“This will end inside of three rounds” - Tang Kai plans Thanh Le’s quick demise

Top-ranked featherweight contender Tang Kai is supremely confident in his skills and believes that he will bring a swift end to Thanh Le’s reign as king of the ONE Championship featherweight division.

The Chinese striker is set to take on Le for the ONE featherweight world title in the co-main event of ONE 160, happening on August 26 inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In a virtual press conference for ONE 160, Tang said that he didn’t believe that their fight would see the championship rounds. He also took a slight dig at his opponent, saying that Le was lucky during his world title fight against Martin Nguyen.

Tang Kai said:

“I’m faster and better than Thanh Le is. He has a good karate style and a good record. But I don’t think this one will go to the fourth or fifth round. This will end inside of three rounds. I watched his previous fight with Martin Nguyen, and he got frustrated in the the third round. But he had that left hook, which won him the belt. I think that day was a lucky day [for him]. This one will end much quicker than you think.”

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Tang Kai’s incredible power led to world title opportunity

It would be foolish to think that Tang Kai’s claims of a quick win against Thanh Le are just empty words. The Sunkin International Fight Club representative has won 12 of his 14 wins via knockout.

Tang’s last three bouts did not even see past the first round. His latest victory is arguably his biggest one yet, as he won a U.S. $50,000 bonus together with a shot at the ONE featherweight world title.

While his record speaks for itself, Tang will need to bring his A-game to back up his words against Le.

The Vietnamese-American has remained unbeaten in ONE Championship through five bouts, with none of his fights getting decided by the judges. He made defeating grappling star Garry Tonon look easy in his first world title defense. He even considered moving up to lightweight if it meant he could compete for the belt there immediately.

However, Tang’s quick win over erstwhile top contender Kim Jae Woong had him eager to challenge for the gold as soon as possible, resulting in their clash at ONE 160.