‘I Feel Nothing But Excitement’ – Takeru Can’t Wait To Share The Ring With Rodtang At ONE 172
On March 23, in the main event of ONE 172, Japanese megastar Takeru “The Natural Born Crusher” Segawa will finally go toe-to-toe with Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon in a long-awaited kickboxing super-fight that has fans salivating with anticipation.
That blockbuster showdown will take place on Takeru’s home turf at the iconic Saitama Super Arena.
Long regarded as one of kickboxing’s pound-for-pound best fighters and among the sport’s most beloved athletes, Takeru is no stranger to high-profile, high-stakes fights. So it’s no surprise that he’s excited to compete in the headlining attraction in one of the biggest events in ONE Championship history.
In fact, the 33-year-old has plenty of experience specifically competing at Saitama Super Arena, where he’s won all of his fights by way of knockout.
He told onefc.com:
“I have fought numerous times at the Super Arena during my K-1 days so I am excited to step back into that venue once again.”
The monumental clash between Takeru and Rodtang has been well over a year in the making.
“The Natural Born Crusher” was set to take on the Thai fan-favorite in his hotly anticipated ONE debut in early 2024, but when Rodtang was forced to withdraw due to injury, reigning flyweight kickboxing king Superlek “The Kicking Machine” Kiatmoo9 stepped up on short notice and earned a grueling yet thrilling decision victory in one of the most entertaining fights in recent memory.
Takeru would spend the next several months recovering from injuries sustained in that bout, but he never stopped thinking about the fight that was meant to be against Rodtang:
“I just cannot wait to fight him. Like I said, this is what I have been gunning for, not only leading up to what ultimately turned out to be a fight against Superlek but through the long grind of recovery. I feel nothing but excitement and I’m preparing to meet him in the ring.”
With plenty of time to study Rodtang’s style, Takeru has identified a few holes in Rodtang’s game. He noticed that “The Iron Man” occasionally takes his foot off the gas pedal and fights in a defensive manner when pressed, and then chooses to taunt his opponents rather than hunt for the knockout.
But, given Takeru’s propensity for pressure and aggression, he thinks he’ll be able to force Rodtang into a high-paced firefight. And, in the event that the Thai chooses to fight more defensively, he’ll be ready to adjust his game plan on the fly:
“I did notice that he does resort to fighting defensively at times, too. That said, aggression and forward momentum are the hallmarks of my style so I aim to impose my style on him and hope that he would reciprocate in kind. Even if he chooses to fight in a defensive manner, I have been preparing for such a scenario in my training camp.”
Takeru Turned A Corner After Superlek Loss
While he might have preferred to face Rodtang Jitmuangnon in January 2024 as initially planned, Takeru Segawa said that he learned important lessons in his loss to Superlek Kiatmoo9 – lessons he’ll carry with him into ONE 172.
After recovering from the defeat to “The Kicking Machine,” Takeru changed up his training to take less of a toll on his body, and in September at ONE Friday Fights 81, he bounced back to the win column with a sterling performance and sensational knockout of Burmese phenom Thant Zin.
Takeru says he’s following that same training protocol ahead of his showdown with Rodtang:
“Prior to my last fight against Thant Zin, I had changed some things in my preparation for the fight, in terms of technical and skill-related work and priming my physical condition through the rigor of fight camp. I am implementing the very same changes this time around and I am feeling good. Right now, I am holding my fight camp in the U.S., and while I am training hard every single day, I am taking special care to attend to my body.”
According to Takeru, the loss to Superlek was both devastating and freeing. Of course, he was crushed by the weight of defeat but also felt a sense of relief from the massive amount of pressure on his shoulders.
Now, as he enters his final preparations for the biggest kickboxing fight of the year on the biggest stage for martial arts, Takeru feels like a young rising star yet again.
He explained:
“Of course, I need to win, but in a way, I feel like I have recaptured the exhilaration I felt early in my career of simply going into the fight with a sole intention of fiercely punching my opponent and winning. That is how I was able to approach my fight with Thant Zin and I feel that I could do the same in the upcoming fight against Rodtang.”
