Taking on a prodigious talent like Tawanchai PK Saenchai is a daunting task even for the best strikers in the world, but Davit Kiria wouldn’t have it any other way.
While the Georgian fighter knows all eyes will be on the 24-year-old superstar in their upcoming featherweight kickboxing clash at ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs Grigorian on Prime Video, he will be entering this showdown with nothing to lose.
Speaking ahead of their all-striking war at Tawanchai’s old stomping grounds at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on August 4, Kiria told ONE Championship his bulletproof mindset:
“I said, ‘Okay, I just want to fight.’ And when I got the offer to fight Tawanchai with kickboxing rules I thought, ‘Okay, it’s everything or nothing.’”
Kiria, a grizzled veteran with 40 career wins, is used to taking on sensational talents under the ONE banner, including all-time greats Giorgio Petrosyan and Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, among others.
While the Team Kiria standout fell short on both occasions, he knows a huge victory over the reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion will elevate his stock in the talent-laden division.
The 34-year-old will be banking on his experience under kickboxing rules, where Tawanchai will be making his promotional debut after wreaking havoc in four-ounce gloves.
Although considered the underdog against the mighty Tawanchai, Kiria believes his boxing-heavy style should be the kryptonite to the Thai’s fearsome kicking arsenal.
Tawanchai, on the other hand, wants to use Kiria as his springboard to enter the featherweight kickboxing’s top 5 on his quest for two-sport supremacy.
The dangerous Kiria, though, will fight with his back against the wall and lay it all on the line this coming Friday.
ONE Fight Night 13 will air live on US Primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.