ONE Bantamweight World Champion John “Hands of Stone” Lineker has had enough of Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade’s trashtalk and finally fired back at his compatriot.
Lineker called out the current #2-ranked bantamweight contender for being disrespectful, and promised to dish out his own response inside the Circle should they finally meet.
This comes after Andrade went hard on him after easily dispatching “Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il earlier this month at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen.
“I’m getting used to this type of athlete who likes to promote fights by disrespecting opponents. It just goes to show that he’s a disrespectful guy to his opponents. He doesn’t have an ounce of education. He wants to promote fights in [the] wrong way,” Lineker told ONEFC.com.
“I don’t care about that. I like to respond inside the cage, in my own way, kicking [expletive]. But if they (ONE) think he’s worthy to fight for the belt, I’ll educate him, for sure.”
With five wins and four finishes inside the ONE Circle, “Wonder Boy” has certainly become one of the hottest contenders in the division.
Mixing his pinpoint striking with a well-rounded ground game, Andrade has yet to be figured out. In fact, the 24-year-old’s last three bouts didn’t make it out of the first round.
While that may be impressive to some, Lineker isn’t amazed.
“To be very honest, I started to follow Fabrício just recently. What I saw in this fight [against Kwon] is that he knows how to focus. He managed to impose his strategy. I wasn’t impressed because he got a knockout. That can happen in [any] fight, especially between strikers. He’s a good fighter, but he didn’t impress me at all,” Lineker said.
“I don’t know if he did enough to earn a title shot. It’s not for me to say if he deserves a title shot. I’m prepared, I’m ready to fight anyone in the division. If ONE thinks he deserves it, I’m here waiting.”
But if the match does happen, Lineker knows it will be a treat for fans and could even end up with some end-of-the-year accolades.
“Today, I am the champion. That already answers your question. He’s a good fighter. I don’t belittle him in any way, but he still has a lot to learn,” Lineker said.
“I believe it could be a great fight. A fight between two strikers is certainly very nice to see. It’s what fans like to watch, striking and punching all the time. If this fight against him happens, for sure, it will be a great show with a real chance of being ‘Fight of the Year.’”
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