Jonathan Haggerty feels Nico Carrillo paid the price for overconfidence against Nabil Anane – but still sees a future fight in ONE Championship with his UK rival despite their diverging paths.
Scotland’s Carrillo saw a 15-fight win streak snapped with a first-round TKO loss to Anane in their interim bantamweight Muay Thai title fight at ONE 170 in Bangkok.
It was a sobering defeat for the “King of the North”, whose body finally told him it was time to move up to featherweight after an increasingly difficult process making 145 lbs.
“It was a great performance from Nabil – I feel a lot of people wrote him off, including Nico,” Haggerty told the Bangkok Post ahead of ONE 171, where he will defend his bantamweight kickboxing title against Wei Rui in Doha, Qatar.
Carrillo had frequently called for Haggerty to defend against him when the Englishman still held the bantamweight Muay Thai belt, before losing it to Superlek in a shock first-round KO loss of his own last September.
It is clear there is no love lost between the two, with some of Haggerty’s entourage – who were there to support the younger Freddie Haggerty for his fight earlier on the card – cheering on in the front row each time Carrillo was knocked down at Impact Arena.
“I know it's not nice to get a loss, and he was within reach of the belt, so I don't want to kick a man while he’s down,” Haggerty said, however. “But I do feel like he focused on me way too much in fight week.
“Honestly, even in the sauna he was telling me that he would never get knocked out in round one. I just said to him, ‘Listen, you’ve got a hard fight – focus on Nabil, it's going to be a hard fight for you’.
“I hope he does well in the featherweight division. There are some great fights up there for him, and who knows, maybe a catchweight or so. I just wish him all the best though.”
Haggerty and Carrillo have long seemed to be on a collision course, and despite their recent losses, ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong still insisted he would love to have them headline an event at Wembley Arena in London – something “The General” is still keen on, too.
“For sure,” Haggerty added. “You know, I might have to do some more weights, go up to featherweight, who knows? But it'll be an exciting fight either way.”
Haggerty first will look for a win over China’s Wei in Doha, before turning his attention to trying to reclaim the Muay Thai title.
The 27-year-old Briton feels it may be Anane rather than Superlek he has to go through, too.
“I'm excited to see Nabil versus Superlek in Japan and how that plays out, because it's going to be a lot different to their first fight,” Haggerty added of the title unification match at ONE 172 next month.
“He might have the edge this time. I feel like he could get the win over Superlek. I'd love to face him.”
Scotland’s Carrillo saw a 15-fight win streak snapped with a first-round TKO loss to Anane in their interim bantamweight Muay Thai title fight at ONE 170 in Bangkok.
It was a sobering defeat for the “King of the North”, whose body finally told him it was time to move up to featherweight after an increasingly difficult process making 145 lbs.
“It was a great performance from Nabil – I feel a lot of people wrote him off, including Nico,” Haggerty told the Bangkok Post ahead of ONE 171, where he will defend his bantamweight kickboxing title against Wei Rui in Doha, Qatar.
Carrillo had frequently called for Haggerty to defend against him when the Englishman still held the bantamweight Muay Thai belt, before losing it to Superlek in a shock first-round KO loss of his own last September.
It is clear there is no love lost between the two, with some of Haggerty’s entourage – who were there to support the younger Freddie Haggerty for his fight earlier on the card – cheering on in the front row each time Carrillo was knocked down at Impact Arena.
“I know it's not nice to get a loss, and he was within reach of the belt, so I don't want to kick a man while he’s down,” Haggerty said, however. “But I do feel like he focused on me way too much in fight week.
“Honestly, even in the sauna he was telling me that he would never get knocked out in round one. I just said to him, ‘Listen, you’ve got a hard fight – focus on Nabil, it's going to be a hard fight for you’.
“I hope he does well in the featherweight division. There are some great fights up there for him, and who knows, maybe a catchweight or so. I just wish him all the best though.”
Haggerty and Carrillo have long seemed to be on a collision course, and despite their recent losses, ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong still insisted he would love to have them headline an event at Wembley Arena in London – something “The General” is still keen on, too.
“For sure,” Haggerty added. “You know, I might have to do some more weights, go up to featherweight, who knows? But it'll be an exciting fight either way.”
Haggerty first will look for a win over China’s Wei in Doha, before turning his attention to trying to reclaim the Muay Thai title.
The 27-year-old Briton feels it may be Anane rather than Superlek he has to go through, too.
“I'm excited to see Nabil versus Superlek in Japan and how that plays out, because it's going to be a lot different to their first fight,” Haggerty added of the title unification match at ONE 172 next month.
“He might have the edge this time. I feel like he could get the win over Superlek. I'd love to face him.”
