"He’s always at the top level" – Masaaki Noiri draws inspiration from fellow ONE Championship star Takeru

Japanese kickboxing star Masaaki Noiri has nothing, but respect for former three-division K-1 world champion Takeru Segawa — but he also recognizes 'The Natural Born Crusher' as his rival.

Five months after Takeru made his critically acclaimed debut at ONE 165 in Tokyo, Noiri will step onto martial arts' biggest global stage for his own promotional premiere, squaring off with Thai sensation Sitthichai Sitsonpeenong at ONE 167 on Friday, June 7.

Speaking with the South China Morning Post weeks away from stepping inside the Circle at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Noiri spoke about the inspiration that he finds in watching Takeru train and compete.

Still, he recognizes that at the end of the day, Takeru is one of the people potentially standing in his way of becoming a ONE world champion. Noiri said:

"I really respect Takeru because he’s been fighting for a long time. He’s always at the top level. [I respect] how much he trains and his training is high quality. In a good way he’s my brother, but also he’s my rival."

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Takeru Segawa's next fight

While Takeru Segawa continues to train for his sophomore appearance with the promotion, Noiri is counting down the days until it's his turn to show the world what former K-1 world champions are capable of on the global stage.

Hoping to spoil things is Sitthichai, an eight-time Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion who has spent the last four years going toe-to-toe with some of the biggest strikers in the promotion, including Tawanchai, Superbon, Chingiz Allazov, and Marat Grigorian.

Overall, 'Killer Kid' has 128 career wins and currently sits inside the top five of both the featherweight kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions.

Will Sitthichai score arguably the biggest win of his career on June 7, or will Masaaki Noiri immediately establish himself as the next big thing in ONE Championship's insanely loaded featherweight kickboxing division?

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.