“The game changer” - Jonathan Haggerty confident his power in 4-ounce gloves will give Superlek fits
Jonathan Haggerty claimed one of the biggest differences between him and Superlek Kiatmoo9's first fight is the size of the gloves.
In October 2018, two future legends, Haggerty and Superlek, battled in a Muay Thai bout at Yokkao 31. 'The General' was in home territory in the United Kingdom, but Superlek was the one to emerge victorious by second-round TKO.
Nearly six years later, Haggerty and Superlek will meet again with much higher stakes this time around.
On Friday, Sept. 6, Haggerty will put his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title on the line in the ONE 168: Denver main event. 'The General' will have added motivation, as he plans to secure revenge in a rematch against Superlek, who now holds the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title.
During an interview with Sky Sports, Haggerty had this to say about his power being a game-changer due to the four-ounce gloves used in ONE Championship:
"The game changer will be four-ounce gloves. When we fought in 2018, it was 10-ounce gloves. Now we're in four-ounce gloves, anything can happen. One shot, one kill."
ONE 168: Denver will take place inside the North American venue of the Ball Arena. Tickets for the Denver, Colorado event can be found on Ticketmaster. North American fans can also watch the stacked fight card with a Prime Video subscription.
Check out Jonathan Haggerty's entire interview with Sky Sports below:
Superlek must overcome size and elevation acclimation disadvantage against Jonathan Haggerty
Jonathan Haggerty took some time to build up his body before moving up from the flyweight division to bantamweight. Meanwhile, Superlek fought Kongthoranee at flyweight in June, giving Haggerty a size advantage at ONE 168: Denver.
Furthermore, Superlek's supporters have shown slight concern about the ONE flyweight kickboxing king showing up in Denver earlier this week. The North American state notoriously has a high elevation, which can be a significant factor if fighters don't acclimate ahead of time like Haggerty did.
Nonetheless, Superlek has proven to be one of the best strikers on the planet, regardless of the circumstances. On Friday, 'The Kicking Machine' plans to extend his legacy and become a two-sport world champion.
Watch Haggerty and Superlek face off ahead of ONE 168 below: