Filipina-American star Jackie Buntan has made a name for herself as one of the most exciting strikers in the ONE strawweight Muay Thai division.
She’s giving some of that credit to her teammate, ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet “JT” Todd, who always pushes Buntan in training.
The two ladies have developed a great friendship overtime while working as sparring partners at Boxing Works under head coach Bryan Popejoy, and Buntan has nothing but good words to say when asked about her relationship with Todd.
“We keep each other on our toes in the gym. We keep each other honest as teammates. We make it hard for each other because that’s good, that’s what you want. You want someone to push you day in and day out. I’ve known her for so long. I think of her as an inspiration of mine,” Buntan said.
“She’s a good professional teammate, but also a friend I can joke with. She’s a really good friend to me.”
With that said, she’ll be rooting hard for Todd when the latter shoots for a second championship in a different sport. “JT” takes on Lara Fernandez for the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Title in the co-main event of ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash on July 22.
Though they’ve known each other for quite some time, the 25-year-old still marvels at her teammate’s work ethic, noting how the American trains all the time.
“Win or lose, even if she’s not competing, she’s so driven and she’s always finding a way to improve,” she said.
“She’s still improving so much. That’s not because our coach is making her. She genuinely wants to be better than she was the previous day. I think that’s what sets her apart. I’ve never met anyone else with her work ethic.
“I think she can go down as one of the greats as an athlete due to her work ethic.”
This is the exact reason Buntan has no doubts that Todd will dismantle Fernandez in this clash.
“I think if Janet doesn’t stop her, Janet’s going to win in dominant fashion, [and win] all rounds really. Or [she’ll win most of the] rounds. I definitely see Janet being victorious in this one,” Buntan said.