"It's very hard to say" - Thai slugger Petchtanong on the fence for Jonathan Haggerty-Wei Rui world title tiff at ONE 171: Qatar

Thai veteran Petchtanong Petchfergus believes Jonathan Haggerty and Wei Rui's world title clash in Qatar will be a closely contested affair.

Haggerty puts his ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title on the line when ONE Championship returns to the Lusail Sports Arena with ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday, Feb. 20.

The Englishman goes toe-to-toe with top-ranked 'Demon Blade' in the co-main event just before Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks meet in their trilogy to unify the strawweight MMA gold.

During a recent chat with Nick Atkin of Bangkok Post, Petchtanong, a former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion, provided his take on Haggerty and Wei's impending fixture in Qatar.

Per the Superbon Training Camp, very little separates both men. As such, he can't commit to who will emerge as the victor:

"It's 50/50. Maybe Haggerty. Maybe Wei Rui. 50/50. It's very hard to say [who's the favorite] because Haggerty is a good fighter in five rounds. And Wei Rui, he's the number one in China. So it's very hard to say," Petchtanong shared.

The British striker's six-fight winning streak suffered a blow in his last outing as 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9 knocked him out in under a minute at ONE 168: Denver to grab the bantamweight Muay Thai crown and add it to his flyweight kickboxing gold.

Wei, on the other hand, hopes to double his victory tally in the promotion after taking out former divisional king Hiroki Akimoto in his debut last May.

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Petchtanong returns at ONE 171: Qatar vs. Ilias Ennahachi

No.3-ranked contender Petchtanong, meanwhile, has the perfect chance to close in on another shot at the bantamweight kickboxing gold in the Middle East. The 39-year-old faces ex-flyweight kickboxing king Ilias Ennahachi.

After contemplating retirement and extended time away from the limelight, the former multi-time world champion returned with a bang on the global stage to see off Russian slugger Alaverdi Ramazanov at ONE Friday Fights 68.

While he'll be confident of getting the W on fight night, he will not have it easy against the Dutch-Moroccon beast.

The 28-year-old holds a perfect 5-0 run leading up to ONE 171, including an unanimous decision win over Superlek.

Fight fans can catch the organization's second on-ground showcase in Qatar for free via watch.onefc.com this Thursday, Feb. 20.