“It was a very exciting match” – Hiroki Akimoto impressed by Jonathan Haggerty’s display against Felipe Lobo

Japanese kickboxer Hiroki Akimoto was impressed with the showing that Jonathan Haggerty had in his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title defense against Felipe Lobo last month. It is something that he wants to test in the kickboxing lane, where ‘The General’ also reigns.

The British striker retained his championship belt after steadily tearing down his Brazilian challenger, winning by TKO in the third round of their headlining contest at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video on Feb. 16 in Thailand.

Haggerty found himself in a bind early when he was knocked down by Lobo in the first round. But he brushed it off and charged back when he got his bearings back.

Everything came to a halt when the Orpington, England native landed a powerful right hand to the face of ‘The Demolition Man’ in the third round.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, former bantamweight kickboxing world champion Akimoto shared his thoughts on Haggerty’s performance, saying:

“I think it was a very exciting fight and it was a great match for the fans as well.”

The Japanese star and No. 1 contender bantamweight kickboxing contender went on to say that he wants to challenge Jonathan Haggerty for kickboxing gold, which he won in November by knocking out bantamweight MMA king Fabricio Andrade in an all-champion title clash for the vacant strap.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 19 is available on ONE Championship’s YouTube channel. Meanwhile, North American fans with an active subscription can catch all action via Amazon Prime Video.

Jonathan Haggerty says he wasn’t really hurt bad by knockdown from Felipe Lobo

Jonathan Haggerty was impressive in his retention of the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video last month. He, however, encountered early trouble after being knocked down by Brazilian challenger Felipe Lobo.

‘The General’ admitted that ‘The Demolition Man’ caught him good with the first-round knockdown but said he was not really hurt that bad by it and it was nothing that he could not handle.

He shared this in an interview with ONE Championship following his victory, saying:

“There was no doubt he caught me with a big shot, I wasn’t really hurt that bad. I just thought I’d take a little rest and take a seat. I knew I’d get him back. There isn’t any quit in me, there never is and I showed that tonight.”

Jonathan Haggerty’s victory over Lobo was his first successful defense of the Muay Thai gold he claimed in April last year and extended his winning run in ONE Championship to six straight.