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2019 is set to be another exciting year for Singapore-based martial arts promotion ONE Championship.
Aside from making their debut in a couple of new markets such as South Korea and Japan, a handful of new names are also set to make their promotional debuts.
Among those new names is none other than multiple-time lightweight world champion Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez.
Alvarez signed with ONE Championship back in October and is expected to make his debut at the planned lightweight tournament which takes place in 2019, which will feature ONE’s eight best lightweight stars.
Among those are Shinya Aoki, Ev Ting, Amir Khan, and possibly even reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang.
For Alvarez, it’s all part of the journey as he looks to capture the ONE Lightweight World Championship and become the first to capture a world title in three major promotions.
“The Underground King” is more than excited to get the show on the road and test himself against these top-tier stars, which could include a potential third bout with Aoki.
“I mean there’s a number of fighters in the division, there’s actually guys I feel like are harder and better match ups than Shinya, but I’d imagine that Shinya keeps winning that we’re going to cross paths,” Alvarez said on BJPENN Radio.
“I’m looking forward to everyone. I’ve always been of the mind that just because someone is more popular, doesn’t make them a better fighter. I mean, [earlier in my career] I’ve always been the less popular guy, but in my heart I knew that I could be the best in the world anywhere. So I’m sure there’s guys just like that here that are very unpopular and very good at fighting and I’m looking forward to running into them.”
Alvarez will likely be running into them one way or another through the lightweight tournament, and the Philadelphia-native is pretty high on his chances of going far in the tournament.
“I’ve watched a number of the guys and I feel very good about my chances of beating everyone in the tournament,” he expressed. “I’m a tournament fighter so I’m not so worried about the opponents and I never am. It’s more about me coming out at my best come March and competing at my highest level. When I do that, I can beat any lightweight in the world on any night. I know that about myself and come March, I just want to be the best version of myself possible and fans will see.”
For Alvarez, the goal is to become a world champion again, and he’s determined on taking out anyone who stands in his way.
“Whoever ONE tells me to fight, I’ll fight. I literally have no preference. I’m here for one reason and that’s to get the ONE Championship world title. I don’t care who’s in my path or who’s in the way. I’ll get that belt and I would have achieved every single belt from every major organization. That’s what my eye is on now, my eye’s just on that gold and whoever’s in the path of that, God bless them.”
“ONE can line them up and I’ll knock them down,” he continued. “I’ll be one track minded, I’ll have complete blinders on. When I enter a tournament it’s mostly about me just bringing it, and bringing it at a real high pace, and getting in my opponent’s faces, and most of the time they fall,” he added.
Alvarez also stated that he believes that the tournament will be kicking off at ONE’s March 31 card in Tokyo, which will be the promotion's first-ever show in Japan.
