Suablack Tor Pran49 has enlisted the help of one of Muay Thai's biggest stars ahead of his full ONE Championship debut.
The Thai knockout artist is set to face Irish standout Stefan Korodi in a bantamweight Muay Thai co-main event clash at ONE Fight Night 18: Gasanov v Oh today. The nine-fight spectacle goes down at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Suablack was awarded a 3.5-million-baht contract with ONE after a destructive run on its ONE Lumpinee platform, where he reeled off four crushing knockouts.
His form proved undeniable for the ONE brass, and the 27-year-old revealed that receiving the life-changing contract was a dream come true.
"I have always followed ONE Championship. I watched almost every match, every event. When I watched it, I felt the urge to fight at ONE Lumpinee or ONE Championship. And now my dream has come true," he said.
"To fight in ONE Championship, I have had to improve my training methods and fighting style. I need to work harder than before because fighters in ONE Championship are on another level. They all look strong. I need to upgrade myself to reach the level of these athletes."
The real work begins now that Suablack has the chance to show his skills for the first time to a global audience.
To keep his place among the Muay Thai elite, however, the Tor Pran49 Gym representative has spent time training with one of the promotion's biggest stars -- ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Few can claim to have a resume on the global stage to rival Superlek's, and Suablack feels that the "The Kicking Machine's" insight will give him the edge come today. "For this fight, Superlek trained with me. We went running and sparring," he said.
"I can see why he's the World Champion. He gave me a lot of world-class advice. He told me he is rooting for me and that all my attacks are good enough, I just need to add more determination and practice regularly and everything will be fine."