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ONE: ETERNAL GLORY is the first event of the year for ONE Championship and it was set in Jakarta, Indonesia. Joshua “The Passion” Pacio was in line to defend his ONE Strawweight World Title.
Unfortunately, Pacio fell short by way of split-decision and lost the title to Yosuke “Tobizaru” Saruta in a five-round non-stop title tiff. Pacio, later on, showed everyone what a true champion is like, exhibiting his humility and fighting spirit.
"Of course I'm disappointed. I worked very hard for that fight. It was months of sacrifice and I really thought I could win. But more than disappointed, I am really motivated to come back stronger. It's like we always say at Team Lakay, you either win or you learn. In this instance, it's another learning experience for me. I'll be back better than ever," Pacio said.
Thinking back on his performance, the Team Lakay stalwart revealed where he came up short on the judges’ scorecards.
"Whenever we suffer losses, we are given an insight to our weaknesses. I know the chink in my armor. I saw my weaknesses with my own eyes and I will work hard to turn them into strengths. Right now, it's back to the gym and back to the drawing board. One thing I promise all my fans and supporters, I will work and train harder than ever before. I'm still young and there's a lot of fight left in me. I can't wait to get back in there and show the world what I can do," Pacio said.
With another promising year ahead of him and and a chance to reclaim the ONE Flyweight World Title, the future for Pacio is full of options. For now, he just wants to focus first on what is important and that is to learn from his mistakes and be worthy to be called a champion once more.
"I would welcome a rematch for sure. I think when we step back into that cage, it's going to be a different story. At the same time, I'm also happy to fight anyone ONE Championship puts me in the cage with. It's my job to perform and fight whoever, and I have no problem working my way back up to the top. I know one day I'll be challenging for the title again. When that day comes, expect a different Joshua Pacio -- a much better one," Pacio concluded.
