Lil’ bro reminds fans that Jonathan Haggerty’s “got that dog in him”

Freddie Haggerty exudes confidence that older brother Jonathan Haggerty will emerge triumphant in his next assignment. 

Jonathan stakes his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship against flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the main event of ONE 168: Denver. This takes place at the Ball Arena on September 6.

This upcoming clash serves as a rematch of their 2018 encounter. There, Superlek clinched a TKO victory over a then-21-year-old Jonathan by way of a doctor’s stoppage.

At that time, Jonathan had a handful of professional fights. Meanwhile. Superlek was already an established multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion.

However, the gap in experience was evident in their initial clash. Now, Freddie sees this as the perfect opportunity for his sibling to come full circle and exact his payback.

“Personally, I think the first fight was stopped in the most pathetic way. It was the tiniest cut on Jon. You could’ve put a plaster over it, it was so little,” he said.

“But for him to work back to this point, to grow so much, and to have the chance to even the scores, it couldn’t be bigger.”

Reflecting on the past, Freddie acknowledges the steep learning curve Jonathan faced in the first meeting with the Thai megastar. However, he is quick to point out how much his brother has changed since then.

“He was a kid in the first fight. But he’s a man now. He’s bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter than the version of him in 2018,” Freddie said.

“He’s been in the deep waters with these Thai guys. Even against Felipe Lobo, he’s been in the deep waters, and he knows he’s got that dog in him. He knows he can dig deep, and if he has to have a dogfight, he knows he can do that.”