Takeru recently declared that he would like to fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon. The Thai fighter is very open to the challenger but wants to stay well clear of the Japanese judges.
That is because of an experience he had in 2018 when Tenshin Nasukawa was awarded a very generous decision against him after a Muay Thai fight in Tokyo,
“I would love to fight Takeru, I think it would be a great fight and fun to watch also. But after what happened with Tenshin I know it is is impossible to get a decision win if the fight is in Japan.”
First choice
He is actually more interested in a rematch with Tenshin than a fight with Takeru,
“I would love to fight Tenshin and avenge the loss to him but I think he is going to to go into boxing. I was sure I won the first fight, I had him hurt in the fourth round and he looked tired and I thought I won the extension round too.”
But he knows all about Takeru and is well aware that the K-1 king has been talking about him,
“Some people tagged me in posts where he had called me out. He is a very strong fighter under kickboxing rules, strong hands and he loves to fight.”
Training hard
Given that Takeru is contracted to K-1 and Rodtang is signed to ONE Championship it would be a difficult bout to make. The Thai acknowledged this,
“It would be hard to make this fight happen I think but I would love to fight him on a ONE Championship card so we can see who is the best.”
Next up for Rodtang is a mixed rules fight with Demetrious Johnson at ONE: ‘X’. The bout will alternate between MMA and Muay Thai rules and the Thai confirmed he had been cross training,
“I am training at Fairtex in Pattaya and we are working hard everyday to get ready. We are working a lot more on the MMA side of things as I already have a strong base in Muay Thai but I am still getting in lots of sparring.”
Surprising offer
He admitted to being surprised when he was offered the fight,
“I am really excited about this fight. When I was first contacted about it I was shocked and had to think hard for a week but I am looking forward to getting to show people Muay Thai and represent Thailand.”
