Tawanchai wants to prove his doubters wrong: “A lot of people have said to me that I would never be good at kickboxing”

ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai has had some success in kickboxing. He is determined to do well in it and silence those who are doubting his abilities as a kickboxer.

It is the same mentality he is bringing when he returns to kickboxing at ONE Friday Fights 137 on Dec. 19. He is battling Liu Mengyang of China in a featherweight clash that serves as the main bout of the event happening at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Tawanchai is coming off a failed bid for the interim featherweight kickboxing world title in his last match in March, losing to Japanese Masaaki Noiri by TKO in the third round.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post ahead of his scheduled match, the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym standout shared how the continued doubts cast over his kickboxing abilities are serving as motivation for him.

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Tawanchai said:

"Well, I've been elbowing my whole life. I've been fighting Muay Thai my whole life. So maybe you know a break is nice, it's okay. And I feel like a lot of people have said to me that I would never be good at kickboxing, and I would never be better at kickboxing than this. So I just want to show them. I want to prove to myself that I can get the belt in kickboxing."

Check out what he had to say below:

Tawanchai has had three kickboxing matches to date in ONE Championship. He won his first two, beating Davit Kiria of Georgia by TKO in August 2023 and outlasting Thai Jo Nattawut by decision in October of the same year.

He then tried to take it further against Noiri for the interim kickboxing belt last time around, but was stopped by TKO (referee stoppage).

Meanwhile, out to make it consecutive losses for Tawanchai in kickboxing is Liu, who won in his last match in September, topping Thai Shadow Singha Mawynn by decision.

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Tawanchai says he has learned from Shadow's loss to Liu Mengyang

Heading into ONE Friday Fights 137, Tawanchai is taking a cue from the lessons he learned from fellow Thai fighter Shadow's loss to Liu Mengyang previously to come up with a winning performance.

He spoke about it during ONE Media Day recently in Thailand, sharing how he had studied Liu's clash with Shadow and saw how the latter made some costly mistakes, which he is looking to avoid.

Tawanchai said:

"Liu Mengyang is very strong and durable, but I felt a little bad for Shadow, who made a slight tactical error. He carelessly traded punches at a moment that perfectly suited Liu Mengyang. But everyone makes mistakes."

ONE Friday Fights 137 is available live and free on watch.onefc.com and ONE's YouTube and Facebook pages.

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Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim