Janet Todd says Jackie Buntan is "fired up" following loss to Smilla Sundell
Janet Todd and Jackie Buntan are longtime friends and training partners under Brian Popejoy at Boxing Works in California. 'JT' became ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion when she beat Stamp Fairtex in 2020, while Buntan made her promotional debut the following year.
After racking up three straight victories, the 24 year-old fought for the inaugural ONE Strawweight Muay Thai belt against Smilla Sundell at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic in April. It was a scintillating fight, but Buntan ultimately came up short, losing via unanimous decision. In the wake of the disappointment, Janet Todd says her stablemate at Boxing Works is more driven than ever. Speaking in an exclusive interview with SportsKeeda, the champ said:
"She's been coming in the gym. I know she's very fired up from her recent loss, but it hasn't deterred her at all. It's making her want to be better. She's been coming in and being a great training partner for me as well. She's doing well. She's also very mentally resilient, so stuff like that's not going to stop her."
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Buntan is a fierce competitor and will no doubt be plotting her way back to a shot at the gold. She took a photograph with Sundell after the fight, with both women agreeing to run it back one day. Janey Todd, meanwhile, will have an opportunity to claim a second belt in ONE when she competes for the ONE Intertim Atomweight Muay Thai World Title against Lara Fernandez at ONE 159 in July.
Just like her teammate, Buntan also has ambitions of winning two belts inside the Circle.
Janet Todd believes Buntan 'had her moments' against 'impressive' Sundell
Sundell is four inches taller than Buntan, and the teenager used her range brilliantly to outstrike the Filipino-American. Janet Todd maintains that the contest was far from one-way traffic, but admits that the young Swede is a special talent.
"Smila was impressive. (But) I think Jackie had her moments too and I thought she was winning on the outside but as soon as Smilla closed that distance it was really hard for Jackie to stay away and she got hit a lot. (Smilla) was really impressive. I don't think I was doing that at 17. I was just messing around in high school."
Sundell has only fought twice for ONE, and with Buntan boasting three wins in the division, the American-Filipino kickboxer remains a formidable force who will no doubt be challenging for the belt again somewhere down the line.
Watch the full interview below: