Superlek Kiatmoo9 says building a gym in his hometown meant to develop fighters “to compete at Lumpinee”

Superlek Kiatmoo9 always carried a sense of community within him, and he made it a personal mission to give back once he got the capabilities to do so.

The reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion ultimately built a gym in his hometown to not only give the younger generation a place to train but help them develop into high-caliber fighters.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Superlek said it has always been his dream to train fighters who would one day compete at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 said:

"The reason I built this gym was because of the kids. The kids in the neighborhood had no place to train, so I decided to open a gym to give the kids a place to train. It's also my dream to bring these fighters to compete at Lumpinee."

He added:

"Now we have Petmai and there are a couple more who have the potential. I hope to help them achieve their dreams to fight at Lumpinee."

So far, the MC Superlek Muay Thai Gym has two fighters under its ranks who have competed in the ONE Friday Fights series. Petmai and Denphuthai have scored wins under the ONE Championship banner.

As for Superlek, the Thai megastar is preparing for his super fight against ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty at ONE 168: Denver.

Superlek will challenge Haggerty for the bantamweight Muay Thai strap on September 6 at Ball Arena.

Tickets for ONE 168 are available at Ticketmaster.

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Superlek Kiatmoo9 recalls impromptu faceoff with Jonathan Haggerty at Lumpinee

Fighters usually get their first faceoffs with their opponents during the card's fight week, but Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Jonathan Haggerty had theirs a bit earlier.

The pair of world champions had their stand-off in July when both found themselves attending ONE Friday Fights 72 at Lumpinee Stadium.

Haggerty was in the corner of his younger brother Freddie during his match against Kaichon Sor Yingcharoenkarnchang. Superlek, meanwhile, was in the historic arena for a fan meet and greet.

The two were eventually brought to the ring for an interview with ONE Championship commentator Mitch Chilson, and things promptly escalated from there.

Superlek told ONE Championship in an interview that he was hyped following his brief interaction with Haggerty:

"I got goosebumps. Haggerty, we were pushing, I was hyped. He's bigger, but I don't think it means much on September 6th. Let's see how much it matters."