Hiroki Akimoto says success won’t be guaranteed for Takeru Segawa in ONE: “He must adjust a little bit”

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto asserts that success is not outright guaranteed for Takeru Segawa now that he has joined ONE Championship. He said his fellow Japanese fighter and kickboxing champion needs to adjust his game to the kind of competition present in his new home.

A multi-time K-1 world champion, 31-year-old Takeru is getting ready to get his ONE journey going after signing with the organization earlier this year. Before choosing to join ONE, the kickboxing superstar was among the top free agents in combat sports.

While no doubt carrying top-notch credentials, Hiroki Akimoto still believes that Takeru needs to make adjustments to his game as ONE presents a whole new challenge from those he encountered in other organizations.

The 31-year-old Evolve MMA standout shared to the South China Morning Post in an interview:

“As far as I see, based on his training online, he can adapt more to fight someone who’s stronger. His previous organization and ONE are completely different. I don’t like to talk about someone, but I think he [must] adjust a little bit in terms of his training.”

Check out what Hiroki Akimoto had to say in the video below:

Under the K-1 banner, Takeru made history by becoming the only fighter in the organization to win titles in three weight classes, namely super bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight.

Upon signing with ONE, he made it known that he is willing to take on anybody that the promotion will line up against him and sustain the success he has been having all throughout his illustrious career. He currently holds a kickboxing record of 42-3.

Hiroki Akimoto, meanwhile, became the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion last March by defeating former divisional king Capitan Petchyindee by unanimous decision.

His reign, however, was cut short as he fell to Petchtanong Petchfergus by split decision eight months later.

He is now looking to regain what was once his, targeting new bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty possibly at ONE’s planned return to Japan in the near future.