Tawanchai open to a rematch to clear any doubts about his win over Petchmorakot Petchyindee

Tawanchai PK.Saenchai knows just how close his world title win over Petchmorakot Petchyindee was. With that said, he’ll gladly give his rival a rematch just to squash any controversy that arose from their titanic matchup.

The Thai phenom scored a unanimous decision win over Petchmorakot to become the new ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion at ONE 161. The event went down last month at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Though the match ended with all three judges agreeing on the result, there was still part of the Muay Thai community who believed the fight could’ve gone either way.

It was a fierce back-and-forth between the two striking masters and neither Tawanchai nor Petchmorakot seemed to be at a great disadvantage. In the end, it was the PK.Saenchai Muay Thai Gym fighter who left the circle with the gold.

The new ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion said:

“It’s okay that someone who supports Petchmorakot may be upset with the result. This match was really close. I totally understand how they feel. But we should respect the judges’ decision.”

He added:

“I’m ready for the rematch because I enjoyed the last fight. And there are controversies, so I’d gladly accept the rematch.”

The 23-year-old is regarded as one of the brightest young stars in Muay Thai. He proved that distinction when he ended Petchmorakot’s 965-day reign with the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world title.

The two Thai superstars were unrelenting in their world title match. Ultimately, it was Tawanchai’s overall aggression and desire to end the fight that made him the winner in the judges’ eyes.

The Bangkok native, who had a depleted gas tank, pushed even harder in the final two rounds when he landed some crippling shots that broke through Petchmorakot’s defense.

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Tawanchai feels he won every round against Petchmorakot

Tawanchai PK.Saenchai knew that his world title fight against Petchmorakot was the biggest of his career. With that in mind, he made sure to walk out of Singapore Indoor Stadium with the massive 26.4-pound world title resting on his shoulder.

The young striker consistently pushed the pace during the match and wanted to end Petchmorakot in any manner possible.

While the match didn’t end in a spectacular knockout, Tawanchai believes that he won each of the five rounds against Petchmorakot.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post’s Nic Atkin following the match, he said:

“Yeah, I don't know but I feel that I won every round. Maybe if I lost, maybe it was, maybe in the second round or the third round when I threw Petchmorakot down. Maybe it could be that round if I was going to lose, but I have a feeling that I won."

Catch the full interview below: