‘I Was Down Mentally And Physically’ – Tawanchai Eager To Bounce Back From Frustrating 2024
Reigning ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai is determined to prove his doubters wrong in the main event of ONE 170.
This Friday in Asia primetime, the southpaw knockout artist will put his gold on the line against ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon in a rematch of their unforgettable 2023 clash.
Tawanchai has fought just one time since earning a closely contested majority decision win over Superbon in their first Muay Thai World Title contest Last June at ONE 167, the 25-year-old defended his crown against “Smokin” Jo Nattawut.
Even though he walked away with another majority decision win and his 26 pounds of gold, Tawanchai was disappointed with his performance and the reception from fans – many of whom felt that Nattawut deserved the nod.
The titleholder then remained on the sidelines for the rest of the year as he nursed several injuries. Looking back, Tawanchai gave onefc.com a brutally honest assessment of his 2024:
“I can’t say that 2024 was a good year for me. I was down mentally and physically. But now, I’m bouncing back and ready to start this year strong.”
With an impressive 9-1 record in ONE overall, Tawanchai is regarded among the planet’s top pound-for-pound strikers and came into his World Title defense against “Smokin” Jo as a sizable favorite. He admits that poor training, injuries, and underestimating his opponent led to a surprisingly close fight.
When the majority decision in his favor was read, many in the Bangkok crowd let their displeasure be known. In the months that followed, Tawanchai simply wanted to avoid the onslaught of criticism coming his way.
He recalled:
“At that time, I cut myself off from social media. I didn’t want to know anything. I felt disappointed and frustrated. But I’m not the judges. I just did my job. But I don’t understand why everyone booed me so much.”
Now more than six months later and preparing for his monumental rematch against Superbon, the featherweight Muay Thai kingpin has studied his fight with Nattawut and is able to view it as a lesson.
Above all, he said that he gained valuable experience from the situation:
“The last fight made me grow. I learned a lot. I saw what was wrong, a lot of things. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s how it is.’ I learned from my mistakes. It gave me a lot of experience.”
Tawanchai: ‘I Had To Improve And Change Myself’
With his contentious fight against Jo Nattawut safely in the rearview mirror, Tawanchai PK Saenchai has refocused his energy on erasing any doubt that he’s the most talented and dangerous striker in all of Muay Thai.
He used his time following the matchup to regain full health and carefully study his past performances:
“After my last fight, the doctor told me to take two to three months off to recover from my injury. Now, I am 100 percent recovered.
“When I take a break from training, I watch my own videos to find my mistakes so that I can fix them and restore my faith or make those who don’t believe in me to believe and follow me again.”
Tawanchai has certainly heard his critics and is working harder than ever to prove them wrong. For such a dominant fighter, even a victory can motivate him to improve.
He’s now eager to show the fruits of his labor on January 24:
“I trained super hard for this fight. My boss, the PK Saenchai owner, is supervising me every day. I saw the results from the last fight, and it hurt. It made me think that I had to improve and change myself.”
