The right
support is often crucial to success, and “The Kicking
Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9 has gone through every step of his
incredible martial arts journey alongside his uncle, Pun Iamsiri.
However, the
Thai superstar’s main event showdown with Takeru Segawa at ONE 165 this
Sunday will be the first he competes without Pun either watching in person or
cheering him on from afar.
During
preparations for his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title defense at the Ariake
Arena in Tokyo, Superlek got the shocking news that his uncle had
died
Remembering
one of his biggest supporters, “The Kicking Machine” said:
“My uncle
was a person who enjoyed combat sports. He watched almost every one of my
fights. He always came to cheer me on when I fought at the old Lumpinee Stadium
or Rajadamnern Stadium. He also liked to watch my teammates fight.
“I always
felt good when my uncle cheered me on. It was nice to have family members come
to watch and enjoy the fight.”
It was a
massive blow for Superlek to receive the news ahead of his colossal battle with
Japanese icon Takeru, but there was no doubt his uncle would have wanted the
show to go on.
So, instead
of shutting down, the 28-year-old continued his training with a heavy heart:
“I was in
fight camp when he died. That day, my mother called me. This is quite unusual
because my mother rarely calls me, but I missed it because I was teaching.
“Then my
brother sent me a message asking if I would come home. I asked him, ‘Why do I
have to come?’ And he said, ‘Don’t you know that our uncle just passed away?’ I
was in shock for a while. Then I learned that he had died of an
illness.
“But my
family told me to keep training. Just come to the funeral. I returned home to
attend the funeral in the morning and came back to the gym in the
evening.”
Superlek: ‘I
Fight For My Family’
After making
a living as a fighter for many years, Superlek Kiatmoo9 has learned how to
treat combat as a job and separate it from his personal life.
For that
reason, he was able to keep himself together to complete his training camp for
ONE 165 – even in the face of a devastating loss.
Something
else that kept him going was a belief that his late uncle, Pun Iamsiri, will be
looking down and cheering as he aims for a monumental victory over Takeru
Segawa on January 28:
“My uncle’s
death didn’t affect my preparation because I am a person who can separate
personal matters from training.
“I believe
my uncle will be watching my fight from above. He will wait to see my success
up there.”
Given the
scale of this match, Superlek didn’t need any more inspiration to succeed, but
his desire to put on a memorable performance in his uncle’s memory will add
some extra fuel to the fire.
When he
steps out to face Takeru in front of the Japanese striker’s home fans, the
Kiatmoo9 Gym representative wants to make a powerful statement and retain his
belt in emphatic fashion.
He added:
“[As well as
my uncle], I will fight for everyone. I fight for my family and all Thai
people. I want to keep this belt in Thailand.
“I have a
lot of motivation for this fight. I get to defend my belt in Japan against the
top-ranked fighter there. I want to show all the Japanese people that I can
defeat their hero.
“I badly
want to knock him out as quickly as possible, even though I know this will not
be an easy task.”
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