“The original dream” - Zhang Peimian gunning for super-fight against Takeru

China's kickboxing phenom Zhang Peimian made a shocking callout recently. The 18-year-old fighter said he wants to fight one of the top pound-for-pound kickboxers on the planet, Takeru Segawa.

Takeru Segawa was the K-1 World Champion in multiple weight divisions. Earlier in 2022, Takeru fought his longtime rival Tenshin Nasukawa in one of the biggest combat sports matches in Japanese history. Tenshin and Takeru were undefeated in the same weight class, holding world titles in different organizations, but they had never met.

At THE MATCH 2022, Tenshin and Takeru finally fought. The 24-year-old Tenshin walked away with a decision victory in the sold-out Tokyo Dome. Both fighters relinquished their world titles after this fight.

Now, the 18-year-old prodigy 'Fighter Rooster' wants Takeru. At the ONE 162 virtual press conference, Zhang Peimian said:

"The original dream, the original goal was to fight Takeru… I believe somewhere in the future, we will have this fight. Definitely."

See the full press conference below:

Peimian and Takeru even spent some time training together at Tiger Muay Thai:

"No break for Takeru! The former K-1 Champion made his way to Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand. Here's him with 18-year-old Chinese prodigy Zhang Peimian."

Before he chases Takeru, Zhang Peimian has a major challenge ahead of him on October 21. 'Fighting Rooster' will be facing the undefeated Jonathan Di Bella for the vacant ONE strawweight kickboxing world title headlining ONE 162.

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Zhang Peimian looking to repay his supporters on October 21

'Fighting Rooster' Zhang Peimian is looking to earn gold at ONE 162 as a means of repaying the people around him who supported him to get this far. Peimian discussed this in an interview with ONE Championship:

“Before I first tried martial arts, I only knew kung fu movies. I had no idea what kickboxing was. When coach first brought me to practice in the sixth grade, I found that [the basic strikes] were beyond my comprehension. But once I got into the sport, I found my interest. To improve faster, I spent less time playing with my friends and devoted myself to training. Every afternoon right after class, I went to practice.”

A great coach turned this fighter into a world title contender and potentially a world champion on October 21. Peimian also added that he wants to repay his parents for all of their support as well:

“My parents are my motivation. I will prove myself and repay my parents for their parenting. The most important thing for me [was also having a] coach that always encouraged and supported me. I grew up and realized that I didn’t get here by accident. It was the team that made me."