Third-ranked ONE bantamweight Muay Thai contender Felipe Lobo has done his due diligence on Jonathan Haggerty.
After knocking out Saemapetch Fairtex in devastating fashion last year, ‘Demolition Man’ will get a well-deserved crack at ‘The General’ for his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.
This explosive battle will headline ONE Fight Night 19 on February 16 inside ‘The Mecca of Muay Thai’ Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahead of this golden opportunity, Lobo spoke to ONE Championship about Haggerty’s biggest strengths.
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Apart from Haggerty’s earth-shattering power, the Brazilian bomber took note of the two-sport champ’s underrated footwork that has caught a lot of opponents off guard.
“He knows how to use his boxing very well, he moves forward all the time and kicks very well. Furthermore, he has good feints that I need to pay attention to so as not to be surprised. But I believe his strong point is his speed, he moves very well.”
Jonathan Haggerty claimed the bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world titles after knocking out Nong-O Hama and Fabricio Andrade, respectively, last year.
While the Brit’s knockout capabilities made it happen, he was able to land his punches by brilliantly cutting angles.
For sure, Felipe Lobo will be wary of the double champ’s pristine movement once they share the ring this coming Friday.
Felipe Lobo says Jonathan Haggerty won’t be able to take his heavy shots
Apart from disrupting Jonathan Haggerty’s rhythm, Felipe Lobo sees another big factor that will power him to an upset victory.
According to the gutsy challenger, the English striker can dish out punishment but is not durable enough to take hard hits in return.
Felipe Lobo said in the same interview with ONE Championship:
“His weak point is that he can’t take many hits. He’s very good at hitting, but when it comes to defending himself, protecting himself, he’s not so good.”
ONE Fight Night 19 will air live on US Primetime on February 16, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America