Thanh Le ‘grateful’ to have lost to Tang Kai: “It has made me so much better”

Winning a world title and keeping it are two different things, and this is exactly what former ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le learned when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tang Kai in August 2022 at ONE 160.

Prior to that defeat, Le had a perfect 5-0 slate, with all his victories being knockout wins over Yusup Saadulaev, Kotetsi Boku, Ryogo Takahashi, Martin Nguyen, and Garry Tonon on his way to becoming the featherweight king.

But that defeat from the 27-year-old Chinese was both a reality check and a blessing in disguise at the same time because the American-Vietnamese athlete realized that he needed to elevate his skills further.

The 38-year-old reflected on that loss, and he is thankful for it because it was some sort of wake-up call. He discussed this in his appearance on South China Morning Post for an interview, stating:

“There were a few things, obviously little things, technique-wise, but the main thing I think, was decision-making, tactical and strategical adjustments throughout the fight. Maybe some were done too early. Maybe some were done a little too late.

“But it was such great information. I am, from the bottom of my heart, grateful for that experience. Only because it has made me so much better now.”

See the full interview below:

Le wants to score an emphatic victory over the Russian rising star to get an outright shot with Tang Kai for a world title rematch. At the same time, the feared knockout artist wants to prove that he’s still got the power to knock out anyone in the weight class.

ONE Fight Night 15 will emanate from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, this Friday. The entire event airs live in U.S. primetime, free of charge for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.