“Quite difficult to get knocked down by calf kicks” - Masaaki Noiri saye he could take Tawanchai’s kicks all day long
Masaaki Noiri is confident his legs would hold up to Tawanchai's vicious calf kicks.
Going toe-to-toe with Tawanchai inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Japan at ONE 172, Noiri shocked the world via a third-round TKO over the featherweight Muay Thai titleholder.
The victory not only snapped Tawanchai's nine-fight win streak, but it also resulted in Noiri taking home the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.
After squaring off with one of combat sports' greatest strikers, Noiri was asked how his calf kicks compare to that of the Thai superstar.
"After all, his calf kicks are not attacks that will force you to go down in one hit," Noiri told My Navi News. "It's quite difficult to get knocked down by calf kicks. Even if I did really well with my kicks like I did in my last match against [Shakir Al-Tekreeti], I'm not too sure if Tawanchai would have gone down."
Before defeating Tawanchai, Noiri scored himself a leg-kick knockout over Shakir Al-Tekreeti at ONE 170 in January. That victory earned him a shot against Tawanchai and—well, you know the rest.
Masaaki Noiri immediately recognized how dangerous Tawanchai's kicks are
Of course, just because Masaaki Noiri is confident that Tawanchai can't put him down with calf kicks, it doesn't mean the Thai's lead leg attacks didn't leave him in some serious pain.
"When I got hit from Tawanchai's kicks, I thought, 'Wow, this is dangerous.'And that was something that happened during the match," Noiri said. "I knew from the very second that my opponent's attacks were dangerous."
Now, the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing titleholder will have to ready himself for another tough test when he inevitably meets reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon in a massive unification clash.
When and where that fight takes place is yet to be determined, but for now, you can rewatch Noiri's jaw-dropping defeat of Tawanchai anytime on demand.
If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.