Algeria's Muay Thai star Nabil Anane eyes undisputed world title at ONE 172 on Sunday
For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
In his last fight, Anane clinched the ONE Interim Bantamweight Muay Thai world title with a technical knockout victory against Scottish fighter Nico Carrillo.
Anane's next mission is to unify the world title against Superlek Kiatmoo9 — the Thai megastar who knocked out the Algerian star on his promotional debut back in 2023.
'I'm looking just for the win. I just want to beat Superlek. I don't even think about the belt. I just want the win. I just want to beat Superlek. That's it. That's what I want in this fight,' Anane said.
The towering 20-year-old star, born to an Algerian father and Thai mother, has shown marked improvement in his overall game since the first time he met Superlek inside the ring.
In his last six bouts, Anane used his height and reach advantage to dominate some of the most established Muay Thai fighters, finishing three of his opponents.
Anane, who is the youngest ever WBC Muay Thai champion, believes his wins over opponents such as former world title challenger Felipe Lobo and Lethwei legend Soe Lin Oo prove that he has become used to fighting in small gloves — and is now ready to even the score with the two-sport, two-weight world champion.
'Two years ago, I didn't know nothing about small (4-ounce) gloves. I didn't have this experience. I'm totally different. Very different. It was a big lesson, and I learned a lot in that fight. I'm sure that it's not going to be the same this time,' Anane said.
If Anane wins the highly anticipated rematch, he will solidify his status as one of the best Muay Thai practitioners today, and become only the second undisputed ONE world champion from the MENA region after former ONE Flyweight Kickboxing world champion, Morocco's Ilias Ennahachi, who is the only man to beat Superlek in ONE Championship.
The event, which features five world title bouts across Muay Thai, kickboxing and mixed martial arts, is headlined by a flyweight kickboxing super-fight between Japanese icon Takeru Segawa and Muay Thai megastar Rodtang Jitmuangon.
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