ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is confident that an impressive win for Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in Manila will give him the golden ticket for a third shot at the ONE Lightweight crown currently owned by Singaporean sensation Christian “The Warrior” Lee.
For Pacio, Folayang’s loss to Aoki will give the Filipino hero the edge he needs when he takes on the battle-tested Alvarez.
“He’s even more motivated now as he lost his belt. He really wants to get his belt. I see that he’s very hungry to get back to title contention,” said Pacio.
“He works on his techniques even if there isn’t a scheduled fight. In terms of conditioning, we know that he never have problems with it,” he added.
“One-hundred percent I know that Eduard will win this August.”
Aside from his hunger, Pacio believes that Folayang is the better-conditioned athlete heading to this contest.
It will only help Folayang given that the match-up is expected to be a grind.
“He’s always ready. He’s like a machine, he doesn’t tire out. He’s not just ready physically, but also mentally,” said Pacio.
“We see his determination. He wants to be at his best all the time, and his mind is untouchable.
“When he found out that it’s gonna be Alvarez, I immediately saw that fire in his eyes,” the young Team Lakay stalwart continued.
With ONE: Dawn of Heroes just less than a month away, there is no doubt in Pacio’s mind as to who’s gonna win.
And that will only set him up for greater heights.
“There are a lot of possibilities when Kuya Eduard wins. He can get a title shot, especially since there isn’t a winner yet in the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix,” Pacio stated.
“This is his motivation, especially since the match will happen in the Philippines. He’ll do whatever it takes to win in front of the Filipinos.”
