Superlek has sent a message to his critics after withdrawing from his ONE Championship title fight against Nico Carrillo.
“The Kicking Machine” was set to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai belt against the Scottising “King of the North” on January 24 at Bangkok’s Impact Arena.
But a knee injury sidelined the champion last week, with ONE quickly pivoting and booking an interim title fight between Carrillo and No 5-ranked Nabil Anane.
Superlek will now face the winner in a title unification match at ONE 172 in Japan on March 23, but felt the need to address criticism over his injury withdrawal.
“Nobody doesn't want to fight,” the 28-year-old Thai said in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon, alongside a picture performing his trademark “shush” pose, with a finger raised to his pursed lips.
“Nobody pretends to be hurt even though they get a lot of money for each fight.
“But when getting hurt is very dangerous to us, we choose to heal ourselves first and fight again. That's all.”
Superlek – who also holds ONE’s flyweight kickboxing title – added that the most “disappointing” thing about the situation is “that I got hurt and didn't fight”.
The fight’s cancellation had frustrated many fans in Thailand and abroad – as well as Carrillo, 26, whose coach JP Gallacher first revealed news of Superlek’s withdrawal on Sunday morning before deleting his social media post.
“This is a difficult enough time for us as it is, namely Nico,” Gallacher had written. “So please DO NOT message him as you won’t get a response.
“We understand lots of you have paid money for flights and tickets, but right now it really isn’t what he needs to hear as he is still trying to digest this situation.”
Carrillo – who had just commenced a five-week fight camp in Thailand – appeared to be in a better mood by Tuesday night, however.
“The graft continues – 25 days, ‘and new’ [champion], and then undisputed,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The Kicking Machine” was set to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai belt against the Scottising “King of the North” on January 24 at Bangkok’s Impact Arena.
But a knee injury sidelined the champion last week, with ONE quickly pivoting and booking an interim title fight between Carrillo and No 5-ranked Nabil Anane.
Superlek will now face the winner in a title unification match at ONE 172 in Japan on March 23, but felt the need to address criticism over his injury withdrawal.
“Nobody doesn't want to fight,” the 28-year-old Thai said in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon, alongside a picture performing his trademark “shush” pose, with a finger raised to his pursed lips.
“Nobody pretends to be hurt even though they get a lot of money for each fight.
“But when getting hurt is very dangerous to us, we choose to heal ourselves first and fight again. That's all.”
Superlek – who also holds ONE’s flyweight kickboxing title – added that the most “disappointing” thing about the situation is “that I got hurt and didn't fight”.
The fight’s cancellation had frustrated many fans in Thailand and abroad – as well as Carrillo, 26, whose coach JP Gallacher first revealed news of Superlek’s withdrawal on Sunday morning before deleting his social media post.
“This is a difficult enough time for us as it is, namely Nico,” Gallacher had written. “So please DO NOT message him as you won’t get a response.
“We understand lots of you have paid money for flights and tickets, but right now it really isn’t what he needs to hear as he is still trying to digest this situation.”
Carrillo – who had just commenced a five-week fight camp in Thailand – appeared to be in a better mood by Tuesday night, however.
“The graft continues – 25 days, ‘and new’ [champion], and then undisputed,” he wrote on Instagram.
