Bosnian-Canadian brawler Denis Puric has envisioned holding the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title for some time. In order to keep that dream alive, he believes he’ll have to impress against Elias Mahmoudi next week.
The #3-ranked contender is set to collide with #5-ranked Mahmoudi at ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov, on Saturday, 7th December, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium, and the winner may just get a shot at the vacant divisional throne.
Puric admires Mahmoudi’s fighting style, and he’s confident a statement-making knockout against the Algerian will do a lot for his quest to become king.
“I think he’s a great fighter. Very aggressive, long. He’s got a lot of tools, and he uses them very well. I think he’s one of the most dangerous guys in the division. So, I’ll beat this guy, and the belt’s mine,” he said.
“I’ve got to stop him. I’m here to take that belt. This guy is in my way. I gotta f*****g put him out, man.”
This past September at ONE 169, former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon was forced to relinquish the belt after missing weight ahead of his sixth defence.
Given his divisional standing, Puric is pretty confident that he should be in the running to contest the gold. But a win over Mahmoudi is needed to cement his chances.
Mahmoudi will be no slouch to overcome, especially given he has scored back-to-back knockouts in his last two outings. But Puric remains unfazed, as he believes he has everything needed to win.
“He’s on a streak. That’s okay. I feel like I’m on a streak, too,” Puric said.
“It just depends who can last longer and take the beatings, ’cause it’s going to be a lot of beatings. It’s going to be a lot of back and forth for sure, ’cause he’s good, man. But I can put him down.”
