Heavy-handed Thai veteran is in peak physical cond🐓ition ahead of two of the biggest fights of his decorated professional career.
On September 27, in the main event of , he will square off with interim featherweight kickb✃oxing kingpin in a high-stakes Muay Thai showdown. The event goes down live in Asia primetime at Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Sta🍸dium.
That matchup will💮 take place just a little over a month before Nattawut battles rival for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title at in a massive trilogy fight.
Well aware that his busy end to 202🍎4 means facing two of the planet’s top pound-for-pound strikers back-to-back, “Smokin'” Jo says his primary concern is how his body will hold up under the rigors of two big fights and two 🐈hard training camps.
Most importantly, he knows that he’ll need to make it out of ONE Friday Fights 81 with a clean bill of health if he doesn’t want to lose his shot𝐆 at gold in Atlanta.
The 35-year-old told :
“The plan for every time is to train 100 percent, be healthy, in good physical conditioඣn, and there will be less injury and risk. That is the most important thing for a fighter. You have to prepare well, be in 100 perc꧃ent condition, be ready, physically and mentally ready.”
Of course, beyond his physical conditioning, Nattawut is carefully preparing for what Superbon, the curren✱t #1-ranked fea🍬therweight Muay Thai contender, will bring to the table this Friday.
Nattawut has done his homework🥂 and knows that his foe’s show-stopping headkick is a threat to end the fight at any moment:
“For Superbon, I have studied and watched him quite a bit. All of his weapons are extremely dangerous, especially his kicks. And his punches are good, too. All ♊I know is ܫhe knocked many opponents out with his high kick.”
Indeed, Superbon’s he♓ad-kick knockouts of and remain two of the most sensational stoppages in ONE Championship history.
Nattawut, though, is a ruthless knockout artist in his own right. After years of ꦉtraining in the U.S., the Thai has become one of Muay Thai’s best punchers, employing steady pressure beꦕfore unleashing savage boxing combinations that few men in the world have been able to withstand.
Everyone knows he does his best work with his hands, says “Smokin'﷽” Jo, but that certainly doesn’t mean he won’t us🏅e every weapon available to him on fight night:
“Not only Superbon, everyone who watches Muay ☂Thai already knows that I🐼’m a boxer who uses my fists more than any other weapon. It’s not a secret at all.
“But in fact, I prepare every weapo﷽n in every fight – kicks, punches, knees, but I just find the opportunity to punch more. But it depends on the fight. On that day, I might kick more than punch. Or, I might use knees more.”
Nattawut Refuses To Look Past Superbon
With his main event clash ag🌸ainst Superbon right around the corner and his World Title bout against Tawanchai PK Saenchai shortly after that, “Smokin'” Jo Nattawut finds himself in a precarious position.
He says that taking on Superbon so close to his World Title shot naturally comes with the risk of injury, but he has supreme confidence in his traini🌸ng and believe꧟s his physical conditioning will ensure he’s able to compete in both fights:
“When we accepted the fight against ꦿSuperbon, we were aware of the risk of injury. It’s definitely possible. In these fights at this level, both opponents are very strong. Anything is possible, but if we train well enough, the chance of getting injured is lower and our bodies can recover faster after the fight.”
If he’s able ౠto pick up victories over both Superbon and Tawanchai, Nattawut will have claimed featherweight Muay Thai gold and positioned himself as a contender for recognition as the best striker of 2024.
While 🌟there’s no doubt that the golden belt and ONE 169 are oᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚn his mind, “Smokin'” Jo is doing his best to stay focused on the tall task ahead of him at ONE Friday Fights 81.
He added:
“We want to focus on this fight and do our best. In terms of training and taking care of ourselves, we have to 💞do our best 🐬first. Get enough rest.
“After this fight, we will talk about the next one. We have to finish this fight first. If we worry about both fights, it will not🎃 be beneficial. We have to take it one𓂃 at a time.”
