“No one wants a watered-down version” - Liam Harrison says he would rather retire than fight past expiration date

Veteran British striker Liam Harrison believes that if he can't compete at the high level he has set for himself, he might as well retire and not waste the time of fight fans.

'Hitman' shared this following his comeback fight at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., on Sept. 6, where he was on the raw end of a second-round TKO defeat at the hands of Thai legend Seksan Or Kwanmuang.

38-year-old Harrison practically called it a career after the loss, admitting that after being away for two years because of knee injury, the punishment he took from 'The Man Who Yields To No One' was just too much to take at this stage of his illustrious career.

He later went on to say that he would like one more Muay Thai match in the United Kingdom to say his thanks to the fans and then ride off into the sunset.

He shared his thoughts on his retirement during the post-fight press conference for ONE 168, saying:

"I've had 120 professional fights. The way I fight, I go to war, and that's how I wanna fight. People want to pay money to watch 'Hitman', they don't want a watered-down version of what I'll have to give them now. No one wants a watered-down version, they don't wanna see that. Do you know what I mean?

"Thats why I laid the gloves down because I just thought that it's time. Like I said, I'm so grateful to Chatri [Sityodtong] and ONE Championship that I got the chance to be on this amazing stage, even though I'm at the back end of my career. It was still an amazing ride."

At ONE 168, Liam Harrison tried to set the pace and had early inroads with his leg kicks. But as the fight wore on, and Seksan hit his stride, the Englishman just could not keep in step with the volume of hits that his opponent was having.

It all culminated in the second round when Harrison hit the deck three times, the last coming with 1:49 left in the frame, to slump to the TKO defeat.

Replay of the ONE 168: Denver matches is available on ONE Championship's YouTube page.

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Liam Harrison leaves memorable moments for ONE fans

While fight fans may have seen the last of Liam Harrison in ONE Championship following ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6, the British legend has left many memorable moments with his aggressive style of fighting to bask in.

Among them was his come-from-behind TKO win in the opening round over Muangthai PK Saenchai back in 2022. He bucked being knocked down twice to score three straight knockdowns of his own to swing the tide to his favor and win.

Injury hit him after that saw him sidelined for two years until his return to ONE 168. Overall, Liam Harrison amassed a career record of 90 wins, 26 losses, and two draws.