Jonathan Haggerty applauds Nico Carrillo, vows to knock out the Scotsman “in two rounds” in potential showdown
Jonathan Haggerty can always take somebody down a peg. The two-sport world champion initially congratulated Nico Carrillo on his win over Saemapetch Fairtex, but he quickly proceeded to send a warning down the Scottish warrior's way.
In an Instagram Story, Haggerty said Carrillo won't last long against him if they ever battle for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
Jonathan Haggerty wrote:
"Congratulations @nicocarrillo_kotn. I'll stop you in two rounds 🤴"
Haggerty, who also holds the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title, has been on Carrillo's radar since the 'King of the North' scored a stunning knockout win over the legendary Nong-O Hama at ONE Friday Fights 46.
Carrillo's brilliant win over the former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion secured him the number one contender spot in the division and seemed destined to challenge Haggerty for the gold.
An injury, however, put a wrench in Carrillo's plans. Nevertheless, Carrillo's dominant second-round knockout win over Saemapetch practically solidified his case for a world title challenge. Carrillo, however, will have to wait to see who he'll challenge for the gold.
Haggerty will defend the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title against Thai megastar Superlek Kiatmoo9, the reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, in one of the featured fights of ONE 168: Denver.
The champion-versus-champion super fight goes down on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena in Colorado.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver is available at Ticketmaster.
Nico Carrillo says there's a quit in Jonathan Haggerty
Nico Carrillo's relationship with Jonathan Haggerty has always been testy, and both fighters will take shots at one another if given the chance.
In an interview with ONE Championship ahead of ONE Fight Night 23, Carrillo took a shot at Haggerty when the latter defended the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title against Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19.
Although Haggerty knocked Lobo out to retain the world title, he suffered an early knockdown in the fight that Carrillo took note of.
Carrillo said:
"Did you see me take any on the ropes like he did against Felipe Lobo? He didn't even go down against Lobo, he took a knee. That shows me there's a lot of quit in Haggerty and that shows that it did enter his mind to quit."