Superbon admits it would be “hard to watch” Nong-O Gaiyanghadao fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon for the vacant ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai title.
Former bantamweight champ Nong-O set himself up for a tilt at the belt with an impressive unanimous decision over Kongthoranee Sor Sommai in last weekend’s ONE Fight Night 31 main event.
It was a first victory for the 38-year-old legend in his new division, and he could now be fast tracked to a showdown with Rodtang, who will look to reclaim the title he lost on the scale last November.
But Nong-O’s great friend and training partner Superbon, who was in his corner at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, has mixed feelings about the potential matchup.
“I think Rodtang should be a fun fight, too – Rodtang is very good with the hands, and Nong-O is very good with the kicks,” the featherweight kickboxing champ told the Bangkok Post backstage, filling in on media duties with Nong-O requiring stitches to some big cuts above his eyes.
“In Muay Thai we have to think all the time – if you lose something you can figure out how to win again. But I don’t like to see Rodtang and Nong-O normally because we are really close to each other.
“It’s hard for me to watch that fight, so I think maybe they have more fighters in the weight class now.
“Maybe the Estupinan twins. We have Nakrob, Jaosuayai – many new fighters in this class who are very good right now, so the belt is nobody’s home. But Nong-O deserves to fight for the title.”
Nong-O and Kongthoranee are now tied at 1-1 in their rivalry, with the 28-year-old having edged a split decision in February – a controversial call that led to the rematch.
But Superbon does not think a tie breaking trilogy is required – despite Kongthoranee almost scoring a second-round knockdown that would have swung it his way.
“Kongthoranee again? I think this fight is a little bit far, Nong-O won by a lot,” Superbon said. “If you see the fight, I think it’s not going to happen again a third time.
“If we look back, if Nong-O doesn’t get [wobbled] in the second round, he clearly won the fight by a lot.”
The victory – just Nong-O’s second in his last six fights – was significant for the fledgling Superbon Training Camp gym, with the boss himself also looking to bounce back from a second-round TKO loss to Tawanchai in January.
“We are so happy with the victory because we have been pushing from every moment we lose,” Superbon added.
“So the question is asked, are we real or not, because we have not had good form before – me or him.
“But that victory today made sure we have been here for more than 20 years and we stayed on top.
“We don’t want to let everyone down, and we are going to stay on top longer.”
It looks like Nong-O is here to stay at flyweight too, with his chin no longer looking susceptible after moving down to 135lbs, following bad knockout losses to Jonathan Haggerty and Nico Carrillo in 2023.
“He can take more power at flyweight because he is small,” Superbon said. “When he comes up, he gets the bigger guys.
“Talk about Nico, he’s too big for [Nong-O] – he can go to featherweight, Nong-O can go to flyweight, two different weights right now. So if you talk about bantamweight, it’s too big for him.”
Former bantamweight champ Nong-O set himself up for a tilt at the belt with an impressive unanimous decision over Kongthoranee Sor Sommai in last weekend’s ONE Fight Night 31 main event.
It was a first victory for the 38-year-old legend in his new division, and he could now be fast tracked to a showdown with Rodtang, who will look to reclaim the title he lost on the scale last November.
But Nong-O’s great friend and training partner Superbon, who was in his corner at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, has mixed feelings about the potential matchup.
“I think Rodtang should be a fun fight, too – Rodtang is very good with the hands, and Nong-O is very good with the kicks,” the featherweight kickboxing champ told the Bangkok Post backstage, filling in on media duties with Nong-O requiring stitches to some big cuts above his eyes.
“In Muay Thai we have to think all the time – if you lose something you can figure out how to win again. But I don’t like to see Rodtang and Nong-O normally because we are really close to each other.
“It’s hard for me to watch that fight, so I think maybe they have more fighters in the weight class now.
“Maybe the Estupinan twins. We have Nakrob, Jaosuayai – many new fighters in this class who are very good right now, so the belt is nobody’s home. But Nong-O deserves to fight for the title.”
Nong-O and Kongthoranee are now tied at 1-1 in their rivalry, with the 28-year-old having edged a split decision in February – a controversial call that led to the rematch.
But Superbon does not think a tie breaking trilogy is required – despite Kongthoranee almost scoring a second-round knockdown that would have swung it his way.
“Kongthoranee again? I think this fight is a little bit far, Nong-O won by a lot,” Superbon said. “If you see the fight, I think it’s not going to happen again a third time.
“If we look back, if Nong-O doesn’t get [wobbled] in the second round, he clearly won the fight by a lot.”
The victory – just Nong-O’s second in his last six fights – was significant for the fledgling Superbon Training Camp gym, with the boss himself also looking to bounce back from a second-round TKO loss to Tawanchai in January.
“We are so happy with the victory because we have been pushing from every moment we lose,” Superbon added.
“So the question is asked, are we real or not, because we have not had good form before – me or him.
“But that victory today made sure we have been here for more than 20 years and we stayed on top.
“We don’t want to let everyone down, and we are going to stay on top longer.”
It looks like Nong-O is here to stay at flyweight too, with his chin no longer looking susceptible after moving down to 135lbs, following bad knockout losses to Jonathan Haggerty and Nico Carrillo in 2023.
“He can take more power at flyweight because he is small,” Superbon said. “When he comes up, he gets the bigger guys.
“Talk about Nico, he’s too big for [Nong-O] – he can go to featherweight, Nong-O can go to flyweight, two different weights right now. So if you talk about bantamweight, it’s too big for him.”
