After dominating the columbian Muay Thai star Johan Estupinan at ONE Fight Night 32, in which he dropped and thoroughly out-struck the young Nak Muay across three rounds, handing him his first loss.
It was after the thrilling bout that Naito, who had just gotten an incredible comeback win, Taiki Naito called out the great three-division K-1 champion Takeru Segawa and even talked some trash to the kickboxing legend.
“Takeru came after me and got a contract – I think that [he’s] a little bit overrated. I want to have a fight where it’s ‘overrated versus underrated’ – and I want to switch that.”
If there’s a big event in Tokyo I would love to fight there with Takeru, and I’m very confident this fight will entertain the whole of Japan.”
Taiko Naito Vs. Takeru could be the All Japan fight that ONE needs right now.
With Takeru likely in the twilight of his career and with a record of 1-2 in ONE Championship, this fight is against Taiki Naito, who is world-level in his own right. As he has faced the top level of both Muay Thai and kickboxing, a battle with Takeru would be an eye-catching bout for Japanese fans, but also a big opportunity for both fighters. If Naito beats Takeru, he likely sends him into retirement and gets the biggest win of his career.
For Takeru, if he wins, he proves that he still is “The Natural Born Crusher,” who puts vicious beatdowns on world-level fighters. And prolongs his career, keeping the dream alive of becoming champion once again before he says goodbye.
