‘The Best He’s Ever Looked’ – Freddie Haggerty Expects Brother Jonathan To Beat Superlek At ONE 168: Denver
Muay Thai rising star Freddie Haggerty has unfiltered access to his brother, Jonathan “The General” Haggerty, and he knows just how much his older sibling’s next battle means to him.
“The General” will defend the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against Thai megastar “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the main event of ONE 168: Denver on September 6 – and it’s the biggest fight of the reigning king’s career to date.
The clash at Ball Arena is a rematch of a 2018 contest that Superlek won via TKO, and Jonathan views it as the chance to come full circle and gain redemption.
Freddie explained:
“It’s massive. Jon knows how big it is. Everyone regards Superlek as the pound-for-pound greatest, so to beat Superlek and get revenge from the first fight would be huge.
“Personally, I think the first fight was stopped in the most pathetic way. It was the tiniest cut on Jon. You could’ve put a plaster over it, it was so little. But for him to work back to this point, to grow so much, and to have the chance to even the scores, it couldn’t be bigger.
“If he beats Superlek, he’s the pound-for-pound best.”
“The General” was 21 at the time of the first meeting and had just a handful of professional fights on his resume, while Superlek was already a multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion.
So much has changed since then, and Freddie thinks his brother is a different animal now, both mentally and physically:
“He was a kid in the first fight. But he’s a man now. He’s bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter than the version of him in 2018.
“He’s been in the deep waters with these Thai guys. Even against Felipe Lobo, he’s been in the deep waters, and he knows he’s got that dog in him. He knows he can dig deep, and if he has to have a dogfight, he knows he can do that.
“He just knows so many little details about himself compared to last time that will go a long way in helping him win.”
Freddie has also had an insider’s view into “The General’s” training camp for his massive World Title defense at ONE 168, so he knows his brother is leaving no stone unturned.
The 19-year-old joined Jonathan in Thailand to finish off his own camp for ONE Friday Fights 72 last month – where he scored his second finish in two ONE Championship appearances – and he’s certainly been impressed.
The Englishman said:
“This is the best [Jonathan has] ever looked. This is the most dedicated he has been. He’s never put as much work into a fight the way he is for this one. The way he’s eating too, everything. He’s just got his head down.
“When I got over here for my fight in July, he had already been grafting for weeks. It’s so important, and it’s even bigger with his belt on the line. He obviously doesn’t want to lose that. He’s doing everything possible to keep hold of it.”
Freddie Predicts Stoppage Win For Jonathan In Denver
Freddie Haggerty knows Jonathan Haggerty has an incredibly tough test ahead of him at ONE 168.
After all, Superlek Kiatmoo9 is one of the greatest strikers in history and currently holds the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title, but the younger Haggerty is convinced his brother has the right tactics to succeed in Denver:
“Superlek has one style, but he’s great at it. His right side is so dangerous. The right kick and elbow are so lethal. I don’t believe his punches are the greatest, so I think the main worry for Jon is to keep away from the elbows and the kicks.
“I don’t think Jon will be too worried, though. He’s working on a great game plan to stop these kicks and elbows and have counters for everything. I think he’s going to absolutely smash it.”
Supremely confident about his brother’s chances on September 6, Freddie predicts that Jonathan’s firepower will be too much for the Thai icon to handle.
With that in mind, he envisions a knockout victory in their ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title encounter.
Freddie added:
“I believe Jon will stop Superlek. I know it. I reckon Jon will stop him in the fourth round.
“He’ll drag him into some deep waters. Nobody has ever stuck it on Superlek much. The only person I’ve ever seen take it to him was Takeru in that round at ONE 165. Takeru had him hurt. Somehow he stayed standing. I don’t know how, but he did. He took a lot of shots and showed heart.
“But if Takeru can hurt him in boxing gloves, I think Jon can really mess him up in 4-ounce gloves.”
