Liam Harrison believes Jonathan Haggerty is ducking a fight against ‘big and strong’ Nico Carrillo

Veteran British striker Liam Harrison believes ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty is trying to avoid facing off with the division's No. 1 contender Nico Carrillo. He said 'The General' is wary of poking 'The King of the North' lest the champ find himself taking more than he can handle.

'Hitman' shared this in an interview with the South China Morning Post, when asked for his thoughts on Haggerty, expressing curiosity why the latter has not talked about the streaking Carillo, who has made a strong case for himself as a solid contender.

Liam Harrison said:

"He (Haggerty) should be saying like yeah, 'These are the guys I want to fight. I want to fight Superlek, I want to fight Nico because he's the No. 1 contender. I feel like there's a problem with him mentioning Nico's name. I don't know if it's whether Nico's not good enough or he hadn't earned it or whether he's probably realized how big and strong Nico really is."

Watch the interview below:

Carrillo has won all of his three fights since making his ONE Championship debut in April last year. All of his victories came by way of knockout, the most recent over former ONE bantamweight muay Thai king Nong-O Hama in December last year.

His impressive run has thrust him to the No. 1 contender position in the division, ahead of Nong-O, Felipe Lobo, Saemapetch Fairtex and Liam Harrison.

Haggerty, meanwhile, successfully defended his Muay Thai gold back in February with a third-round TKO win over Lobo. Incidentally, the 27-year-old fighter from the United Kingdom is also the bantamweight kickboxing world champion.

Liam Harrison inspired by the success Jonathan Haggerty has been having of late

While Liam Harrison is second-guessing the direction that Jonathan Haggerty is taking as ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, he is nonetheless inspired by the success his fellow British fighter is having of late.

It is something he is taking cue from as he makes his long-awaited return to competition on June 7 at ONE 167: Stamp vs Zamboanga at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

He will go up against Japanese Katsuki Kitano in a featured bantamweight Muay Thai duel, which will mark his first fight back after nearly two years on the sidelines because of a knee injury.

Liam Harrison share in an interview with Fight Energy Films:

"I get a lot of inspiration from a lot of British fighters. Obviously me and Haggerty have had a little bit of beef recently, but even then, when I still watch him, and I watch him fight, I'm going like, 'F***ing hell, the kid's good', you know."

Harrison was last in action in August 2022, where he injured his knee in the opening round of his title bid against former bantamweight Muay Thai champ Nong-O Hama.

ONE 167: Stamp vs Zamboanga will be available live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscrition.