"We've done so well to acclimatize early" - Jonathan Haggerty says his body already adapted well to Colorado's altitude
Jonathan Haggerty has made ample preparations to make sure that adjusting to the altitude won't be a problem for his bantamweight Muay Thai world title defense against Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Arguably the biggest striking showdown of the year will take place in the curtain closer of ONE 168: Denver on September 6, in the promotion's United States return at Ball Arena.
'The Mile High City', of course, is notorious for being over 5,000 feet above sea level, making it a challenging destination for fighters who are not used to the elevation.
Haggerty, though, was one step ahead and took into account the terrain of his next match. 'The General' got to Denver almost a month before his fight, a game-changing decision he believes already bore dividends.
The two-sport world champion told ONE:
"We're so high up, and I'm trying to catch a breath after a hectic round on the pads. It's pretty hard. The first day we got here, it was hard. But we've done so well to acclimatize so early. We're up in the mountains now running and doing our fitness."
Apart from making sure his conditioning is up to par through hiking, Colorado's iconic scenery isn't too shabby either.
We'll soon see the fruits of Jonathan Haggerty's hard labor at ONE 168: Denver.
Jonathan Haggerty says Superlek made the mistake of arriving in Denver late
Unlike Jonathan Haggerty who already set up camp in Colorado, his challenger Superlek is expected to arrive on Sept. 1, less than a week before their super fight.
As far as 'The General' is concerned, 'The Kicking Machine' will pay for dismissing Colorado's harsh altitude:
"I think that could play a big part in it. And him having that extra weight, he's not going to be used to it," Haggerty told the South China Morning Post.
"And then on top of that, the elevation and the altitude. It may just hit him like a ton of bricks. So we'll see."
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster