Rodtang Jitmuangnon was set to face the multi-division K-1 world champion Takeru Segawa when the Thai-born striker was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. Instead, Japan’s Takeru faced Muay Thai pound-for-pound great Superlek Kiatmuu9 while “The Iron Man” recovered.
Rodtang will soon face Denis Puric at ONE 167 in a kickboxing match booked for Jun. 7. However, the 26-year-old Muay Thai athlete would still like to face Takeru sometime in the future. While speaking in an interview, Rodtang explained:
“At first, I regretted not being able to fight Takeru. I really wanted to fight him. Because this fight would have added more value to my career. But I had to choose myself first. Because if I forced myself to fight, what if my career ended there? I’d be doomed. So no matter how valuable that fight was, I had to choose to take care of myself first. Treat the injury and then return.”
Superlek was able to defeat Takeru in a dominant five-round performance. The Muay Thai champion now boasts victories over both Takeru and Rodtang. On facing either Superlek, to avenge his loss, or Takeru next, the Thai-born Rodtang explained:
“I want to fight Takeru first because we already had a fight scheduled, and it did not happen. So, I think I want to make it happen for the fans.”
On Jun. 7, the Muay Thai world champion Rodtang will face “The Bosnian Menace” Denis Puric. The Canadian-Bosnian holds titles in both Muay Thai and Taekwondo plus has been fiercely calling out to meet “The Iron Man.” In a kickboxing match, these two are set for a showdown at ONE 167. On Puric, Rodtang said:
“I have known Denis Puric for a long time. Since he first joined ONE, he has been calling me out from the beginning. Thank you for always thinking of me … I respect him for his determination, he came to ONE to fight with me specifically. Because it’s really difficult to run through many opponents until he could reach me. You have to fight to put yourself into the rankings to challenge me. But he tried his best and managed to face me. I have to respect his fighting spirit.
“No matter what rule set, my aggressive style is the same – action-packed, guaranteed.”