Petchdam Petchyindeeacademy faces Rodtang Jitmuangnon for the third time in the main event of ONE: ‘No Surrender’. He is the former flyweight kickboxing champion and will be challenging for the Muay Thai belt in Bangkok.
At Petchyindee Academy the team have been pushing Petchdam hard to get him ready for what could be the biggest fight of his career so far. Former boxing world champion Chatchai Sasakul has been brought in and he has been sparring with current boxer Saengathit Luksaikhongdin.
They have fought twice at Rajadamnern Stadium and have one win each. Petchdam prevailed in the first encounter and remembers it well,
“The first time we fought I won on points in close fight, I was able to outscore him using my left kicks,” he recalled.
Punching power
The rematch was different. Petchdam feels that his opponent’s punching power made the difference in this fight,
“The second time we fought it was very close again right up to the fourth round. But in Muay Thai you cannot show the judges you have been hurt and in round four Rodtang caught me with some hard shots and I lost my balance a little and showed that I was hurt. This put the fight out of reach for me.”
ONE Super Series fights are scored very differently. But the fighters will be wearing MMA gloves which most pundits feel will be a major factor in Rodtang’s favour.
Petchdam knows he needs to take a strategic approach but says fear won’t be a factor,
“I am very confident I can beat Rodtang again. I am not scared of him and won’t be running anywhere but I won’t be looking to clash with him either. I am looking to fight smart and use my brain more and look to win with my technique.”
Perfect time
Nuttadej Wachirarattanawong, the owner of Petchyindee Academy, thinks this could be the perfect time to fight Rodtang,
“It has been a while since they last fought and you would have to say that Rodtang has been in top form coming into this fight, he has beaten everyone and has been in incredible shape recently. I do believe that the break from the Covid-19 crisis will be an advantage for us and help to narrow the gap, with Rodtang having to have time off.”
Rodtang’s aggressive style has won him a lot of fans. Petchdam is well aware that he does not possess the same punching power as his opponent.
But Nuttadej says that his fighter is in peak condition and will emerge victorious at ONE: ‘No Surrender’ on Friday,
“I am always pleased to hear Petchdam say that he is not the best boxer out there but he is where he is today because of the strength he gets from the love and support of his fans. He has trained so hard for the last two months I have to tell him to slow down and relax a little at times. I think it is the hardest he has trained in his life and I can see he wants to win so much. Most people have Rodtang as the favorite, but I believe [Petchdam] will win this match.”
