ONE Championship: Liam Harrison says ‘Rodtang is going to be in for a very tough night’ against teammate Jacob Smith
- ‘Trust me, this kid can fight,’ Harrison says of teammate, who will meet Rodtang in ONE flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix on May 20
- Muay Thai star also picks Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek to win first-round bouts, and sees Savvas Michael vs Amir Naseri as ‘one of the fights of the night’
Liam Harrison believes his teammate Jacob Smith will surprise a lot of people in his upcoming fight with Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Smith will meet Thailand’s Rodtang in the opening round of ONE Championship’s flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix on May 20 in Singapore.
Rodtang is the division’s reigning champion, and one of the top fighters in the sport, but Harrison, who trains with fellow Briton Smith at Bad Company in Leeds, is predicting a long night at the office for the Thai star.
“My teammate’s in this tournament,” Harrison, 36, told the South China Morning Post last week. “Nobody’s talking about this young man. Jacob Smith, he’s from my gym. He’s fighting Rodtang, first round. Everybody’s already wrote Jacob off. Nobody’s giving him a second thought, but trust me, this kid can fight.
“He’s an absolute beast and, win or lose, Rodtang is going to be in for a very tough night on the 20th. Trust me. I train with this guy every day. I spar with him every day. I know how strong he is. I know how determined he is. He’s a very, very tough young man who is going to give Rodtang a hard night.”
Harrison, who earned a crack at ONE bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O Gaiyanghadao with a knockout of Muangthai PK. Saenchai last month, is also forecasting a victory for his countryman Jonathan Haggerty, who will battle Brazil’s Walter Goncalves in a Grand Prix quarter-final bout on May 20.
“I think Haggerty’s probably got one of the easiest rounds through on this one,” Harrison said. “Walter, who he’s fighting – great fighter, don’t get me wrong – he’s just not big enough to beat John. He’s too small. Walter looks like he should probably be fighting at 58, 59kg. At 61, Haggerty’s one of the biggest in the division and he’s obviously a beast. He’s an animal, so I don’t see Walter causing Haggerty too many problems.”
ONE: Harrison ‘can’t wait to shock the world’ against Nong-O
Harrison believes Thailand’s Superlek Kiatmoo9 will also breeze through round one of the Grand Prix, because his opponent, Japan’s Taiki Naito, is “not in the same league whatsoever”.
“Superlek, he will absolutely destroy Naito,” he said. “Unless Naito catches him with some outrageous shot, it will be a walk in the park for [Superlek].”
As for the final Grand Prix quarter-final bout, a clash between Cypriot Savvas Michael and Iranian Amir Naseri, Harrison envisions a fight-of-the-night contender.
“Great fight,” he said. “Naseri is very tough, very strong, not technically as good as Savvas, but he’s a beast. He’s very, very strong. Savas is a great all-rounder. Very sharp. Strong punches, good knees. I see this being one of the fights of the night.”
Harrison is unsurprisingly rooting for Smith to win the Grand Prix, but gives Superlek the best shot if his teammate stumbles.
However, he cautions fight fans against taking his predictions too seriously.
“I probably just got every [expletive] thing wrong,” he said. “It happens all the time.”
