Saemapetch to face Carrillo in likely word title eliminator
Saemapetch Fairtex has the chance to grab a second crack at the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title at ONE Fight Night 23: Buntan v Meksen on July 6.
There, the Thai star faces No.1 ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Nico Carrillo at the blockbuster event, which goes down at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
At just 29 years old, Saemapetch has yearned for another world title opportunity since 2019, when he challenged then-bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O Hama.
Saemapetch is still ranked fourth in the division, and he has faced a who’s who of its top stars along the way.
Most recently, he overturned a controversial loss to Mohamed Younes Rabah with an emphatic first-round knockout in their rematch at ONE Fight Night 19.
Saemapetch put the Algerian on the canvas three times inside the opening frame to remind the bantamweight Muay Thai elite of the power that has netted him nine wins under the ONE banner.
But to achieve his dream of challenging for the world title, he’ll have to halt the rise of Carrillo, who surged to the front of the queue.
“The King of The North” made a huge impact on the ONE Lumpinee platform with a pair of crushing knockouts to earn a B3.5 million contract with the promotion.
He proved that the streak was no fluke when he scored by far the biggest win of his career over Nong-O in December.
His lead leg took a battering at the kicks of the Thai legend in round one, but Carrillo proved that his power could erase anyone at bantamweight when he folded Nong-O with a crushing elbow in the second.
Now, he puts his No.1 contender spot on the line against another Thai veteran, and the winner could land the next shot at two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty’s ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
Haggerty does have a task of his own to overcome in the interim, however, when he defends his gold against ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168: Denver on September 7.
Elsewhere on the ONE Fight Night 23 card, former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon takes on undefeated Turkish newcomer Alibeg Rasulov.
Meanwhile, South Korean knockout artist Kang Ji Won locks horns with long-time heavyweight MMA contender Kirill Grishenko.
