“I am the true champion” – Hiroki Akimoto wants to reclaim his lost crown, calls out Jonathan Haggerty

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto of Japan wants to reclaim his title at some point in the future from reigning division king Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom.

The 31-year-old Evolve MMA athlete became ONE world champion at ONE X in Singapore in March 2022 when he defeated former ONE bantamweight kickboxing title holder Capitan Petchyindee by unanimous decision.

His reign, however, was cut short when he lost to Petchtanong Petchfergus by split decision eight months later.

Petchtanong though had to vacate the world title even before he got to defend it as he was suspended for a year back in July for testing positive for two banned substances in an out-of-competition test.

With the development, it opened the opportunity for Jonathan Haggerty to claim the vacant title, which he successfully achieved with a second-round knockout victory over bantamweight MMA champion Fabricio Andrade in their superfight in November.

Having seen how the bantamweight kickboxing gold changed hands since he last held it, Hiroki Akimoto wants to stake a claim once again for the belt and prove he is the true champion in the division.

He told BJPenn.com in an interview:

“It’s true that [Haggerty] is currently the bantamweight kickboxing champion in ONE Championship. However, I want to defeat him and prove that I am the true champion.”

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Hiroki Akimoto says he knows how to beat Jonathan Haggerty

Japanese fighter Hiroki Akimoto says he knows how to beat Jonathan Haggerty and seize back the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title he lost last year.

The 31-year-old striker said after seeing Haggerty beat Fabricio Andrade in their superfight back in November for the vacant kickboxing gold, he got an idea on how to go about things when he gets the opportunity to face off with ‘The General.’

Akimoto told the South China Morning Post in an interview:

“The result was what I more or less expected. If the fight was only striking, Haggerty was always the favorite. However, I expected a more speedy fight, given that it was a bantamweight fight. I was disappointed by that, and I’ll fight with more pace and speed if I fight Haggerty.”

Check out what he had to say below:

Hiroki Akimoto has not fought since losing his world title in November 2022 to Petchtanong Petchfergus by split decision. Despite not competing of late, he remains as the No. 1 contender in the division.