‘Smokin’ Jo Nattawut Is ‘Physically And Mentally Ready’ For High-Stakes Battle With Superbon
Heavy-handed Thai veteran “Smokin” Jo Nattawut is in peak physical condition ahead of two of the biggest fights of his decorated professional career.
On September 27, in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 81, he will square off with interim featherweight kickboxing kingpin Superbon in a high-stakes Muay Thai showdown. The event goes down live in Asia primetime at Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium.
That matchup will take place just a little over a month before Nattawut battles rival Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 169: Atlanta in a massive trilogy fight.
Well aware that his busy end to 2024 means facing two of the planet’s top pound-for-pound strikers back-to-back, “Smokin'” Jo says his primary concern is how his body will hold up under the rigors of two big fights and two hard training camps.
Most importantly, he knows that he’ll need to make it out of ONE Friday Fights 81 with a clean bill of health if he doesn’t want to lose his shot at gold in Atlanta.
The 35-year-old told onefc.com:
“The plan for every time is to train 100 percent, be healthy, in good physical condition, and there will be less injury and risk. That is the most important thing for a fighter. You have to prepare well, be in 100 percent condition, be ready, physically and mentally ready.”
Of course, beyond his physical conditioning, Nattawut is carefully preparing for what Superbon, the current #1-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender, will bring to the table this Friday.
Nattawut has done his homework and knows that his foe’s show-stopping headkick is a threat to end the fight at any moment:
“For Superbon, I have studied and watched him quite a bit. All of his weapons are extremely dangerous, especially his kicks. And his punches are good, too. All I know is he knocked many opponents out with his high kick.”
Indeed, Superbon’s head-kick knockouts of Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan and Tayfun “Turbine” Ozcan remain two of the most sensational stoppages in ONE Championship history.
Nattawut, though, is a ruthless knockout artist in his own right. After years of training in the U.S., the Thai has become one of Muay Thai’s best punchers, employing steady pressure before unleashing savage boxing combinations that few men in the world have been able to withstand.
Everyone knows he does his best work with his hands, says “Smokin'” Jo, but that certainly doesn’t mean he won’t use every weapon available to him on fight night:
“Not only Superbon, everyone who watches Muay Thai already knows that I’m a boxer who uses my fists more than any other weapon. It’s not a secret at all.
“But in fact, I prepare every weapon in every fight – kicks, punches, knees, but I just find the opportunity to punch more. But it depends on the fight. On that day, I might kick more than punch. Or, I might use knees more.”
Nattawut Refuses To Look Past Superbon
With his main event clash against Superbon right around the corner and his World Title bout against Tawanchai PK Saenchai shortly after that, “Smokin'” Jo Nattawut finds himself in a precarious position.
He says that taking on Superbon so close to his World Title shot naturally comes with the risk of injury, but he has supreme confidence in his training and believes his physical conditioning will ensure he’s able to compete in both fights:
“When we accepted the fight against Superbon, we were aware of the risk of injury. It’s definitely possible. In these fights at this level, both opponents are very strong. Anything is possible, but if we train well enough, the chance of getting injured is lower and our bodies can recover faster after the fight.”
If he’s able to pick up victories over both Superbon and Tawanchai, Nattawut will have claimed featherweight Muay Thai gold and positioned himself as a contender for recognition as the best striker of 2024.
While there’s no doubt that the golden belt and ONE 169 are on his mind, “Smokin'” Jo is doing his best to stay focused on the tall task ahead of him at ONE Friday Fights 81.
He added:
“We want to focus on this fight and do our best. In terms of training and taking care of ourselves, we have to do our best first. Get enough rest.
“After this fight, we will talk about the next one. We have to finish this fight first. If we worry about both fights, it will not be beneficial. We have to take it one at a time.”
