Thai striker Shadow Singha Mawynn will make his ONE Championship kickboxing debut when he faces Chinese contender Liu Mengyang in a featherweight kickboxing bout at ONE Friday Fights 126 on 26 September.
The 25-year-old #3-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender stepped in as a replacement for injured ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai on a short notice.
Fresh off earning a US$50,000 performance bonus for his spinning backfist knockout of Bampara Kouyate at ONE Fight Night 35, Shadow had barely begun recovering when opportunity knocked.
“After the fight [against Kouyate], I never thought the next one would be so soon. I rested for two days before I found out I was replacing Tawanchai. I immediately took a bus back to the gym to start training,” Shadow revealed.
The Team Singha Mawynn representative sees the potential financial rewards as motivation to accept such a challenging assignment on short notice.
“There’s a chance I could get another bonus. You have to strike while the iron’s hot,” he explained.
This marks Shadow’s first venture into kickboxing under the ONE banner, representing completely new territory for the Thai veteran who has built his reputation in Muay Thai.
“I’ve never thought about trying kickboxing before. I hadn’t studied the rules, but I’ve watched it before, and I was with Superbon. Since I have this opportunity, I have to try. It’s a new challenge for me,” Shadow said.
His opponent presents a formidable test for a kickboxing debut. The 22-year-old Liu Mengyang made an impressive ONE Championship entrance by defeating Masaaki Noiri.
Shadow acknowledges the challenge of facing someone who defeated a current interim champion.
“Facing Liu Mengyang, who beat Noiri, who is now the interim champion and is close to being a world champion, is a very difficult task for me,” he said.
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