"It would be such a significant achievement" - Prajanchai explains the prestige of rare two-sport supremacy
Prajanchai PK Saenchai stressed the importance of becoming a two-sport world champion for his legacy.
In late 2023, Prajanchai cashed in on his two-fight winning streak for a rematch against then-ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri. The Thai superstar made a statement at ONE Friday Fights 46 by knocking out Lasiri in 88 seconds to avenge his past loss and regain ONE gold.
He returns on Friday for the first time in 2024 and won't be defending his Muay Thai throne. Instead, he looks to make history by defeating ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella to claim two-sport supremacy.
During an interview with Sportsmanor, the PK Saenchai Muay Thai Gym affiliate explained what it would mean to him to secure a second world title:
"This opportunity of having a chance to be a kickboxing champion would be an important milestone for me. If I win on Friday, it would be such a significant achievement. I wouldn't think that I would be successful, but it'll make me a step closer to becoming successful."
Jonathan Di Bella vs Prajanchai will serve as the ONE Friday Fights 58 co-main event, which takes place inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The April 5 event features two world title fights and can be seen via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.
Watch Prajanchai's entire interview below:
Who would Prajanchai join as a reigning two-sport world champion?
There are currently three two-sport world champions on the ONE Championship roster.
Firstly, Regian Eersel has established a 10-0 promotional record while claiming the ONE lightweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world titles. On April 5, Eersel will defend the latter against Alexis Nicolas in the ONE Friday Fights 21 main event, which can be seen on Prime Video by North American subscribers.
Next up is Ukrainian heavyweight powerhouse Roman Kryklia. Similar to Eersel, Kryklia hasn't lost under the ONE banner (6-0) and became a world champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai, including a second-round knockout against Alex Roberts in Dec. 2023.
Last but not least, Jonathan Haggerty knocked out Fabricio Andrade in Nov. 2023 to claim the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title. Haggerty returns on Sep. 6 to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai throne against flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek in one of two stacked world title contests starring at ONE 168.