"They show maximum emotion" - Muay Thai champion Joseph Lasiri on his family crying and smiling at title win

Last month, Joseph Lasiri earned an upset victory to capture the ONE strawweight Muay Thai championship. He dominated then-champion Prajanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym, forcing the Thai champion to quit on the stool.

It was a long road for 'The Hurricane' Lasiri to earn the title. He began his ONE Championship career with four straight losses, but now sits atop the mountain with a title in his hands.

The Italian-born striker recently sat down with Tim Wheaton of Kickin' It to discuss the title win. Lasiri revealed how much the victory meant to his family:

"It was amazing. Everyone was crying, everyone... [is] proud of you. That's makes me smile... because this emotion I felt already in the fight camp... It's difficult to understand, but when you win... you are presenting your name now, you speak about my family so you represent your name in the world... People see 'Lasiri wins the title,' and they show maximum emotion... so they cry... You see my mom, my dad, my brother cry, and you smile because you see that you see that before in the fight camp... A dream come true."

Check out the full interview with Joseph Lasiri below:

It is a dream come true for Lasiri and his family. After years of sacrifice, he has earned a Muay Thai world title in ONE Championship.

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Joseph Lasiri was born with resilience

Despite starting his career in ONE with four straight losses, Lasiri was not deterred. Instead, the poor form motivated and pushed Joseph Lasiri to become a world champion. In his life, he has needed resilience to get this far.

The Italian striker struggled in school. As well as being too small for football, he had to support his family as a teenager in a foreign country. He explained to ONE Championship that these moments proved how resilient he is.

“For this reason, this experience was not perfect, but I learned much more to overcome adversity and stand back up every time I failed. Facing your fears is an opportunity to start from scratch and get stronger than before... Nobody showed me how to be resilient, or the importance of resilience. I think resilience and heart are God’s gifts and are innate in me.”

Joseph Lasiri won the Muay Thai World Championship by way of TKO at ONE 157, accomplishing his life dream. He will likely return to the ONE circle later this year.