Lito Adiwang is looking back before he can fully move forward.
After his dominant win last Friday during ONE: Unbreakable – a second round knockout of DEEP Strawweight Champion Namiki Kawahara – the Team Lakay standout hopes that it was enough to earn him a shot at redemption.
What is it? It’s a rematch against Hiroshi Minowa – the man who defeated him via a split decision back in ONE: Inside The Matrix.
But he is not begging for it, leaving it all up to the bosses of ONE Championship.
“For me, it’s up to ONE if they want a rematch between me and Minowa. We got a lot of good talents in my division,” said Adiwang, who raised his pro record to 12-3.
“If Minowa doesn’t want to dance again with me, I’m ready to accept any higher caliber and better challenges.”
Against Minowa, Adiwang alleged that Minowa had tapped to his kimura during the early-goings of the opening round of their bout. The referee did not see it, though, leading to the bout going the full 15 minutes. To make matters worse, the young upstart from the Philippines could not get the judges’ nod.
In his first fight since then, Adiwang made sure to not leave things to the hands of the judges.
Just two minutes into the second stanza, Adiwang blasted his Japanese foe with a quick yet thunderous left hook that knocked his opponent out. For good measure, Adiwang was able to land a couple more shots that resulted in the stoppage.
With the contrasting experiences he had in his last two bouts, Adiwang learned one thing – patience.
“In the future fights, I plan to continue that – be relaxed but remain explosive and dangerous. Don’t rush in everything. I try to improve every time I enter the cage,” he said.
“I’m not here to pick any opponents. I’m just here to prove myself, train every day, and show my improvements.”
