Japanese icon faces Canadian-Bosnian in must-win bout on stacked Ariake Arena card
PUBLISHED : 15 Aug 2025 at 14:38
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Takeru Segawa (left) will face Denis Puric at ONE 173 on November 16 in Tokyo
Takeru Segawa will return to ONE Championship action against Denis Puric in Tokyo on November 16 in what could be a make-or-break moment for the Japanese icon’s career.
The Bangkok Post understands the fight was agreed for the stacked ONE 173 card earlier this month, with Takeru shelving retirement plans following a shock-first round KO loss to Rodtang Jitmuangnon on home soil in March.
Takeru confirmed the match-up on social media, posting: “I signed the contract for my next fight. I will win.”
“You know I put on the best shows,” Puric told the Bangkok Post. “Don’t worry, I have to remind them. Watch it freaks.”
Former K-1 champion Takeru’s devastating defeat by Rodtang came just over a year after a decision loss to Superlek Kiatmuu9 at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.
He holds one win in ONE Championship, a TKO against Myanmar’s Thant Zin after being dropped in the first round, but his two high-profile defeats have so far defined his run in the promotion.
Earlier this month, Takeru married partner Aoi Kawaguchi, adding that he would embark on “the final chapter” of his fight career. Against Puric, he has a chance to rebuild confidence – but with time running out to win a world title in ONE, the stakes are high.
Takeru walks off after dropping Thant Zin – his sole ONE Championship victory to date
Puric, 40, is also under pressure after three consecutive defeats to Rodtang, Elias Mahmoudi, and Jaosuayai Sor Dechapan.
The Canadian-Bosnian hopes victory in Tokyo can set up another crack at Rodtang, this time for the flyweight Muay Thai title. He previously lost to the Thai superstar in a kickboxing fight at Bangkok’s Impact Arena in June 2024.
Also confirmed this week for ONE 173 is a bantamweight Muay Thai clash between Suakim Sor Jor Thongprajin and Jake Peacock.
The stacked card currently features four title fights: Superbon Singha Mawynn vs Masaaki Noiri for the featherweight kickboxing unification bout, Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane vs Anatoly Malykhin for the heavyweight MMA crown, Denice Zamboanga vs Ayaka Miura for the atomweight MMA title, and strawweight MMA champion Joshua Pacio moving up to challenge flyweight champion Yuya Wakamatsu.
Other high-stakes match-ups include a bantamweight kickboxing bout between flyweight champion Superlek and Yuki Yoza, and the return of former three-sport queen Stamp Fairtex in an atomweight kickboxing fight against Kana Morimoto.
AloJapan.com