Thanh Le expects ‘well-rounded’ Garry Tonon to edge out Shamil Gasanov

Former ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le is leaning towards Garry Tonon of the United States over Russian Shamil Gasanov in their marquee showdown later this week.

‘The Lion Killer’ and ‘The Cobra’ will battle it out in the co-headlining match at ONE Fight Night 12 on Prime Video on July 14 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Vietnamese-American Thanh Le shared his take on the upcoming fight, saying that Garry Tonon should take the win as he is the more well-rounded fighter as opposed to Shamil Gasanov.

Thanh Le said:

“I think Garry’s definitely got the tools to be set up properly for that matchup. I’m leaning towards Garry on this one, with his overall well-rounded skills and his level of competition for the last however many years.”

Thanh Le knocked out Garry Tonon in March last year to retain the ONE featherweight world title. He, however, would lose the championship belt five months later to now-world champion Tang Kai of China.

31-year-old Tonon, for his part, is gunning for another run at a title shot. He is coming off a first-round submission (kimura) victory over fellow American fighter Johnny Nunez back in January.

Shamil Gasanov, 27, meanwhile, is also looking to make it back-to-back victories after notching a win in his promotional debut last October. He defeated former No. 1-ranked contender Kim Jae Woong of South Korea by submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round.

ONE Fight Night 12 is a nine-fight offering and is available for free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.