Former Shooto Strawweight Champion Hiroba Minowa of Japan has finally responded to calls for a rematch with Filipino fistic phenom Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang, after their October 2020 bout ended in controversy.
Minowa defeated Adiwang via a closely-contested split decision at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III. Adiwang nearly submitted Minowa, with the latter appearing to have “tapped” to an armlock. The official, however, was unable to clearly see the sequence, and Minowa ended up surviving the rest of the way to make it a competitive fight.
Two of three judges saw the bout in Minowa’s favor after the final bell. Minowa wants to put Adiwang and any of the controversy in his rear view mirror, however, many fans clamored for an immediate rematch. Whether or not he has a rematch with the Filipino fighter, Minowa says, is ultimately up to the promotion.
“I’ve been asked these questions a lot since my last fight. I understand everyone was expecting Lito [Adiwang] to win, but that didn’t happen. I’m happy with the result of that fight,” Minowa told ONE Championship in a recent interview.
“As for a rematch, I guess it’s just Lito who’s talking about it. Whether we do have a rematch or not, it’s not my decision. It’s ONE Championship’s decision. If we have to rematch, then I’ll rematch him. But to be honest, I already beat him. I’m not interested in fighting him again in the near future. I’m more interested in competing against the higher-ranked fighters and making it to the top.”
Minowa is back in action at ONE: FISTS OF FURY III, a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore scheduled for air on Friday, March 19. He’ll be taking on former ONE Strawweight World Champion and current #5-ranked strawweight mixed martial arts contender Alex “Little Rock” Silva of Brazil.
Silva is a Copa de Mundo BJJ World Champion, and one of the most dangerous grapplers in ONE Championship. It’s Minowa’s biggest test in the promotion so far, and if he can beat Silva, it will surely boost him up the strawweight ladder.
Minowa is confident he can take care of business against “Little Rock.”
“If it’s a grappling match, Alex Silva may be better than me. But this is mixed martial arts. It’s not only about going to the ground. If I can show all the skills that I have, I’m going to get a good result,” said Minowa.
“It won’t be an easy fight.”
ONE: FISTS OF FURY III is the third and final installment in the “Fists of Fury” event series. The headline bout features a showdown between ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Champion Regian Eersel and hard-hitting #2-ranked contender Mustapha Haida, while ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet “JT” Todd begins her quest for a second belt by taking on the #4-ranked Alma Juniku in Muay Thai in the co-main event.