“I didn't think I was second to him” – Superlek knew his fighting skills were ‘superior’ to Japanese superstar Takeru

Reigning and undisputed ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion ‘The Kicking Machine’ Superlek Kiatmoo9 is one of the most humble fighters you will ever come across. But that doesn’t mean the soft-spoken 28-year-old Thai star is lacking in confidence. On the contrary.

Heading into his massive super fight against former multi-division K-1 world champion and Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru Segawa at ONE 165 a couple of weeks ago, ‘The Kicking Machine’ says he already knew he had his Japanese counterpart’s number.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Superlek says he successfully blocked out all the noise, especially as people said he couldn’t beat Takeru.

‘The Kicking Machine’ stated:

“Just making myself be there and focus on kickboxing. That was probably the only disadvantage I had. I, myself, didn’t really think I was second to him at all in terms of fighting skills. I understand that he is very famous, he’s a superstar, so many people might think his skills are superior to mine, but I don’t think so.”

Superlek faced Takeru in the main event of ONE 165 last January 28th, winning a clear-cut unanimous decision after five rounds to retain his gold.

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Superlek: “I never really thought I was the underdog”

As the man with the golden belt over his shoulders, Superlek never once wavered in confidence even in the face of his toughest opponent to date. He told South China Morning Post in the same interview:

“Every victory just makes me happy. It just makes every athlete happy. That’s normal. In terms of people saying that I’m the underdog, I never really thought I was the underdog. He, of course, had more advantages in terms of familiarity with kickboxing rules and I come from Muay Thai."

He added:

"Yeah, I’ve been doing kickboxing for a while, but compared to him, it’s like a shorter time span. I’m less familiar with the kickboxing rules but during my training, I’ve always done my very best to familiarize myself with the kickboxing rules.”

The replay of ONE 165 can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.