Arjan “Singh” Bhullar looks to prove he is a true ONE Heavyweight World Champion in his first gold defense on Saturday June 23 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Canadian-Indian superstar took on ONE Interim World Heavyweight Champion Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin in a title unification match at ONE Friday Fights 22, Asian primetime live from the stadium boxing of Lumpinee.
While the undefeated Russian fighter won the interim title and added the ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship to his resume, Bhullar doesn’t think of ‘Sladkiy’ as the leader of both divisions.
he said:
“First of all, he’s not a two-division world champion. If I win, and it will be, ‘And even…’ And if he won, it would be, ‘And the new…’ There can only be one world heavyweight champion.
“But he is the light heavyweight champion of the world. I’m the world champion in the heavyweight division, and we’re going to fight, and that’s it.
While Bhullar was out of the arena for a while due to injury, Malykhin enjoyed a three-game winning streak. He picked up three knockout victories over former two-division leaders Reinier de Ridder, Kirill Grishenko and Amir Aliakbari.
However, despite his rival’s run to the top, ‘Singh’ sees that there are still many questions about the Russian’s game, and all previous opponents have been unable to put him to the test.
Convinced that he would be the man to expose Malykhin’s weaknesses, Bhullar said:
“There are a lot of unanswered questions. I would ask him the question, and I don’t think he has the answer.”
“He was never hit. He had never been hit. He was never hit by a knee. He was never pulled down. He was never pushed. was never made uncomfortable.
“He was never meant to fight in someone else’s game. He had never had to fight from a defensive position before. He’s never had to go this far in a fight where he throws everything at the guy, and the guy is still there.
“That’s a lot of questions. And the characters? I didn’t think it would last.”
Arjan Bhullar can’t wait to show off his skills at Primetime Asia
The battle between Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin has been on the cards for quite a while.
The Canadian-Indian man was forced to pull out of his first scheduled fight due to injury, prompting ‘Sladkiy’ to comment on social media and various interviews.
Next, the two were scheduled to face off at ONE Fight Night 8 last March, but due to a broadcast rights dispute, the fight had to be postponed once again.
Now that the two can finally meet, “Singh” prefers not to comment because he wants to do it where it matters most – inside the ONE ring.
he said:
“Let him bark. We’ll see how it bites. It’s easy to bark and easy to bite when no one answers.”
“I’m unlike anything he’s ever faced. I’m going to run over him. I really believe in it. I don’t see it changing any other way.”
With how long it will take to build up to this ONE Heavyweight world title unification bout, fans will be eager to see who finally sits on the throne when the two meet on prime time in Asia from the iconic boxing stadium in Lumpinee.
In fact, Bhullar saw it as the perfect step for him to show the world that he was still the best fighter, while giving an empathetic end to their heated rivalry.
Singh said:
“I’m thrilled that fans can watch it in prime time. I’m a prime time fighter.
“[Di] prime time, all eyes on us. That’s what I want, and I want to get rid of this man in front of as many eyes as possible. [yang menonton].”
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