ONE Championship head Chatri Sityodtong wants a fight between featherweight champ Tawanchai PK Saenchai and bantamweight victor Jonathan Haggerty.
Luckily for Sityodtong, the two champions are more than eager to take the challenge after meeting face-to-face at an event in Bangkok on Wednesday. Haggerty first shared the interest to have the bout, and the Thai fighter expressed agreement through a Facebook post.
Hope one day we will [fight],” Tawanchai said on Facebook, showing their shot during the faceoff.
“Was good to meet you today,” the British replied on Instagram, sharing the same picture.
Tawanchai responded to the post, suggesting that the fight will happen “someday,” to which Haggerty replied with a handshake emoji.
There is still no certainty that this will happen, but Sityodtong is pushing the idea, and the two fighters expressed unofficial agreement about the matter.
“Tawanchai vs Jonathan Haggerty is a mega fight that needs to happen,” the exec said in a statement. “We could do that one at Wembley. I think ONE can easily sell out Wembley Arena. I dream about selling out Wembley Stadium one day though.”
In case pushed, Sityodtong said this will be held at Wembley Stadium, suggesting his hope of filling its entire 12,500-capacity. That date, nonetheless, is possibly still months away as the two fighters still have some commitments to handle.
To recall, Haggerty recently won the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title against Fabricio Andrade. While the Briton handled the fight really well, it is certain that Haggerty will still have to rest. In addition to that, it is important to note that The General is now a two-sport ONE World Champion, translating to more fight opportunities coming his way.
Meanwhile, Tawanchai is set to face Superbon Singha Mawynn at ONE Friday Fights 46 on December 22 to defend his gold. Given his record, Superbon seems to be a worthy opponent for the champ. The 33-year-old fighter defeated Dutch-Turkish Tayfun Ozcan in June, allowing him to make a huge comeback after losing to Chingiz Allazov in January. Prior to those fights, Superbon defeated Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Giorgio Petrosyan, and Marat Grigorian, who are all considered legends in the kickboxing field. With this, it will be an interesting fight, which will certainly require Tawanchai to recover from afterward.
