Khunponnoi, Haggerty out to emulate big brothers
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Khunponnoi, Haggerty out to emulate big brothers

Freddie Haggerty, third right, with his brother Jonathan, third left, after his fight against Fabricio Andrade.
Freddie Haggerty, third right, with his brother Jonathan, third left, after his fight against Fabricio Andrade.

Two fighters are looking to follow in their respective brothers' footsteps at ONE Lumpinee 49 on Friday.

Khunponnoi Sor Sommai, the younger brother of Seksan Or Kwanmuang, will lock horns with Azerbaijani standout Amil Shahmarzade in a 136-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout.

Earlier in the night, strawweight Muay Thai prospect Freddie Haggerty will also step out of the shadows of his brother -- two-sport ONE bantamweight world champion Jonathan Haggerty -- when he faces 18-year-old Thai phenom Dankalong Sor Dechapan.

Here, we get to know the rising Muay Thai stars before they throw down at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Khunponnoi Sor Sommai

Khunponnoi is one of eight siblings, including Seksan, born into a farming family in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The 31-year-old followed his brother into the world of fighting, and he has carved out a successful career of his own on the Bangkok stadium circuit. He now boasts a well-earned professional record of 118-32.

Khunponnoi brings a muay dern style to the ring, which sees him walk forward and try to engage in a toe-to-toe slugfest at punching range.

His all-action approach saw him rebound from a knockout loss in his ONE debut with a crushing body shot finish of Lamnamkhong BS Muay Thai at ONE Lumpinee 42 in November.

To extend his overall win streak to four, however, the Sor Sommai representative will have to get past Tiger Muay Thai's Shahmarzade, who also likes to throw hands.

The 29-year-old is making his ONE debut with a professional record of 20-6.

Freddie Haggerty

Much intrigue surrounds the debut of Haggerty.

The younger Haggerty was regularly seen at the ringside as his brother's career exploded in 2023 with a pair of wins that netted him both the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world titles.

Now Haggerty will get to prove himself inside the ropes under the ONE banner for the first time when he faces Dankalong.

The 19-year-old is already a WBC Muay Thai European champion with an impressive 20-4-1 mark as a professional, and he'll look to extend that number on his way to earning a 3.5-million-baht contract with ONE Championship and putting the stacked strawweight Muay Thai division on notice.

Haggerty's style is not dissimilar to his older brother's as he possesses strong power punches and a refined kicking game.

He'll have to get past Dankalong -- who already boasts a 50-8 record -- if he is to even think about emulating his brother's feats, however.

The teenage sensation is an expert in the clinch and that will be the name of the game for him, where he will likely try to wear down his fellow debutant.

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