‘Not Sure She Has The Gas For Five Rounds’ – Phetjeeja Doubts Kana’s Cardio Ahead Of World Title Fight At ONE 172
“The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom is all business ahead of her high-stakes showdown against Japanese slugger Kana “Krusher Queen” Morimoto at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.
On Sunday, March 23, the Thai phenom will venture into enemy territory at Saitama Super Arena and put her ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Title on the line against an elite challenger.
Phetjeeja has looked practically untouchable through six thrilling performances in ONE, now owning a remarkable 208-6 career record and cementing herself as one of the striking world’s most terrifying titleholders.
She hasn’t competed since her March 2024 World Title unification victory over decorated American veteran Janet Todd and is hungrier than ever to throw down under ONE’s bright lights.
With her return to action rapidly approaching, the 23-year-old told onefc.com that she’s tuning out any and all unnecessary noise:
“Right now, I don’t care about anything except focusing on doing my best in the fight.”
“The Queen” is wise to take Kana seriously.
A former four-time K-1 Champion, “Krusher Queen” is a devastatingly powerful puncher who is equally dangerous from both stances.
With that in mind, Phetjeeja has done her homework on the Japanese superstar:
“Kana’s strengths – she has good punches, her hooks are very powerful, and when she fights in close, she has good body shots. And she can fight with both southpaw or orthodox style. Her switching between stances makes it hard for me to predict her movement.
“By the way, I’m good at punching people, too.”
Although the titleholder respects her foe’s venomous boxing attack and undeniable power, she’s also identified some key weaknesses that she intends to exploit.
Notably, Phetjeeja questioned Kana’s ability to fight at a fast pace for full five rounds – something she herself has done in each of her last two bouts:
“[Kana’s] weakness that I can see is a brief moment where she changes her stance. She might leave a window open.
“And another thing is, I’m not sure she has the gas for five rounds. Because last year when I watched her fight, she seemed to run out of gas at the end of the second round.”
Phetjeeja Feels Prepared To Compete In Enemy Territory
To make matters even more challenging for Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom, she’ll be defending her gold on Kana Morimoto’s home turf in front of a partisan Japanese crowd.
While some fighters might claim the crowd plays no role in a fight, “The Queen” admitted that Kana will have a leg up in that regard:
“Kana’s advantage could be that this event is held in her home. She should be familiar with the atmosphere and the energy from the fans. Her cheers that day should be deafening.”
Still, Phetjeeja isn’t overly concerned about a potential hometown advantage for her opponent.
A veteran of more than 200 professional fights, she’s no stranger to competing outside of Thailand – and said that doing so even pushes her to fight more aggressively.
The reigning World Champion added:
“It’s not new for me to compete overseas. I’ve competed in Muay Thai and shoot boxing in Japan twice, and once in Muay Thai in China. But for boxing, I’ve competed overseas in more than 10 countries. Competing overseas is a good experience for me because I have to win by knockout or decisively – otherwise, I’ll lose.”
