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Masaaki Noiri believes his young teammates will help bring Japanese kickboxing back to the forefront.
Returning to the ring at ONE 172 in his native Japan, Noiri delivered one of the most shocking upsets in promotional history, scoring a third-round TKO over Tawanchai to claim the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.
It was a sensational victory, and one that will surely inspire a whole new generation of Japanese athletes.
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During a recent interview with My Navi News, Noiri shared some insight into his younger teammates at Team Vasileus, saying:
"I think it's great to be young. They're full of energy, and they can become better and better if they keep working hard."
Noiri's big win over Tawanchai moved him to 51-13 overall in his professional career. He now has back-to-back wins on martial arts' biggest global stage, and is lined up for a title unification clash with the reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world titleholder, Superbon.
Superbon shocked by Masaaki Noiri's TKO victory over Tawanchai at ONE 172
Virtually everyone, including Superbon, thought that Tawanchai would emerge victorious against Masaaki Noiri at ONE 172.
Of course, we all know how things ultimately played out.
Speaking with Nick Atkin of the Bangkok Post following the stunning turn of events, Superbon believed his trilogy fight with Tawanchai was a foregone conclusion ahead of ONE 172.
Instead, he'll have to turn his attention toward taking out the former two-division K-1 titleholder.
"Yeah, everyone was shocked, I was shocked too," Superbon said. "I thought I was going to have the opportunity to rematch with Tawanchai, but things changed. So I need to focus on something else."
Can Masaaki Noiri deliver another star-making performance against Superbon, or will the Thai send Noiri crashing from cloud nine back down to earth? Only time will tell.
If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.
