Jonathan Haggerty says Takeru has no choice but to give everything he has against Denis Puric: “This is a must-win for him”

Reigning ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom knows what it's like to have his back against the wall.

‘The General’ understands the enormous pressure that Takeru Segawa faces in his pivotal match-up at ONE 173.

On November 16, ‘The Natural Born Krusher’ will look to end his skid on home soil against Denis Puric in a flyweight kickboxing clash at Tokyo's Ariake Arena.

The Team Vasileus leader hasn’t won in Japan since 2021. Rodtang Jitmuangnon added to his woes at ONE 172 in March, knocking him out in just 80 seconds.

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Haggerty, who’s weathered adversity in his career before, knows this is an important bout for the redemption-seeking Takeru.

"Yeah, definitely. I do believe Takeru needs to win this fight. This is a must-win for him. But he's coming up against Denis - Denis is a banger," Haggerty told the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Takeru will have his hands full against Puric, who brings dangerous credentials as a crafty veteran striker.

The 40-year-old wants to return to his winning ways as well and isn’t afraid of the hometown hero.

Watch the full SCMP interview:

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Jonathan Haggerty says he'll finish Nabil Anane

Jonathan Haggerty is also set to report for duty at ONE 173. 'The General' will look to regain his two-sport world champion status by dethroning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane.

The towering 21-year-old has been an unsolvable puzzle in the home of martial arts and is coming off a superstar-making victory over Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Still, the British slugger is confident he'll be the one to end that streak.

"Stoppage. Yeah, there are a lot of attributes in this fight—movement, etc. A lot of attributes I'm going to be focusing on," Jonathan Haggerty said in the same SCMP interview.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda and ONE Championship for the latest on ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri.

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Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim