“I'll be watching that very closely” - Jonathan Haggerty still has kickboxing belt to defend following KO loss to Superlek
Reigning ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion and now former two-sport king 'The General' Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom may have lost his coveted Muay Thai strap to 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9 last weekend.
But he still has 26 pounds of gold in possession and will be watching a pivotal upcoming match between top contenders closely in a couple of weeks.
Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champions Hiroki Akimoto of Japan and Ilias Ennahachi will lock horns at ONE Friday Fights 81: Superbon vs. Nattawut later this month.
The event broadcasts live from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, September 27, and will be available to fans in the United States and Canada via global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.
Haggerty will keep a close eye on the action, as whoever wins could surely be next in line for a crack at his gold.
He told South China Morning Post in a recent interview:
"Yeah, that's a great fight, very exciting fight, both in title contentions. Yeah, I'll be watching that very closely. So yeah, that'd be a great fight, a great match-up. I'm excited to see Ilias's comeback fight at bantamweight now. I feel like Ennahachi wins."
'The General' Jonathan Haggerty loses bantamweight Muay Thai gold to Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168: Denver
Disaster struck for 'The General' Jonathan Haggerty last weekend at Denver's Ball Arena at ONE 168. The 27-year-old ran into an elbow from hell care of Superlek in the very first round of their scheduled five-rounder.
Haggerty addressed fans on his official Instagram account after the fight. He wrote:
"Last night didn’t go our way, but that’s the fight game. I thought I had Superlek hurt and rushed in, but he caught me with a beautiful elbow. Credit to him on a well-earned victory. Congratulations to Superlek, and thank you to all the incredible fans and everyone at ONE Championship for the love and support. This is just a part of the journey, and I promise I’ll be back stronger and hungrier than ever. We rise, we learn, and we keep fighting. See you soon!"
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE 168: Denver via replay on demand on Amazon Prime Video.