Takeru Conquers Rodtang In Instant Classic To Claim Interim Flyweight Kickboxing World Title At ONE SAMURAI 1
In the final fight of his storied career, Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa rode off into the sunset as a ONE World Champion, stopping Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon via TKO at the 2:22 mark of round five to claim the ONE Interim Flyweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE SAMURAI 1, which emanated live from Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on Wednesday, April 29.
The rematch was over a year in the making. In their first meeting at ONE 172 in March 2025, the Thai had knocked out the hometown hero in just 80 seconds with a left hook. That result haunted the Japanese superstar, who confessed he wasn’t at his best that night.
However, Takeru made up for it by orchestrating arguably the greatest performance of his career.
Once again, Rodtang came out with one target in the opening round – the chin of Takeru – and he took aim with the same left hook that had finished the Japanese superstar in their first meeting. But this time, the 34-year-old from Team Vasileus was prepared. He blocked, absorbed, and countered with kicks, growing in confidence with each exchange.
Chaos ensued in the second frame. Two left hooks on two separate occasions dropped Rodtang, and twice the seemingly invincible Thai answered the eight-count, visibly shaken but refusing to yield.
Rodtang cleared his head in the third stanza and found his footing, stabbing his front push kick into Takeru’s stomach and opening up with punches. The Japanese icon took it all in stride – smiling, calling his rival on, and daring him to throw more.
The fourth was an absolute war.
Both men unleashed shots in a wild exchange late in the round, with Rodtang storming back and tagging Takeru at will. But in the waning moments of the stanza, the “Natural Born Krusher” snapped the Thai megastar’s head back with a sharp blow that sent a message of his own.
The end came in the fifth. A right hand buckled Rodtang’s legs, a left hook followed, and another right hand sent him down for an eight-count. “The Iron Man” rose to his feet, but a final right hand hurt him badly, and only the ropes kept him upright.
Takeru kept punching until the ropes no longer did their job, and the referee waved the World Title contest off.
With the win, Takeru put an end to a storied career, but he left the door open for the next generation of martial arts heroes from Japan.
The icon finished his professional career with a 46-5 record, a performance bonus of 15 million Japanese yen (roughly US$100,000), and the ONE Interim Flyweight Kickboxing World Title around his waist.
