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At the end of the day, Nico Carrillo doesn't mind who he'll be fighting as long as he gets his well-earned shot at 26 pounds of gold.
'King of The North' legitimized his claim as next in line for the bantamweight Muay Thai world title with a two-round destruction of Saemapetch Fairtex in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 23 last weekend.
However, the 25-year-old KO artist must exercise patience since the division's king Jonathan Haggerty will first defend the throne against Superlek Kiatmoo9 in ONE's return to the US at ONE 168: Denver in September.
Shortly after adding Saemapetch to his long list of victims, Carrillo addressed the real score about his preferred opponent.
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The Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy affiliate told the South China Morning Post:
"I'm not rooting for Superlek. I'm not rooting for any of them. It just favors me if Superlek wins because I will get to fight him right away."
Carrillo, of course, is talking about Superlek's penchant for accepting short-notice fights since he wants to be as active as possible.
Then again, the Scottish destroyer also wants a piece of 'The General', but knows he might have to wait longer for him.
"I would like it to be Haggerty, I would like to take the belt off Haggerty. And it makes for a super fight."
He added:
"Everybody in Scotland keeps speaking about it. But I'll probably wait until February, March, or April before he wants to defend again, so that's just the position I'm in right now."
Watch the full interview:
Nico Carrillo says his next fight should be for the belt
In the same interview, Carrillo admits being torn between waiting for his title shot and his desire for a quick turnaround.
'King of the North' shared:
"I'm not gonna see another fight because because it's dangerous for me and my number one spot after defending my number one spot. I need to fight for the gold now."
Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch the replay of ONE Fight Night 23 free on demand.
