“That day will be fun” - Superlek Kiatmoo9 anticipates absolute barnburner in world title defense against Takeru at ONE 165

Superlek Kiatmoo9 is more excited about his upcoming fight against Takeru Segawa after they faced off for the first time.

On Sunday, ONE Championship will hold one of their most highly-anticipated events of the year, ONE 165, inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Although several Japanese fighters are on the fight card, none are arguably more significant than kickboxing superstar Takeru, who is making his promotional debut.

Takeru was initially scheduled to fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a non-title kickboxing bout. ‘The Iron Man’ pulled out with an injury, but, luckily, Superlek stepped in to save the day and put his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title on the line.

Superlek vs. Takeru features two of the best kickboxers on the planet, with ONE gold on the line. Following their first faceoff, ‘The Kicking Machine’ voiced his excitement for the fight by saying this in a video posted by the promotion on Instagram:

“I’m so excited. Facing off with one of the world’s best for the first time. I’m thrilled. Finally, we’ve met. I’ll see you again soon. That day will be fun.”

Watch Superlek and Takeru talk about their upcoming fight below:

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Takeru Segawa reflects on first faceoff with Superlek Kiatmoo9

Takeru Segawa has traveled around the world and fought some of the most talented fighters in his weight class. Therefore, the Japanese superstar has been there and done that, but he can’t deny that Superlek Kiatmoo9 has a different aura than past opponents.

During the previously mentioned Instagram video, Takeru voiced his point of view after facing off with Superlek for the first time by saying:

“For the first time, we came face-to-face. I looked him [Superlek] in the eye. He had the eyes of someone strong. I felt a strong aura. I think this is going to be an incredible fight.”

Takeru, the only three-division K-1 Kickboxing world champion, undoubtedly has the tools to become the new ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion on Sunday. Meanwhile, Superlek Kiatmoo9 is riding high on confidence after going 5-0 in 2023, including a super-fight Muay Thai win against Rodtang and two impressive performances for the ONE flyweight kickboxing gold.