Hiroki Akimoto says Jonathan Haggerty must go through him for first bantamweight kickboxing title defense: “It has to be me”

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto of Japan was impressed with Englishman Jonathan Haggerty’s performance against ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio ‘Wonder Boy’ Andrade to capture the vacant kickboxing throne.

But the 31-year-old former king of the division says ‘The General’ is operating on his turf, and he should get the next crack at the coveted gold.

Haggerty made easy work of Andrade to win the kickboxing world title, finishing the brash Brazilian fighter in the second round via knockout at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video, which took place at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand last Saturday, November 4th.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Akimoto says Haggerty has no option but to face him in his first kickboxing world title defense.

The 31-year-old Japanese superstar and Evolve MMA fighter said:

“Yeah, if Haggerty goes to a different weight class, I don’t mind. But if he’s fighting in bantamweight kickboxing, the opponent has to be me, you know. If [it is in] Muay Thai it may be different, but in kickboxing, it has to be me.”

Akimoto first won the bantamweight kickboxing world title with a unanimous decision victory over Capitan Petchyindee at the historic ONE X in March of 2022. He surrendered the belt to Thai fighter Petchtanong Petchfergus at ONE 163 later that year. Now, Akimoto wants to lure Haggerty into a showdown for all the marbles.

Could Akimoto land the next world title shot? Only time will tell.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade via replay on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the news and updates on Hiroki Akimoto’s next fight.