"He just couldn't do it" - Superbon explains why Kongthoranee failed to capitalize on pivotal moment against Nong-O
Superbon believes Kongthoranee only had one path to beating Nong-O Hama at ONE Fight Night 31, and he couldn't get it done.
Three months removed from their first meeting that saw Kongthoranee escape with a sketchy decision victory, the two would run it back inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok under the main event spotlight.
After three intense rounds of back-and-forth action, it was Nong-O who saw his hand raised this time around, earning the win on all three judges' scorecards.
Speaking at the ONE Fight Night 31 post-fight press conference, Superbon revealed the one thing Kongthoranee needed to do if he hoped to go two-up on the eight-time ONE world champion.
"In my opinion, Kongthoranee had only one shot to beat Nong-O, he had to knock him down," Superlek said. "But he just couldn’t do it."
Instead, Nong-O evened their series and landed a massive W over the third-ranked contender in the ONE flyweight Muay Thai division.
Superbon says Nong-O needs to make one improvement for potential flyweight Muay Thai title opportunity
What's next for Nong-O remains to be seen, but if the Thai legend gets his wish, he'll have the chance to compete for the vacant ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship.
But if he hopes to claim another 26 pounds of gold on martial arts' biggest global stage, Superbon thinks Nong-O is going to have to improve his speed.
"But if I were to point out a few things, he needs to increase his speed a bit," Superbon added while assessing Nong-O's performance at ONE Fight Night 31. "His weapon is still as powerful as before, but he needs to increase his speed a bit."
Was Nong-O's performance inside the Mecca of Muay Thai good enough to earn a shot at the flyweight division's top prize? Only time will tell.
ONE Fight Night 31 will air live on Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada in U.S. primetime on Friday, May 2.