“He waited for the right moment” - Superbon lauds Masaaki Noiri’s patience in career-defining knockout of Tawanchai

Like an ambush predator waiting for the right moment to strike, Japanese star Masaaki Noiri was still - almost too still.

But that's what made it so dangerous.

In his title-winning performance at ONE 172, Noiri let Tawanchai lead the dance, throwing volume and pushing the pace. But behind that quiet interior was a plan, and when the third round came around, Noiri landed a vicious left that had Tawanchai on the mats.

Superbon, who had been eyeing a potential rematch with Tawanchai, couldn't help but admire the way it unfolded.

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"He stood there and let Tawanchai punch continuously," he said in an interview with ONE Championship. "It was like he was only standing and waiting for that one moment. Still, it’s scary because although he didn’t attack much, he waited for the right moment and found it."

Watch the full interview below:

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“I’m preparing myself already” - Superbon says he’s back in the lab for inevitable world title unification bout with Masaaki Noiri

With Superbon holding the ONE featherweight kickboxing world title and the interim world title in Masaaki Noiri's hands, the next logical step is a unification of the two championship belts. And though it hasn't been officially announced yet, Superbon's not waiting around for a confirmation of what's sure to come.

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"I'm not really sure because I'm waiting for the offer from ONE Championship. But yeah, everyone said that it's going to happen like that, so I'm preparing myself already. Because preparing is better than not, so I have started training.”

Many people wrote Masaaki Noiri off in his match against Tawanchai, but Superbon isn't about to make the same mistake. Before fight day is even announced, the featherweight kickboxing champ is already putting in the work to make sure he's ready.

Stay tuned for more updates.

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