ONE Championship: Rodtang ‘very motivated’ to fight Superlek, ‘widely known’ he doesn’t usually train hard, Chatri says
ONE chairman and CEO admits his ‘shock’ at Rodtang’s two-day training camp for his last title defence – ‘that’s insane to me’‘Ever since he won the title in ONE, he hasn’t been razor sharp and trained every day,’ Chatri says – ‘but he’s in unbelievable shape’ for Superlek fightONE ChampionshipNicolas AtkinPublished: 10:32am, 15 Sep, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has admitted his “shock” at Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s two-day training camp for his last title defence – but believes the Muay Thai king is “not afraid of anyone” and “very motivated” for his clash with Superlek Kiatmookao next week in Bangkok.
The 26-year-old Thai has been accused of “ducking” Superlek after withdrawing from the fight in March with an injury when it was first scheduled – with the latter’s ONE flyweight kickboxing title on the line in Singapore.Rodtang then said he no longer wanted to face “The Kicking Machine”, as he wanted to see “Thais keep the belts” in ONE. He went on to fight debutant Edgar Tabares in May, earning a second-round TKO and a US$100,000 performance bonus in Denver.“The Iron Man” has since seen his fight purse increased to 10 million baht – around US$280,000 – all while Superlek has underlined his status as the top contender in the flyweight Muay Thai division with a series of quick finishes, with the promotion finally relenting and rebooking the fight for Lumpinee Stadium on September 22.