ONE Championship: Jonathan Haggerty receives a warning after hospital discharge – ‘we have matters to finish,’ Walter Goncalves says
- Former champ thanks fans for support after withdrawing from flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix bout for ‘health reasons’
- ‘He teased me and I want to show him in the ring what I showed him on the screen,’ says Goncalves, who finished late replacement Josue Cruz in 35 seconds
Jonathan Haggerty has been discharged from hospital after missing Friday night’s ONE Championship 157 event in Singapore for “health reasons”.
“Discharged, thank you all for your continued support! It really has put me at ease,” Haggerty wrote in a post on his Instagram story.
“I will be back stronger, believe me,” he added, with a picture of himself giving a thumbs up.
Instead of competing, Haggerty looked on as Goncalves dismantled late replacement Josue Cruz in 35 seconds to set up a semi-final with Superlek.
But the Brazilian is still keen to throw down with “The General”, whom he verbally clashed with in a pre-fight interview.
“Yes, of course we do have matters to finish, because he teased me and now I want to show him in the ring what I showed him on the screen,” Goncalves said. “I hope he gets well soon, and gets strong and trains a lot, and gets prepared.”
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Goncalves insisted the late change of opponent did not affect him at all, and that his quick evening’s work should strand him in good stead for the rest of the tournament.
“I was ready to face him [Haggerty] or any other opponent,” Goncalves said. “I was confident to win, and I’m always prepared for the war, so it doesn’t matter with who.
“Yes, it’s an advantage indeed not to get hurt at all, and I’m already going back to training to get ready for the next fight.”
He faces a tough test in Superlek, whom many consider to be the favourite to win the grand prix title, despite the presence in the eight-man tournament of champ Rodtang Jitmuangnon, who battered Jacob Smith to book a semi-final with Savvas Michael.
“I have been observing him [Superlek], he’s quite good,” Goncalves said. “But I’m getting ready to be the champion and to get the belt.
“He’s very technical and he does a lot of strong right kicks at a distance, but I am very aggressive myself. I just want to punch him a lot as much as I can, so I’m going for him.”
