Nico Carrillo has buried the hatchet with Jonathan Haggerty – for now – but insists there will be “no love lost” if they become rivals again in ONE Championship, and “dreams” of a showdown at The Hydro in Glasgow.
Scotland’s “King of the North” had been on a collision course with the English “General” before Haggerty lost the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai title last September.
Bantamweight kickboxing king Haggerty is looking to reclaim his other old belt but Carrillo, 26, has since moved up to featherweight, where he enjoyed a successful debut TKO win against Sitthichai this month.
The build-up had been spiced up after an old quote resurfaced in fight week of Carrillo calling Haggerty a “coward”. But the pair were in fact on friendlier terms, with Haggerty also in Bangkok to corner his teammate Lyndon Knowles on the same card.
“Maybe I said it. I probably did say it before, but I didn't say it that time. We had a fist bump and stuff in the hotel,” Carrillo told the Bangkok Post backstage at Lumpinee Stadium after his win.
“At the end of the day, I don't hate anybody. Hate has a big place in your heart, and it'll rot your heart. Having hate in your heart isn't good.
“There's a rivalry there, yes. Right now, there's not, because we're not in the same weight division. If we become rivals again, then I'm sure we'll hate each other and it'll be bad blood.
“But for me right now, I'm Zen. I'm happy. I'll shake his hand, no problem.When we become rivals again, I'm sure there will be no love lost again. That's how I feel about it.”
Carrillo decided to move up after a bad weight cut hampered him in a first-round TKO loss to Nabil Anane, with the interim bantamweight Muay Thai title on the line at Bangkok’s Impact Arena in January’s ONE 170 co-main event.
Despite Carrillo’s loss and his impending switch to featherweight, ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong stoked the flames of a future clash against Haggerty at Wembley Arena in London.
“It would absolutely appeal to me, yeah,” Carrillo said of fighting in the renowned UK arena. “The Hydro, that would be my dream venue right there.
“And you know something? Because of the way the arena is, it looks a lot like the Impact. We sell that out 100 per cent. It's about the same capacity as the Impact as well.
“We need to bring it to the UK – absolutely. It has to be. We have to give it to the UK fans. We've been spoiling the American fans.”
Scotland’s “King of the North” had been on a collision course with the English “General” before Haggerty lost the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai title last September.
Bantamweight kickboxing king Haggerty is looking to reclaim his other old belt but Carrillo, 26, has since moved up to featherweight, where he enjoyed a successful debut TKO win against Sitthichai this month.
The build-up had been spiced up after an old quote resurfaced in fight week of Carrillo calling Haggerty a “coward”. But the pair were in fact on friendlier terms, with Haggerty also in Bangkok to corner his teammate Lyndon Knowles on the same card.
“Maybe I said it. I probably did say it before, but I didn't say it that time. We had a fist bump and stuff in the hotel,” Carrillo told the Bangkok Post backstage at Lumpinee Stadium after his win.
“At the end of the day, I don't hate anybody. Hate has a big place in your heart, and it'll rot your heart. Having hate in your heart isn't good.
“There's a rivalry there, yes. Right now, there's not, because we're not in the same weight division. If we become rivals again, then I'm sure we'll hate each other and it'll be bad blood.
“But for me right now, I'm Zen. I'm happy. I'll shake his hand, no problem.When we become rivals again, I'm sure there will be no love lost again. That's how I feel about it.”
Carrillo decided to move up after a bad weight cut hampered him in a first-round TKO loss to Nabil Anane, with the interim bantamweight Muay Thai title on the line at Bangkok’s Impact Arena in January’s ONE 170 co-main event.
Despite Carrillo’s loss and his impending switch to featherweight, ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong stoked the flames of a future clash against Haggerty at Wembley Arena in London.
“It would absolutely appeal to me, yeah,” Carrillo said of fighting in the renowned UK arena. “The Hydro, that would be my dream venue right there.
“And you know something? Because of the way the arena is, it looks a lot like the Impact. We sell that out 100 per cent. It's about the same capacity as the Impact as well.
“We need to bring it to the UK – absolutely. It has to be. We have to give it to the UK fans. We've been spoiling the American fans.”
