“I felt like I had died” - Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa admits he took the loss to Superlek really hard

Japanese kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa has had his share of defeats in his illustrious career. However, he admits the one he absorbed at the hands of Thai superstar Superlek Kiatmoo9 in his ONE Championship debut last year struck differently.

'The Natural Born Crusher' had 'The Kicking Machine' as his first opponent in ONE in January last year in Japan, where he tried to take the flyweight kickboxing gold from Superlek. While he put up a tough challenge in the scheduled five-rounder in front of the hometown fans, he still fell short in his push, losing by decision.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Takeru opened up about how he took the defeat hard, saying:

“I felt like I had died after my loss to Superlek. I won’t sugarcoat how devastating it felt.”

Takeru, however, has since moved on from the stinging defeat to Superlek, bouncing back in his next match back in September. He stamped his class by knocking out rising Burmese star Thant Zin in the second round of their flyweight kickboxing scrap.

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Takeru, Superlek featured at ONE 172

Takeru Segawa and Superlek Kiatmoo9 will be back in action next month in Japan against separate opponents.

The two are featured at ONE 172 on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena. which marks the return of ONE Championship to the 'Land of the Rising Sun' for the second straight year.

Takeru will try win back-to-back matches as he takes on Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a much-awaited flyweight kickboxing showdown. The contest is the headlining match at the stacked marquee event.

The showdown between the two martial arts legends has been in the pipeline since the Yonago City native came on board ONE Championship in 2023. They were initial penciled in to battle in January last year in Japan, but the match was scrapped as Rodtang got injured.

Flyweight kickboxing king Superlek, meanwhile, is set to defend the bantamweight Muay Thai world title he concurrently holds in a unification bout against interim titleholder Nabil Anane. It is a rematch between the two after the Thai fighter defeated Algerian-Thai phenom Anane by knockout in their first encounter in June 2023.

For more information on ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang, visit watch.onefc.com.