ONE Championship: Chatri wants Tawanchai vs Jonathan Haggerty ‘mega fight’ at Wembley – ‘it needs to happen’
- ONE chairman and CEO, who ‘dreams’ of selling out Wembley Stadium, says a clash between the two Muay Thai kings ‘needs to happen’
- Featherweight champ Tawanchai tells bantamweight counterpart Haggerty ‘someday, there must be that day’ after face-off in Bangkok
ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong is eyeing an audacious Wembley “mega fight” between Tawanchai PK Saenchai and Jonathan Haggerty.
The two Muay Thai champs came face to face at ONE IGNITE, a business-to-business event hosted by the martial arts promotion in Bangkok on Wednesday afternoon.
The feeling appears to be mutual. “Hope one day we will [fight],” Tawanchai said in a Facebook post on Thursday, along with a picture of the two facing off on stage at the W Bangkok Hotel.
“Was good to meet you today,” Haggerty responded on Instagram, posting the same picture.
“Someday, there must be that day,” Tawanchai replied in the comments, to which Haggerty responded with a handshake emoji, suggesting they agreed they must fight.
ONE: Haggerty tells Rodtang, Superlek, Tawanchai ‘I’ll take your heads off’
CEO and chairman Chatri certainly believes they should, with the promotion’s social media channels teasing a 2024 showdown.
“Tawanchai vs Jonathan Haggerty is a mega fight that needs to happen,” he told the Post via text message on Thursday.
“We could do that one at Wembley,” Chatri added. “I think ONE can easily sell out Wembley Arena. I dream about selling out Wembley Stadium one day though.”
Filling the iconic 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium would certainly be a tall order for any promotion.
But the 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena would be more than doable for ONE, especially for an on-ground United Kingdom debut with “The General” Haggerty headlining.
“That’s the goal – since I stepped into ONE Championship, my aim was to bring it to the UK, and I feel like we’re getting there now,” Haggerty said in a post-fight media scrum after his win last weekend.
“I’ve got both the belts, so we’re one step closer.”
It could be a while before fans see the potential clash, however, as both men have their hands full in their respective divisions, for now.
Tawanchai is set to defend his title against former featherweight kickboxing champion Superbon Singha Mawynn on December 22 in Bangkok.
Haggerty, on the other hand, now has not one but two targets on his back after beating Fabricio Andrade last weekend at Lumpinee Stadium.
The 26-year-old has also expressed an interest in making an audacious bid to win the Brazilian’s MMA belt, and become a three-sport champion in ONE.
Chatri had previously suggested Haggerty could face the legendary “Hitman” Liam Harrison in an all-British clash at Wembley, the national stadium of the England football team.
Haggerty appeared open to that idea still, too, with the 38-year-old – who is ranked No 4 in the bantamweight Muay Thai division – set to return from injury in January.
“I feel like he’s got to have a few fights first, see how it goes,” the champ said. “I would love to fight him and I would love to put him away as well.”
