After winning back the ONE Strawweight World Title at ONE: Roots of Honor last April, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is giving himself little time to celebrate.
Pacio beat Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta at the Mall Of Asia Arena last month to reclaim the gold. He now knows that he is once again the target of ONE Championship’s stacked strawweight division.
He also knows it is not going to get any easier from here.
Streaking Filipino contender Rene “The Challenger” Catalan, Chinese powerhouse Miao Li Tao, and Japanese stars Hayato Suzuki and Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito are all expected to make a run at the World Title.
While the 23-year-old Baguio City native knows nothing will be easy, he is definitely up to the challenge.
“After my win last April, I know that I have to improve. Being a champion, I understand that there are a lot of top contenders who want to be a champion,” he said.
“These challenges give me more reasons to be motivated. I have to be a better Joshua Pacio in my next fight.”
The young Filipino’s improvements were evident when he reclaimed his World Title from Saruta in front of his countrymen at the jam-packed Mall Of Asia Arena.
Showing controlled aggression, Pacio picked his spots and eventually connected with a huge knee to the head to get the highlight-reel victory.
For “The Passion”, that career-defining win is an example of what good preparation can do. Moreover, he is already looking forward to his next challenge.
“Those losses in the past and the experience that I gained, from the amateurs to the pros, is a big part of my victories now,” Pacio explained.
“I believe that all the losses that I experienced here in ONE will only prepare me for the future as I look for a long reign as World Champion.
“I need to stay hungry and motivated. This is my passion. That’s why win or lose, I want to be better than what I was,” the Team Lakay young buck continued.
Although he has redeemed himself in the eyes of his countrymen, Pacio knows his journey will only be harder moving forward.
He vows to be ready for all his future challenges – whoever he may face.
“As a champion, I need to raise my level. I need to work on everything – not just my weaknesses, but also my strengths,” he said.
“I need to be more well-rounded and add more things to my arsenal — from striking to wrestling and grappling, just to make sure that I’m equipped to hold this belt for a long time.”
