Takeru Segawa had his mind on a high-profile matchup after scoring his ONE Championship win at ONE Friday Fights 81: Superbon vs. Nattawut this past weekend.
The Japanese kickboxing superstar signed with ONE to much fanfare in 2023 and was desperate to show his worth in the promotion after falling short in his thrilling debut against two-sport king Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 165 in January.
And he did just that with a thrilling knockout win over Thant Zin inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, Sept. 27. However, he had to work to find it.
Takeru was sent to the canvas by his heavy-handed opponent in the opening round. But he roared back to close the show with a blinding flurry in the second and revealed he wasn’t overly troubled by the initial setback when speaking in his post-fight interview.
“For the first round, I got down, but that was only just like a flash knockdown; it didn’t cause that much damage. In my head, I just need to do something back to him. I was being too careful of my opponent, so I couldn’t press that much, but in the second round, I knew I could keep the distance close, and I got to finish him,” he said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been knocked down, and in my head, it was just like, ‘I had to attack back.’ Also, I had some worries that I might lose this fight, but I got to be very calm and took it back in the second round.”
With his maiden ONE Championship win fresh in his bag, “The Natural Born Crusher” immediately shifted his attention to his next goal – a dream fight with ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
He called out the Thai superstar in the hopes of setting plans into motion for a striking showdown that ONE fans have been clamoring to see since he joined the organization.
“I came to ONE to fight Rodtang, and if I don’t win this fight, if I don’t get over this, I have no qualities to be in ONE. Right now, I get to meet Rodtang,” Takeru said.
“I am ready. For Rodtang, I hope you win your next fight, and I’ll be waiting here in the ring.”
Luckily for him and the crowd in attendance, Rodtang was sitting in the front row inside Lumpinee, and he made his way to the ring to trade barbs and face off with the Japanese star.
Nothing has been announced yet, but a matchup between the striking dynamos may be closer than ever.