Reigning ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio is not bothered, but rather excited as more fighters are rising to challenge him for the title.
The proud Filipino titleholder again said he is determined to face nothing but the best to prove himself worthy of keeping his seat at the throne.
“The strawweight division is getting more and more stacked and this excites me because this pushes me to become better and better every day. This motivates me to level up every single day,” Pacio said.
He said he understands the level of threat those chomping on his tail present for him and it is for that reason that he is not taking any opponent lightly.
“For me, all of them pose a big challenge, and it’s for that reason that we review them one by one because they have their unique strengths and weaknesses. They are also all hungry to be on top, so we do not just focus on one athlete but rather, we focus on the athletes that are in the rankings,” he said.
Pacio has primed himself for potential bouts against those in the top five, especially top-ranked Bokang Masunyane; third-ranked Jarred Brooks, who defeated Lito Adiwang; and fourth-ranked Hiroba Minowa.
Brooks and Minowa are set to clash at ONE: Only the Brave on Jan. 28 in what could be a possible title eliminator.
But it is not just those who are in the top five that Pacio is keeping tabs on. The Cordilleran fighter is also glad to see other Filipino strawweights in Jeremy Miado and Robin Catalan get back into action and stake their claims to be considered as legitimate contenders. – Harley F. Palangchao
April 18, 2024
