“The Natural Born Crusher” Takeru Segawa will be looking to add the ONE flyweight kickboxing crown to his name as he faces Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 165. Before the kickboxing showdown goes down live from Tokyo, Japan, we are counting down the top five career-defining knockouts of Takeru.
The Japanese-born athlete has collected a ton of hardware in his career. Takeru has earned multiple K-1 Grand Prix tournament wins, plus three K-1 world titles across three weight divisions, and has defended each title.
Takeru Segawa’s Top Five Career-Defining Knockouts
5. Takeru Knocks Out Taiga
At just 23 years old, Takeru made his debut in K-1 in 2014. The young Segawa was just getting started in his career. With a violent spinning back fist, Takeru knocked Taiga out cold. This was his first victory in K-1. The following year, he would go on to earn a Grand Prix tournament crown, rematching Taiga and defeating him once again. This KO win would also age well as Taiga just captured a kickboxing championship in RISE.
4. Takeru Knocks Out Masanobu Goshu
Japan’s Masanobu Goshu had earned a title in KRUSH, was entered in the -60 kg 2018 K-1 tournament, and had the opportunity to challenge for K-1 gold with just one more win. The only problem was Takeru Segawa stood in his way. With a flurry of heavy punches, Takeru earned a first-round knockout in only two minutes. Afterward, Segawa progressed to the tournament final and knocked out Kosuke Komiyama to capture the Grand Prix world title.
3. Takeru Knocks Out Daniel Puertas Gallardo
Spain’s Daniel Puertas Gallardo had a goal to become a K-1 kickboxing world champion, it did not take long for Takeru to crush those dreams. The Spanish striker was a multi-time ISKA world champion and was looking to capture K-1 gold. Segawa knocked him out just two minutes into their fight. Daniel Puertas Gallardo would go on to become a title contender in ONE and have a five-round war against Superlek.
2. Takeru Knocks Out Petchdam Petchkiatpetch
Japan’s Takeru was able to knock out the experienced Muay Thai striker Petchdam Petchkiatpetch in 2020. What makes this fight stand out, is seeing the ability of “The Natural Born Crusher” to shut down a skilled kicker. With his second-round knockout, Takeru threw 22 consecutive punches to earn the KO.
1. Takeru Knocks Out Leona Pettas
Takeru Segawa and Leona Pettas threw down in what was the most exciting kickboxing fight of 2021. Pettas is a K-1 champion and was on an impressive win streak when he looked to take a world title from Takeru. The two strikers brawled and exchanged knockdowns in their two-round war. Ultimately, Takeru landed a punch that put Pettas on the ground and nearly threw himself out of the ring.
On Jan. 28, Takeru Segawa will challenge for the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title against “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9, who is fresh off of his win against Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Takeru vs. Superlek is booked as the main event of ONE 165.