Yesterday Takeru announced that he is a free agent. Rodtang Jitmuangnon wasted no time in calling out the Japanese kickboxer and former K-1 star.
Rodtang, who fared a lot better against Tenshin Nasukawa than Takeru did, has made it clear that he would be interested in fighting either man. The fights have not been realistic in the past with the Japanese fighters both locked into exclusive contracts with rival promotions.
But now that Takeru is a free agent Rodtang thinks the 31 year old has no excuse not to fight him:
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Takeru reportedly received in excess of $1 million USD for his fight with Tenshin Nasukawa. So ONE Championship are perhaps the only kickboxing promotion in the world who could afford him.
Rodtang currently fights in the flyweight division which requires fighters to weigh in at 135lbs and pass hydration tests. Takeru’s last fight was at a catchweight of 128lbs so this should suit him.
While Rodtang competes primarily under Muay Thai rules Takeru is a kickboxer. But the Thai is perfectly capable of participating in both sports and was even willing to take on Demetrious Johnson in a mixed rules fight at ONE: ‘X’ earlier this year.
He was submitted in the second round by the former UFC flyweight champion. Johnson had survived the opening three minutes which was fought under Muay Thai rules.
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Plenty of opponents
There are plenty of potential opponents for Takeru on the ONE Championship roster and former flyweight champion Jonathan Haggerty has already called him out. While the promotion has not put on an event in Japan since 2019 there are plenty of fighters form the country on the roster.
ONE 163 will be available on pay per view in Japan via the Abema platform. The event is stacked with Japanese fighters and will be headlined by a bantamweight kickboxing title fight between champion Hiroki Akimoto and challenger Petchtanong Petchfergus.
While a match between Akimoto and Takeru would not generate as much interest as the bout with Tenshin did it would surely be a big fight in Japan, Other fighters from the nation in action at ONE 163 include Itsuki Hirata, Shinya Aoki and Yushin Okami.
Rodtang won’t be getting his rematch with Tenshin now that the Japanese fighter has moved on to boxing. He seems to think a fight with Takeru would be the next best thing and with the former K-1 star now a free agent it could be a serious possibility.
