Bangkok Post – ONE Championship: Jonathan Haggerty confident of knockout in Denver, Superlek faces height test

Muay Thai bantamweight champion counts on acclimatization advantage ahead of ONE 168 main event in the American “Mile High City”

Walking through the entrance to Tankhead Thai Boxing gym in downtown Denver on Thursday, Jonathan Haggerty stopped and smiled when he spotted the Bangkok Post newspaper waiting at ringside.

“It’s nice to see a familiar face,” said the ONE Championship bantamweight king, who has been in Colorado for the past month with only his two trusted trainers, Christian and Lyndon Knowles, as he prepares for the ONE 168 card on September 6 at the Ball Arena.

His opponent, Thai non-weight world champion Superlek Kiatmookao, arrived in the United States only on Sunday after completing a training camp in his home country.

It’s a hot topic among fans and media alike, with many wondering if “The Kicking Machine” will crash at high altitude in the “Mile High City.”

“We’re both fighters — once we get in there, we know how to fight,” Haggerty said. “It might come down to the later rounds. It might get a little stale.”

“The General” is already well acclimatized to these conditions, he can even run to the gym and back after an intensive training session, as evidenced by this interview.

“We thought we were going to be OK,” Haggerty recalled of his arrival in Denver. “And then the day we got here, we started kicking around in the pads to open up our lungs, and we knew we were in for a tough time.

“It was a bit hard to catch my breath. After the first warm-up, Chris and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Wow, this is tough.’”

“But luckily we’ve had three or four weeks to acclimatize. We’re ready, that’s all that matters – we don’t care if he’s ready or not.”

Before he increased the intensity of his workout at Tankhead’s gym, Haggerty stopped for a moment to look at his reflection in the mirror on the wall.

“And yet,” he muttered, his muscular frame tensing, but Christian Knowles quickly made sure his protégé was focused on the task at hand by barking, “Please get in line, John.”

But it was a mantra Haggerty repeated at various points during training.

“We do this every camp, we just show each other that we are champions and we will still be champions after the fight,” he said.

Haggerty is well aware that Superlek will be attacking him with body punches, so he asked heavyweight boxer Lyndon Knowles to deliver three brutal rounds of 30 punches to the stomach while he hung from a pull-up bar in the corner of the gym.

“I think that’s what everyone’s going to be looking at. Everyone’s talking about the Rodtang fight,” Haggerty said, referring to his flyweight title rematch loss to “The Iron Man” at Impact Arena in Bangkok in January 2020, when he was floored three times with body shots.

The days of Haggerty struggling to make the 135-pound flyweight limit are long gone, and he has become one of the biggest and strongest fighters in his new weight class.

“As long as we’re prepared and well-trained, that’s all that matters,” Haggerty added. “Let the Superlek get going. Let it hit the body and let it open up.”

Superlek himself started out as a flyweight, where he was the king of kickboxing in the ONE organization, but his preparations did not go well.

“I’m not sure I’m going to get the best Superdrug. I hope so, because when I beat him, I don’t want any excuses,” Haggerty said. “We’re just focused on ourselves and being the best I can be in this Circle. That’s all that matters. Whether he comes in fit or not, we’re going to be fit.”

Haggerty’s daily runs have taken him to the venue for Friday’s highly anticipated main event, the home of the defending NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets. The significance of the event certainly hasn’t escaped the 27-year-old Briton.

“As a kid, I watched the big American fight cards from the couch with my dad, and now we’re finally here, headlining the evening. I’m so grateful and so thankful,” Haggerty said.

“I’ve always liked big shows. I perform better there, that’s what I want to achieve. I’m just grateful that Chatri (Sityodtong, ONE’s president and CEO) gave us this opportunity and we took it with both hands.”

The game plan is “simple,” Haggerty insisted when asked by the Bangkok Post whether he could film his training session because he fears it could give his opponents a clue as to what to expect.

“Knock him out. There’s a first time for everything,” Haggerty said with another smile.