ONE Championship: Rodtang casts doubts on Superlek fight, wants Jonathan Haggerty at bantamweight
- Rodtang says he’s unsure about highly-anticipated, long-awaited clash with kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9
- Flyweight Muay Thai champ instead seeks ‘new challenge’ by going for rival Jonathan Haggerty’s bantamweight belt
It seems we could be waiting a while longer to see Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Superlek Kiatmoo9 finally throw down.
The pair were set for a highly-anticipated clash in Singapore in March, with flyweight Muay Thai champ Rodtang to challenge for Superlek’s kickboxing belt.
But “The Iron Man” withdrew injured just days out from the fight, and now seems lukewarm to the idea of revisiting it.
“Right now in my heart, as a Thai person, I want to see every Thai be a champion,” he told the Post via a translator, ahead of his title defence against Edgar Tabares at ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver, Colorado.
“After I pass Tabares, I am looking for Jonathan Haggerty in his weight class. I want a new challenge so I will try for Haggerty.
“I like to challenge myself for new things. I’ll try my best to fight him at bantamweight because the hardest thing is to lose, but I will come back to my weight and continue my legacy. If I win, it profits my career path.”
Rodtang claimed his flyweight title from the UK’s Haggerty in August 2019 via decision in a classic clash, before defending it with a third-round TKO in Bangkok.
ONE: Tabares says ‘I know I have to knock Rodtang out’
“The General” eventually left the division, and moved up to bantamweight where he ended legendary Nong-O Hama’s lengthy title reign at Lumpinee Stadium last month.
“In ONE Championship they have small gloves so whoever makes the first mistake, that’s the person who gets KO’d,” Rodtang said.
“I think if Nong-O and Haggerty went longer, Nong-O would definitely have killed it, but unfortunately Nong-O made a mistake. I really want to go for Haggerty.”
The 26-year-old Thai star Rodtang arrived fairly late in Colorado this week, flying in from Bangkok on Monday having returned to his home country from a seminar tour of the US in April.
While other big-name fighters on the card such as Stamp Fairtex and Reinier de Ridder have been preparing for the conditions by training at high altitude for weeks, Rodtang is banking on not needing his cardio on Friday against Mexican newcomer Tabares.
“I have been here before for seminars so I kind of get used to it, but not in Colorado because there is high elevation – it’s hard to breathe here you know, and also to cut weight,” he said.
“I’m very confident I won’t have any problems about the weight because I’m preparing myself. Of course it’s been hard for me because it’s my first time in Colorado, but I’ll make sure I can handle it.
“My solution is I’ll just try to knock him out in the first round so I won’t be too tired. After I finish Edgar Tabares, wait for me Haggerty.”
He may not been keen on facing Superlek, but there is another high-profile kickboxer at least that Rodtang has got his eye on, in Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa.
The former K-1 icon has signed an exclusive multi-fight deal with ONE, fuelling talk he could finally face Rodtang in a dream fight.
“I’m very happy Takeru signed with ONE Championship because the fans need that so much,” he said. “Day one since the news came out, people want us to fight each other.
“It’s good news for us because there’s a new challenge in ONE Championship, so I’m looking forward to it in the future.”
