Belarusian superstar Chingiz Allazov says he is ready to step back inside the ONE circle, and take the Featherweight Kickboxing World Title in the process.
Allazov has not been in action since last March when he defeated Sitthichai via unanimous decision, extending his unbeaten run in ONE to three fights.
It was a clash that earned him a shot at the title, something he has waited patiently for, and will now get the chance to claim gold when he takes on Superbon at the Impact Arena in Bangkok this weekend.
It is a fight he has made many sacrifices for, but is ready to reap the rewards.
“It’s been a long time since I talked with my family. It’s okay. Inshallah, I wait. Fight and then after I go to my family in my country, my mom, my family. It’s good.
“But I said before I close all my plans in my life, I have my family, I have my team. I focus on my training.I stopped all my business, I stopped everything. I sold many, many projects and now, two years ago, I started only focusing on my career. Now I am more focused on this fight, this is one of the best fighters in the world. People waited for this and I waited for this, my team waited for this, my coach waited for this. I like this day. Mentally, I’m ready for this fight.”
Allazov is respectful of Superbon, but doesn’t see him as having the weapons needed this weekend – while any thought of him being an underdog is quickly quashed.
“Again, maybe Superbon says this, I’m one of the biggest problems for him,” explained the 29-year-old. “He knows this. I spoke to him. I am powerful to him. He has good timing, he has a good universal style. I have kicks, and power over him. He’s a very good fighter but maybe he makes a little mistake here and it’s a big problem in his fight with me. Now I changed a lot.”
And Allazov feels his last opponent, Sitthichai, may in fact be a tougher challenge than the champion – understandable considering he had to overcome a small leg fracture in that fight.
“For me, I say before Sitthichai may be better than Superbon,” he said. “I punched him, threw punches at him many times and he won’t come down. But he really goes forward all the time. He likes to fight with me. He moves in the first and second rounds and after the coach said, go, don’t stop, KO only KO. You’ll win this fight. Then he goes forward I see that he’s very powerful. But maybe if Superbon will go forward he will have problems.”
Some experts have Allazov as the favourite for the fight and are already talking about a potential path to a second title after the weekend. For the Belarus fighter, however, all focus remains on this weekend and Superbon.
“Before the fight now we have a fight, a real fight, and my concentration only stays on this fight. Many people say that this might be good if I go to the 77-kilo division and win over this guy. After winning this fight, Inshallah, I talked about this. Inshallah. I win this fight, this is the best fight in welterweight kickboxing.”
ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon v Allazov takes place Saturday January 14 4am GST at the Impact Arena, Bangkok. This is a night not to be missed so mark your calendars, download the ONE Super App, and go to watch.onefc.com now!
