Jonathan Haggerty will get his stiffest challenge to date when he arrives in the United States to defend the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 168: Denver on Friday, September 6.
The Brit will have to contend with possibly the pound-for-pound best striker today, Superlek Kiatmoo9 — a man who already holds a win over him.
The stakes at hand are not lost on anyone, including Haggerty’s brother, Freddie.
“It’s massive. Jon knows how big it is. Everyone regards Superlek as the pound-for-pound greatest, so to beat Superlek and get revenge from the first fight would be huge,” Haggerty told ONE.
“Personally, I think the first fight was stopped in the most pathetic way. It was the tiniest cut on Jon. You could’ve put a plaster over it, it was so little. But for him to work back to this point, to grow so much, and to have the chance to even the scores, it couldn’t be bigger.”
“If he beats Superlek, he’s the pound-for-pound best.”
Since the first time they met, both men have improved tremendously. Haggerty’s move to bantamweight has given him new life, and his power has only increased now that he is not depleting himself.
The younger sibling to the bantamweight king feels this match will be significantly different than the first encounter between the two elite strikers.
“He was a kid in the first fight. But he’s a man now. He’s bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter than the version of him in 2018,” Haggerty remarked.
“He’s been in the deep waters with these Thai guys. Even against Felipe Lobo, he’s been in the deep waters, and he knows he’s got that dog in him. He knows he can dig deep, and if he has to have a dogfight, he knows he can do that.”
“He just knows so many little details about himself compared to last time that will go a long way in helping him win.”
The 19-year-old has been taken aback by his brother’s preparation for the title defense. Haggerty has never seen him more focused going into a match and expects the best of “The General” to come out in Denver.
“This is the best [Jonathan has] ever looked. This is the most dedicated he has been. He’s never put as much work into a fight the way he is for this one. The way he’s eating too, everything. He’s just got his head down.
“When I got over here for my fight in July, he had already been grafting for weeks. It’s so important, and it’s even bigger with his belt on the line. He obviously doesn’t want to lose that. He’s doing everything possible to keep hold of it.”
Everyone in Haggerty’s camp has been looking at Superlek’s game ahead of ONE 168. The teen star feels he sees a few holes in the Thai star’s game and expects his brother to exploit them on September 6.
“Superlek has one style, but he’s great at it. His right side is so dangerous. The right kick and elbow are so lethal. I don’t believe his punches are the greatest, so I think the main worry for Jon is to keep away from the elbows and the kicks.
“I don’t think Jon will be too worried, though. He’s working on a great game plan to stop these kicks and elbows and have counters for everything. I think he’s going to absolutely smash it.”
When it comes to predictions, nothing is surprising about Haggerty’s call.
The talented teen is putting full faith behind his brother and expects a dominant showing inside the Ball Arena for ONE 168’s main event.
“I believe Jon will stop Superlek. I know it. I reckon Jon will stop him in the fourth round.
“He’ll drag him into some deep waters. Nobody has ever stuck it on Superlek much. The only person I’ve ever seen take it to him was Takeru in that round at ONE 165. Takeru had him hurt. Somehow he stayed standing. I don’t know how, but he did. He took a lot of shots and showed heart.
“But if Takeru can hurt him in boxing gloves, I think Jon can really mess him up in 4-ounce gloves.”
ONE 168: Denver airs live on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, September 6. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.