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Masaaki Noiri is taking some time off to enjoy the fruits of his labor. The former two-division K-1 champion was an underdog in the eyes of many heading into his ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title clash with Tawanchai at ONE 172 in Japan.
However, Noiri flipped the script in the third round, delivering an onslaught of strikes that ultimately led to him landing the biggest win of his combat sports career.
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Now holder of the interim featherweight kickboxing crown, Noiri is teed up for a title unification clash with reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing king, Superbon.
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Speaking with My Navi News, Noiri offered some insight into when we could see him make his return to martial arts' biggest global stage.
"I'd say the earliest would be June," Noiri revealed. "That'll be a good time for me to come back and fight. For now, it's all about spending time with my family and enjoying my time off."
We'd say that Noiri has more than earned a bit of time to rest and recover.
Superbon is already in the gym preparing for a fight with Masaaki Noiri
While Masaaki Noiri is busy spending time with his family and basking in his brilliant performance at ONE 172, Superbon is already in the lab preparing for what is sure to be one of the most anticipated showdowns in ONE kickboxing history.
"I'm waiting for the offer [to fight Noiri] from ONE Championship," Superbon told Nick Atkin of the Bangkok Post. "But yeah, everyone said that it's going to happen like that, so I'm preparing myself already. Because preparing is better than not, so I have started training."
Over the years, Superbon has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world, earning wins over the likes of Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Giorgio Petrosya, and three-time GLORY Kickboxing titleholder Marat Grigorian.
A win over a former K-1 champion like Masaaki Noiri would undoubtedly be a big feather in the cap of the Thai superstar.
If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.
