Andy Souwer is so confident of winning the featherweight Grand Prix that he says he will call an end to his career if he comes up short. The 38 year old made his thoughts very clear,
“If I don’t win this belt, then I will retire,” he said.
But Souwer is not thinking about retiring. He believes he still has what it takes to mix it up with the division’s best,
“I’m 38. I’m going to be 39 this year. See where I am? I’m still at the top level with the best fighters, with the young lions.”
A machine
At ONE: ‘First Strike’ he faces Marat Grigorian in the Grand Prix quarter final. The Dutchman has plenty of respect for his opponent,
“Marat is really strong. He kills people by going through them. He’s like a machine. I think going through his opponents powers him up. His body, his pressure is the bullet,” he said.
The Armenian trains in Holland so Souwer knows all about him. He thinks his ability to adapt during the fight will make the difference,
“You cannot say a lot about him in the technical or the tactical part. I can adapt better than Marat, so I think that would be my advantage.”
One more time
Souwer is coming off a win against Zhang Chunyu. He looked back to something approaching his best in that fight having lost his first two ONE Championship bouts.
As a two time K-1 Max winner he has reached the pinnacle of the kickboxing world but still feels he has a point to prove,
“I’m still competing with them. I feel good. I feel strong. I’ve shown the world already that I was the best, and I’m going to do it one more time.”
Winning format
His last K-1 Max win came in 2007 and Souwer is pleased that ONE Championship has reintroduced the tournament format,
“It’s not a new thing, to be honest, but it was such a long time ago that this kind of Grand Prix was in our lives, especially for the new kids on the block as fans but also for the fighters.”
Souwer is a father himself now and has been a pro for over 20 years. He has already achieved legendary status but feels that winning a stacked Grand Prix at this stage of his career would be the perfect way to cement his legacy,
“I’m giving it one more shot in my fight career. Then, hopefully, I will be a legend for the rest of my life and an example for the kids.”
