Former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon expects a decisive outcome when two of the most dangerous strikers in the bantamweight division collide at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen.
This Friday, #2-ranked “Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il takes on the #4-ranked Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade in the event’s co-main event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and the Filipino dynamo doesn’t expect this match to last long.
“I think it’s going to be Andrade taking a first-round knockout win,” Belingon said.
“That’s how I see this fight happening. Based on Andrade’s skills, I think he’s deadlier than Kwon Won Il on the feet. I think he’s a much more complete fighter, and he’s also stronger.”
One look at the resume of “Wonder Boy” and it’s not hard to see why Belingon feels this way.
The Brazilian has been on a roll in ONE, scoring big wins over the likes of Mark Abelardo, Shoko Sato, Li Kai Wen, and Jeremy Pacatiw.
Three of which came from devastating finishes, including one well placed knee to Pacatiw’s sternum in Andrade’s last outting.
While Belingon isn’t looking past Kwon’s skills, especially since he has lost to him in the past, he just doesn’t see the South Korean beating Andrade.
“I think Andrade is just levels higher than Kwon Won Il, but that’s just my opinion based on Andrade’s previous fights,” Belingon said.
“His striking is really polished. Not to take anything away from Kwon Won Il, but Andrade’s more powerful and much more refined.”
While both of them possess heavy hands and impeccable striking, Belingon believes Andrade’s timing and patience will eventually be too much for Kwon too overcome.
“It will end via knockout. His timing is incredible,” Belingon continued.
“We’ve seen his previous fights. He really knows how to time his strikes. He doesn’t rush in and wait. He also has a ground game if it goes there and, in my opinion, he can also submit Kwon Won Il.”
Watch ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen beginning with the lead card on One Sports or One Sports+ at 5:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PHT) on Friday, June 3. The main card will broadcast live on One Sports and One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. PHT.
The full event stream will also be available on watch.onefc.com and the ONE Super App