Riding the momentum of three straight victories that all came by knockout, Kwon Won Il feels he can take on newly crowned World Champion John Lineker.
The South Korean’s biggest win came late last year, when he stopped former ONE bantamweight titleholder Kevin Belingon in the second round, as he pummeled the Team Lakay star with ferocious body shots.
This time, the #2-ranked contender is challenging the division’s top dog, saying he is done being overlooked and wants to prove that against the Brazilian powerhouse.
“Hey [John Lineker], it’s been four years since I entered ONE Championship,” the 26-year-old wrote in a lengthy Instagram post.
“Everybody said that I won’t survive here, and I was an underdog in all my fights, and I’m the number-two-ranked bantamweight now.”
He also took shots at #3-ranked contender Stephen Loman and #4-ranked Fabricio Andrade, who is also vying for a shot at Lineker.
Loman and Andrade, who have yet to taste defeat inside the ONE Circle, are coming off big wins – the former outpointed Shoko Sato and the latter stopped Team Lakay’s Jeremy Pacatiw.
In Kwon’s eyes, neither of those results impressed him.
“Loman had such a boring fight against Shoko Sato, and Fabricio Andrade needs more [wins in his] record. Both of them are [also] ranked lower than me,” he said.
While Lineker has instilled fear in the division with his hard-hitting ways, “Pretty Boy” said he has no problem duking it out on the feet with the man known as “Hands of Stone.”
“I know you’re a great fighter and I respect you a lot, but I always overcame all the obstacles that seemed impossible to others. I learned that martial arts is all about challenging someone who’s considered better than me and winning it,” the South Korean added.
“I know our fight will be full of fireworks, and everybody will be excited about it. A lot of fighters are afraid of you, but I’m not. And I know I can beat you.”
Besides the belt being at stake, Kwon believes a clash with the bantamweight king would settle another debate.
“[ONE] please give me the opportunity to make a Fight-of-the-Year-worthy fight with John Lineker. Let’s see who the best puncher [and] KO artist is in the bantamweight division,” he said.