ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong has backed Jonathan Haggerty to prove his doubters wrong after his loss to Superlek Kiatmookao.
The UK’s Haggerty surrendered his bantamweight Muay Thai title in a shock 49-second KO defeat at ONE 168, which left Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado stunned.
“Haggerty is a great champion, and he’s still among the best pound for pound fighters on the planet,” Chatri told the media during a ONE Friday Fights 81 virtual press conference.
“One loss doesn’t tarnish who he is as an athlete or a person. You could see he was training the next week right away. He’s always improving and levelling up. He’s got remarkable talent and mindset.
“Mind you, he beat Sam-A [Gaiyanghadao] when he only had 12 or 14 fights, and Sam-A had 400 fights. You don’t see that often.
“Haggerty is a very special generational talent, I believe when all is said and done in his career, he will go down as one of the greatest in history.”
Chatri suggested Haggerty’s defeat was natural in a bantamweight division full of “killers” like Superlek, Nico Carrillo, and now Kiamran Nabati, who beat former champion Nong-O Hama last weekend at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.
“My team does a very good job recruiting and signing the best athletes on the planet, there’s no easy fights.
“Nabati is undefeated. This division is a bunch of killers. Kiamrian is a potential future world champion as well, an absolute killer.”
