Takeru was seen with a heavily bandaged left leg in the aftermath of his defeat to Superlek Kiatmoo9at ONE 165. It was clear the Japanese kickboxer had taken a lot of punishment but he only revealed yesterday the full extent of the damage.
In an Instagram post Takeru told fans that,
“I broke my knee in two places.”
View this post on Instagram
Serious injury
The fight went the full five rounds with Superlek winning by decision. Takeru did have his moments though and appeared to have the Thai fighter badly hurt as he attacked with punches towards the end of the third.
This was even more impressive when you realize that Takeru was already carrying a serious knee injury. He says the damage was done when he checked a kick in the opening round,
“I had a shaking sensation when I blocked a low kick in round one,” he explained.
Takeru puts Superlek on the ropes in Round 3! 😱 @takerusegawa
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Demoralizing defeat
It was a demoralizing defeat for Takeru who now has two high profile losses on his record. His 2022 fight with Tenshin Nasukawa was one of the biggest kickboxing events in history and he ended up losing that by decision too.
Takeru has originally been slated to face Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 165. The Thai withdrew after failing to recover from a hand injury in time but that is a fight matchmakers will definitely be looking to put together further down the line.
At least Takeru can console himself with the knowledge that he showed tremendous heart to continue fighting despite having badly injured his left knee. The 32 year old might not have won the fight but he will have made plenty of fans with his performance.
It generally takes up to six months for athletes to recover from this type of injury, although the fact there were two breaks could be a complication. Takeru will have plenty of time to lick his wounds and when he is ready to return there are some big fights out there for him.
The first fight between Superlek and Takeru produced enough action to warrant a rematch. It is surely a matter of when, not if, he finally faces Rodtang because that bout has been in the works for over a year.
Takeru’s ONE Championship debut ended in defeat an injury. He won’t be back in action for a few months but the former K-1 champion will have plenty of options when he does return.
