Saemapetch Fairtex will look to further his world title credentials today against another veteran of the sport.
ONE's third-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender takes on the vastly experienced Kaonar Sor Jor Thongprajin in the ONE Lumpinee 30 main event at Bangkok's Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Here, we get to know the 28-year-old who will make the walk today in search of his eighth win under the ONE banner.
Saemapetch was born in Chiang Mai and grew up in extreme poverty.
As a child, he helped his parents gather bottles and plastic for resale to make some money to survive.
As luck would have it, he was spotted on the street by the mayor of their small town, who introduced him to Muay Thai.
The chance encounter would change Saemapetch's life forever. The youngster almost immediately showed a flair for his new sport and stepped in the ring for the first time at 11 years old.
Just three years later, he was competing at the prestigious Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok.
He later joined the army and won a Muay Thai military tournament, defeating some highly regarded champions along the way.
Fighting proved to be Saemapetch's passion, however, as he dropped out of the army to focus on his Muay Thai career.
After leaving the military, Saema- petch relocated to Pattaya to train at the star-studded Fairtex Training Center.
The move proved fruitful as he was soon signed by global martial arts giant ONE Championship in 2018. He made an instant impression with the promotion, reeling off three straight wins against top tier competition in Deividas Danyla, future ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Alaverdi Ramazanov, and Ognjen Topic.
The impressive win streak landed Saemapetch a shot at reigning bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O Hama in 2019, although he succumbed to a fourth-round TKO.
Continuing to face some of the sport's very best, he has since added four more wins from seven outings to take his overall record to an incredible 125-19-1.
At ONE Lumpinee 30, Saemapetch be the headline act as he looks to rebound from an upset third-round knockout loss to Felipe Lobo in April.
Standing across the ring will be Kaonar, the veteran of a staggering 231 professional fights and a former Lumpinee world champion.
The 33-year-old made his first appearance under the ONE banner in June, when he was outpointed by undefeated Russian Elbrus Osmanov at ONE Lumpinee 19.
A statement win over the No.3 ranked Saemapetch would send Kaonar straight into the reckoning for Jonathan Haggerty's ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
Victory for Saemapetch, on the other hand, would get him back on track as he chases his former conquerors Nong-O and Lobo.
Tickets for the event are available at Lumpinee. The first bout starts at 7.30pm and Channel 7 shows the programme live from 8.30pm.