Petchtanong Petchfergus wants "to prove to everyone" he still has what it takes to compete among the best

Petchtanong Petchfergus may no longer be a rising star in the game, but he believes that he still has what it takes to compete with the very best in the world.

On Saturday, November 19, the Thai star steps into the circle against the top fighter in the division, ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto. He will be out to prove a point.

Action will emanate from the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Petchtanong's bout will be the final match of a massive weekend that will also see ONE on Prime Video 4 happen just a few hours before.

The 37-year-old has only two fights to his name in ONE Championship, but his storied career has seen him compete in over 400 bouts. His 357 wins include a reigns as the WBC and WMC Muay Thai world champion.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Petchtanong Petchfergus revealed that he was close to hanging up his gloves, but found a new reason to fight after losing his promotional debut.

Petchtanong said:

“I actually planned to retire for a while, but when I lost to Capitan, I became more motivated and wanted to get redemption. I was determined to come back stronger. I want to prove to everyone that I still have great potential even when I’m 37 already.”

Heading to the biggest fight of his ONE Championship career, Petchtanong Petchfergus will certainly be in an uphill battle against father time and the much younger Hiroki Akimoto at ONE 163.

However, don’t count out the experience and determination of the Thai star.

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Can Petchtanong Petchfergus score the upset at ONE 163?

ONE 163 will feature some talented Japanese fighters on its fight card. It will be headlined by Hiroki Akimoto’s ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title defense against Petchtanong Petchfergus.

Fighting in his second home of Singapore, Akimoto will have a bit of hometown advantage against Petchtanong, especially with the slew of Japanese talents competing on the same card.

However, Petchtanong has the wealth of experience on his side, with a kickboxing and Muay Thai record of 357-56-1 compared to Akimoto’s 26-1.

The Thai star showed that he can still hang with a much younger opponent when he defeated 24-year-old Zhang Chenglong in his last outing. If he can negate Akimoto’s obvious physical advantages by using his veteran smarts, it’s not impossible for Petchtanong to pull off the biggest upset of ONE 163.

Can Petchtanong Petchfergus claim the biggest prize of his career, or will Hiroki Akimoto continue his reign on top of the bantamweight kickboxing division? Find out on Saturday, November 19.