A veteran of 148 professional Muay Thai bouts, bantamweight striker Saemapetch Fairtex has accrued plenty of knowledge of the fight game. And he intends to use every bit of it to topple Nico Carrillo in his upcoming ONE Championship match.
Their pivotal tie takes place at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs. Rasulov this Saturday, 6th July, at Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, and a win for the #4-ranked divisional contender could see him leapfrog his top-ranked foe in the run for a shot at ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title.
Assessing Carrillo ahead of this weekend, Saemapetch says he is impressed with the Scot’s handiwork across his perfect 3-0 promotional run and admits he has struggled to find a hole in his game.
However, the Thai powerhouse is buoyed by the fact that he’ll be competing in his backyard, and he plans to make his countrymen proud whatever the result.
“Nico has almost everything. He is a foreign fighter with good Muay Thai skills. I still can’t find his weakness, but maybe he’ll reveal it in the ring. When I see his style up close, I will find the best way to approach him,” Saemapetch said.
“I’m so pumped for this fight to be able to represent the Thai people in the ring at ONE Fight Night 23. No matter what happens, I will do my best to make Thai fans proud of me.”
Despite being only 29 years old, Saemapetch has been around the block. He has 100 more fights than Carrillo and has weathered ups and downs throughout his ONE Championship tenure, including the three-fight win streak he amassed on his debut in 2018 that led to a failed challenge of the bantamweight Muay Thai crown the following year.
The Fairtex Gym standout enjoyed success in his latest promotional appearance at ONE Fight Night 19 this past February. He avenged a controversial loss to Mohamed Younes Rabah two months earlier by storming through the Algerian in less than a round to remind the world how dangerous he can be.
Saemapetch knows he’ll be facing a significant threat from Carrillo, though, and he’s hoping his fight IQ will allow him to stay measured and pick the right shots.
“My experience as a veteran Thai boxer will help a lot in this fight, like how to defend or counter,” Saemapetch said.
“But even though he doesn’t have as many fights as me, in the ring, with 4-ounce small gloves, the first who makes a mistake can be knocked down. It’s up to me to neutralize his game.”
