“Don’t like people who overlook their opponents” – Superlek on Takeru underestimating him before ONE 165 war

Superlek Kiatmoo9 did not rest easy when he knew Japanese kickboxing great Takeru Segawa assumed he had one hand on his world title at ONE 165.

‘The Kicking Machine’ stepped in for injured flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon two months before ONE Championship’s hotly anticipated return to the Land of the Rising Sun.

From the first official press conference in Tokyo, Japan, the three-division K-1 world champion seemed rather oblivious about the task at hand.

While he maintained respect and admiration for the flyweight kickboxing world champion, Takeru’s words were about how he would use his debut contest against the Thai kickboxing star to earn a shot versus ‘The Iron Man.’

The debuting superstar even sent a warning to Rodtang, reminding him to ‘watch carefully when he defeats Superlek.’

Unfortunately, things didn’t quite pan out how ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ would have wanted it to go. The Kiatmoo9 Gym affiliate had the upper hand for most of the five-round duel and walked away with a decisive unanimous decision.

In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, the Buriram native revealed that Takeru’s views on him in the lead-up to their showdown allowed him to have the last laugh inside the Ariake Arena.

The 28-year-old said:

“I personally don’t like people who overlook their opponents. And yeah, it fueled me more. It motivated me to go harder. I wanted to prove that I’m not a stepping stone, not someone who can be overlooked. However, I did take it hard when he said something like that.”

“I’m not just anybody. So when people say something like that, it gives me more power. The fight never ends well when people say something like that.”

Watch the full interview here:

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Superlek could run it back with Rodtang and Takeru later this year

With his fight against Takeru out of the way, Superlek hopes to use his time off to fix the minute details that need some addressing.

Surprisingly, Superlek has recognized some flaws in his otherwise top-notch performance over 'The Natural Born Crusher' last month, and he plans to perfect his arsenal when he returns to duty on the global stage of ONE Championship.

Though nothing is yet to be concrete, it remains plausible that 'The Kicking Machine's second fight of 2024 could be a rematch with the Japanese star or another date with Rodtang.