Watch: The KO that cemented Joseph Lasiri's world title shot at ONE 157

Joseph Lasiri fought like he had something to prove in his last fight. The Italian-Moroccan faced Asahi Shinagawa in December 2021. 'The Hurricane' ended the fight with an impressive first-round knockout.

ONE Championship recently uploaded the full fight to its YouTube channel.

Watch the full fight between Lasiri and Shinagawa below:

Lasiri knocked out his opponent with an overhand right and a powerful knee to the body. The combination finished Shinagawa and earned the 30-year-old Italian a title shot at ONE 157 on May 20.

In a little over a week's time, Lasiri will face Prajanchai PK.Saenchai for the ONE Muay Thai strawweight championship. Prajanchai is a highly skilled fighter with hundreds of victories and many titles to his name.

Lasiri's knockout of Shinagawa came with four-ounce gloves. Muay Thai can be fought in larger gloves, such as the ones seen in boxing, or smaller gloves like those seen in MMA. Between the two, Lasiri has said that he prefers the smaller ones.

After the Shinagawa knockout, Lasiri took to Instagram to talk about the win:

“I don't like to call it passion because stress, fatigue, fear while preparing for an important competition is sometimes so strong that it is difficult to go along with the word PASSION even if it is part of it... I want to use the word passion in moments like this where you feel you are LIVING YOUR LIFE, where you have done your duty, and whether you win or lose you feel lighter and satisfied with who you’ve become.” [Translated from Italian]

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Joseph Lasiri's title shot at ONE 157

Joseph Lasiri, like his opponent at ONE 157, also has many titles to his name. However, he explains that these championships don't matter as much as the ONE title. In an interview with Tim Wheaton for Kickin' It, he stated:

"Now I am focused only for this title... For me, [on] the 20th of May, not thinking about my ex-titles. I am going there like this is my first title shot."

Lasiri also spoke about how much the title shot against Prajanchai at ONE 157 means to him:

"I am focused on the world title. For me it's everything. Because I've been training Muay Thai since I was 17 years old, and now I'm 30... It's everything, an opportunity for a world title... Now the world title against this opponent is everything for me."

Joseph Lasiri has dedicated his life to the sport. On May 20, he will look to make it worthwhile when he squares off against Prajanchai PK.Saenchai for ONE Championship's Muay Thai strawweight title.