Newly crowned ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Joseph “The Hurricane” Lasiri used his perceived weakness as his main weapon in the biggest fight of his life.
Lasiri crowned himself the new king of the division after stopping Prajanchai PK. Saenchai in his tracks in the co-main event of ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on Friday, 20 May, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Many people said “The Hurricane” would fight too emotionally inside the Circle, Prajanchai included. But Lasiri showed that emotions can be a good thing when used properly.
“I said before I came into the arena that I would put my life in the Circle. Prajanchai said, ‘Joseph Lasiri is too emotional for me.’ He is the best one in Muay Thai, but emotion for me is everything,” Lasiri said.
“I put my emotions [into] the training camp, I put emotions [into] the fight, I put emotions everywhere and showed my personality. That’s the difference.”
For Lasiri, he needed every bit of that emotion to muster up a comeback after a shaky start in ONE, where he lost his first four bouts.
“I told you I can fight anyone in ONE Championship. Even if I fight more experienced [fighters], even if I fail many times, I can fight anyone because of my emotions,” he said.
The coronation came as a surprise to many people except for Lasiri, who always believed that he can hold it down against anyone, anytime.
As they say, it’s not how one starts – it’s how they react to adversity. And Lasiri definitely showed that he can withstand the hard times and rise above the occasion.
“I only showed [my skills to] the people who don’t know, but I [showed] myself every time that I’m this man,” Lasiri said.
“The first time I came to ONE Championship, I lost. I still came back, and I lost [again]. Now the people [watching] ONE Championship know better, but I know myself, and [I knew I could] become a champion.”
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