“It will turn into a slugfest” – Hiroki Akimoto envisions how a potential showdown with Jonathan Haggerty will play out

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto will face China's Wei Rui at ONE Fight Night 22 tonight. This will be the Japanese former world champion's first bout since losing his belt in 2022 against Petchtanong Petchfergus.

Petchtanong was stripped of the world title last year and it went up for grabs. The man who grabbed it was two-sport ONE bantamweight world champion Jonathan 'The General' Haggerty.

If Akimoto gets past Wei, who is China's most feared kickboxing export, he might get an immediate shot at Haggerty, who will defend his Muay Thai throne at ONE 168 in September. In an interview with ONE Championship, the Japanese former world champion envisioned how a bout between him and 'The General' would play out:

“In the first half, I may struggle with managing the distance, but I want to make adjustments. I think it will turn into a slugfest. And in that type of fight, I think I’d have a considerable advantage. I believe I’m stronger in terms of power and physical strength.”

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Hiroki Akimoto names time and place where he'd like fight with Jonathan Haggerty to take place

Doubling down on a possible showdown with Jonathan Haggerty, Hiroki Akimoto also provided a timeline on when it could happen - and ideally where. In addition, he said he'd take into consideration the Brit's responsibility to defend two belts.

Akimoto told ONE:

“If there’s another event in Japan, I’d like to have the title fight here. But since Haggerty is a two-sport champion who also needs to defend his Muay Thai belt, I’d like to fight him before the end of this year if possible.”

If Akimoto's plans play out the way he wants them, we'd very well see him clashing with 'The General' in the Land of the Rising Sun sometime before the year ends.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live on US Primetime on May 3 free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena.