ONE Championship strawweight World Title contender Rene “The Challenger” Catalan cannot think of a better present for himself than to have the belt wrapped around his waist before the year ends.
Catalan turns 41 on 12 December, and with a few events left in the year, the Filipino veteran hopes that his bosses will grant him the title shot he believes he rightfully earned.
“Maybe there won’t be a better gift for my birthday than to win a World Title, but of course for that to happen I have to get my shot,” Catalan said.
“I’m turning 41 this December. At this age and in this sport, I should be retired. But I believe this is the peak of my career and this is the best time for me to achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a World Champion.”
One of the most decorated athletes in Philippine history, Catalan is currently on a six-match winning streak in his ONE campaign.
In his last outing, the Filipino veteran stopped former ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito in the first round at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR in Yangon last March.
For Catalan, his string of impressive wins was the result of his non-stop training and dedication to the sport. But more importantly, the pride of Iloilo City believes that it was a by-product of his sense of urgency to achieve his lifelong dream before it is too late.
“To be honest, I can already retire and focus on training our up-and-coming athletes. However, that’s still far from my mind because I want to become a World Champion” Catalan shared.
“I still have a goal to achieve and I’ll do my best to get it.”
The events in the final quarter of the year are starting to fill their slots. And Catalan hopes he could challenge the current ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio on any of those cards. Especially at ONE: MASTERS OF FATE, which is the final schedule for 2019 in Manila.
“I’m not losing hope that I’ll be joining one of the final events this year. I’m very eager to display the things that I work on the gym every day,” Catalan said.
“Given a chance, I hope to be part of the Manila card and fight for the World Title. To compete against a great young Filipino champion in front of Filipino fans. That, for me, is the perfect scenario.”
Catch ONE Championship’s event, ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH, on 6 September in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It will be the organization’s first ever all-Super Series event.
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