Hong Kong Muay Thai champion Michael Dacuno on emerging victorious from deep waters
- Three-time Hong Kong Muay Thai champion Michael Dacuno explains how he has learned to embrace the ‘target on my back’
- The 25-year-old Filipino-Hongkonger emerges as a favourite on the local scene having humbly fought his way up
Win one Hong Kong Muay Thai championship, good on you, but it could have been a fluke. Win and defend it once, and certainly a few more heads will turn. Win three consecutive championships in as many years, however, and you finally gain the unwavering respect of the regional Thai kick-boxing scene.
“You can win it, defend it twice, but you can't hold the belt hostage. It's at most three times,” explained Michael Dacuno, the three-time Hong Kong 54kg champion who did exactly that. According to Hong Kong Muay Thai Association (HKMTA) rules, Dacuno must next year relinquish the title and start again in a surrounding weight class.
In the meantime, the 25-year-old is straight back into the ring against Hong Kong's Ricky Yeung Weiqi at the I-1 World Muay Thai Championships on Tuesday. He holds two I-1 Asia Champion belts and actively represents Hong Kong at International Federations of Muay Thai Associations (IFMA) events.
The journey to success would already be considered a strenuous one for your average local Hongkonger, but ethnically Filipino Dacuno has had a target on his back from the very start.
“In the beginning, I would get a lot of hate because – I don't know – nobody wants to lose to a brown boy,” Dacuno said with a smile, the irony being that he was born and raised in the city.