Kenny Tse Plans To Put The Pressure On To KO Hiroki Akimoto
Kenny “The Pitbull” Tse is confident that he can blend his trademark aggressive style with his evolution as a martial artist when he takes on Hiroko Akimoto on Friday, 12 July.
The Australian has taken on the best that ONE Super Series has to offer, and he will bring the lessons he has learned from those contests with him to ONE: MASTERS OF DESTINY to deliver his best performance yet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
“The flyweight division is just crazy, it’s the most competitive in ONE,” he asserts.
“I have always won my fights through hard work – I thrived on being the harder worker, and the more aggressive fighter, but I have realized that you need to have that against the best guys in ONE and be smart, too.”
Tse has made two appearances on the global stage, but he does not believe he has shown the form that has brought him so much success as a professional.
“The Pitbull” won 39 bouts and the K-1 Commonwealth Championship by competing with non-stop aggression, but he has focused on making his entertaining, high-energy style more efficient for ONE Super Series.
He has also added new things to his repertoire so he can face Akimoto with some new abilities inside the Axiata Arena.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxHe7_WFZ5m/
“I’ve never been this stressed out or nervous for a fight, but that means I am putting everything into it,” he reveals.
“I am really excited about it, too. This fight is a big thing for me. I’m cutting no corners – doing something that sucks every day!
“I’m trying new tricks. My coach is teaching me everything at the moment and I’m going to put it all together – spin kicks, fancy moves, new combinations – so that in the fight, if I need to change the game plan, I can switch.
“I’m not single-minded. I’m going to stick with what I’m good at and get even better at it, but work on what I’m not good at to become a well-balanced fighter, too.”
His upcoming opponent will present a different stylistic match-up than the 24-year-old Melbourne native has faced before.
The Evolve representative is a WFKO Karate World Champion with an exemplary 20-1 record in professional kickboxing, and the ability to drop jaws under the lights.
However, “The Pitbull” has done his homework to identify his adversary’s strengths, as well as the weak spots he can exploit.
“He’s got some good combinations, he puts them together well, and he has really good kicks to the legs and to the body. I’ll watch out for those and have a reaction for everything so I can get up on the points,” Tse explains.
“He’s been dropped a couple of times in ONE, so I think his weakness is his chin. He knows I’m going to come out punching hard, so I will give him what he wants and look for the big overhand rights.
“This time I want to set them up and not just rush in like I did in my last fight, but if that doesn’t work, I’m going to be smart about it and not keep doing what isn’t working.”
“The Pitbull” wants to make his mark in Kuala Lumpur with a more polished, more diverse performance against one of the most technically-gifted athletes in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
Akimoto will come forward with his slick blend of punches, kicks, and knees, but Tse is ready for them and knows he has a great chance of success if he can draw the lifelong karate practitioner into his world.
“The more he pushes forward, the better that is for me. I want to be close so I can fight him,” Tse continues.
“I want to come out hard and break him down. Once he’s had pressure on him, he doesn’t seem to move like he does in the first round.
“I want to take his courage away from him and just show that I do have all the tools, not just my hands. I am looking for that knockout.”
