SUMMARY
- Masaaki Noiri is set to make his ONE Championship debut at ONE 167.
- Ahead of the bout, Noiri opens up on how kickboxing helped him in personal life.
Japanese kickboxing superstar Masaaki Noiri has never taken the easy road through life. From day one, it was clear he was going to have the odds stacked against him. But he never let the hard times wear him down.
The Japanese jabber knew combat sports was the best route to follow, and all these years later, the former two-division K-1 Champion makes his promotional debut at ONE 167 on Prime Video on Friday, June 7, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Impact Arena against veteran striker Sittichai Sitsongpeenong.
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In a tale as old as time, Noiri was the victim of bullying. But instead of not standing up for himself, he found karate – his foundation that provided him with the skill and fortitude to stand up for himself.
“I used to be bullied when I was little. In the second grade of elementary school, I was the second shortest in my class height-wise,” he said.
“I started karate in December of second grade. When I was being bullied, it was my middle brother’s friend who came to stop it. That friend did karate, so that’s how I got into it.”
The kids would often take Noiri into the hallways and beat him down. Karate quickly changed that. The martial art opened the door to kickboxing, which forever changed his life.
Kickboxing gave Masaaki Noiri the courage to overcome bullying
For former K-1 World Champion Masaaki Noiri, kickboxing was his saving grace. The elite striker is now one of the best hitters on the planet, but he insists he wasn’t given any natural talent.
But through hard work, tough lessons, and consistently showing up, Noiri’s developments began to take shape. He became more confident, more able, and he wants kids around the world to know his story and find their strength to bring bullying to an end.
“Kickboxing was an extension of karate for me. I went full kickboxing in the second grade of middle school, then I started doing amateur kickboxing competitions,” Noiri said.
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“I don’t think I had any natural talent at all. In my early matches, I lost against a girl and cried after losing, but there was a senior I looked up to at the same dojo, and I stuck with it for a long time because I admired him.
“When I was bullied, I didn’t feel like I could talk to anyone about it out of embarrassment, so I kept it to myself. I think there are kids all over the world in that same situation. I want to fight in a way that gives them courage when they watch me.”
Noiri’s ONE Championship tenure begins at ONE 167 on Prime Video on Friday, June 7, where he meets Thai legend Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Impact Arena on one of the biggest cards of the summer.