easy for a while but would jump straight the nitty gritty once the paperwork is signed for his inevitable match against Superbon.
"I don't really want to think about it right now. I know that fight will come, but for now I want to relax. But whatever that comes along, when the venue and the opponent is confirmed, I'll be prepared to fight again," said the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion.