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ONE Championship: Hiroki Akimoto targeting Jonathan Haggerty kickboxing title shot in Tokyo – ‘it has to be me’
- Japanese kickboxing star has not fought since he lost the ONE bantamweight title to Petchtanong Petchfergus in November 2022
- He is now ‘ready to fight any time’ and sees ONE’s planned return to Japan as perfect setting for showdown with new champ Haggerty
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Jonathan Haggerty’s recent knockout victory over Fabricio Andrade came as a shock to many ONE Championship fans, but for Hiroki Akimoto, the fight went more or less as expected.
In fact, there was only one thing that really surprised him about the way the action unfolded: he expected both men to be faster.
“I expected a fast fight because it was a bantamweight fight, but I didn’t see a lot of speed from both fighters,” the Singapore-based kickboxer told the Post from his home country of Japan.
“I think I have more speed [than them].”
Haggerty, ONE’s reigning bantamweight Muay Thai champ, met Andrade in the main event of ONE Fight Night 16 on November 4 in Bangkok, with the promotion’s vacant bantamweight kickboxing title on the line.
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