By:  | September 20, 2023 1:49 am

Rodtang Jitmuangnon is gearing up for what is arguably the most significant test of his career as he defends his flyweight Muay Thai title against Superlek Kiatmoo9. The event set to take place at Lumpinee Stadium on Friday and will headline the biggest fight card at the venue this year.

Superlek currently holds the flyweight kickboxing title. A decade ago he won Lumpinee titles at flyweight and super flyweight and Rodtang acknowledges that he is facing a ‘tough opponent’ at ONE Fight Nights 34,

“Superlek is the toughest opponent for me since I joined ONE. He’s really good, maybe better than me. He was a superstar in Thailand even before I started fighting.”

Solid fundamentals

Rodtang recently acknowledged that he hasn’t taken all of his previous ONE Championship opponents quite as seriously. He admitted to only having trained for two days in preparation for his recent bout with Edgar Tabares.

It sounds like he is taking Superlek much more seriously. Rodtang never quite reached the same heights on the stadium scene in Thailand as his opponent and admits to feeling slightly inferior,

“Superlek is tough, and he has a tight guard. He has a dangerous right kick (and) will read his opponent’s movement and find a gap to counter. In terms of Muay Thai skills, Superlek is better than me for sure. He has solid fundamentals, while I am more of an improviser,” he said.

Superlek is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak and has knocked out his last two opponents. Despite his impressive form, Rodtang believes he holds an advantage in terms of speed.

“For his weakness, I think he can be knocked down if he gets a clean hit. And he seems to let his guard down a bit when he attacks. He relies too much on counterattacks, and I think he’s a bit slower. I think I can overcome him in speed.”

 

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Big fanbase

Rodtang has clearly established a bigger fanbase than Superlek since signing for ONE Championship. He has been on the roster longer but his all action style has proved popular with viewers.

But Superlek has finished his last three opponents and Rodtang thinks his opponent has become more aggressive since signing with ONE Championship,

“I think Superlek has shown good development. He started to understand what ONE wants (and) you can see he can fight in an aggressive style, he’s not shy to trade.”

But Rodtang believes he is made of sterner stuff than Superlek’s recent opponents and warns that trading punches with him could turn out to be an error,

“He may not want to trade with me (because) if he makes a mistake I might knock him out. It’s as simple as that. If I can, I will win by KO.”