Thanh Le weighs in on the banter between Andrade and Won Il ahead of ONE 158

While speaking with Dylan Bowker, ONE Championship fighter Thanh Le discussed the upcoming bout between Fabricio Andrade and Kwon Won Il at ONE 158 on Friday. As we've gotten closer to the bout, the fighters have exchanged quite a bit of banter.

Speaking about the bantamweight clash, Thanh Le had this to say about the verbal sparring going on between Andrade and Won Il:

"I think, lets say fun. That's a good way to describe it. I mean, it's gotta be natural. I think the reactions we're getting from the guys are at least genuine which makes back-and-forth a little more fun to watch and hear and less cringy."

Le stressed the importance of trash talking being genuine leading up to a fight. The featherweight champion believes that fans can tell the difference, making the whole experience feel forced or "cringy," leading into a big bout. Le specifically referenced outspoken UFC welterweight Colby Covington when talking about trash talk in combat sports.

"When guys try, you hear too many times of guys just trying to force trash talking or force being arrogant. If it doesn't come out genuine, it just doesn't come out right. It doesn't have the right feel and I think the fans can kind of see that. You get a weird Colby Covington vibe from people and it's just a weird feel, right? I've always tried to keep it as genuine as possible. Maybe that's made me lose some opportunities in the past, but I can't do anything, but be myself and try to put on a great show."

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Thanh Le believes confidence is key but doesn't believe trash-talking is necessary to sell yourself

While discussing the back-and-forth between Andrade and Won Il, Thanh Le does not believe he has to resort to trash talking to hype himself up for a fight. Le stated in his message that confidence is vital, but taking verbal jabs at your opponent is not the way he chooses to express his confidence.

"Yeah, it's a funny balance, I think. Trying to communicate to the company, to the fans, to you guys in the media, like how we truly feel about ourselves without sending the wrong message. Coming from a place personally, I'm very confident in what I do. Very confident in my skills and the way I approach fights, but I don't feel it's accurate for my true feelings inside to come out and say, 'oh yeah, absolutely. No matter what happens I am going to sleep this dude, he didn't have a chance in the world.'"

While discussing his mentality walking into a fight, Thanh Le referenced heavyweight boxing great 'Iron' Mike Tyson and said:

"When you walk in the cage, we've heard guys like Mike Tyson talk about it all the time. When you walk into the ring, into the cage, into the circle, you've got to feel like you're the king of the world. Got to feel like you're untouchable because you've gotta have that confidence, that swag. Walking out, you're listening to your music and feeling it. Feeling loose and relaxed and confident. That's where that comes from, it's that true sense of confidence and that true sense of, 'I don't care if I got out there and knock him out or he knocks me out.' I'm gonna go out there and try to perform my best."

Listen to the full interview below: