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View all search resultsReady to fight: Koutetsu Boku (left) spars with an instructor, while Bashir Ahmad shadow fights during a training session at the Muay Thai camp in South Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of their Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights against respective opponents on Friday
Ready to fight: Koutetsu Boku (left) spars with an instructor, while Bashir Ahmad shadow fights during a training session at the Muay Thai camp in South Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of their Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights against respective opponents on Friday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira) (left) spars with an instructor, while Bashir Ahmad shadow fights during a training session at the Muay Thai camp in South Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of their Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights against respective opponents on Friday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
span class="caption" style="width: 509px;">Ready to fight: Koutetsu Boku (left) spars with an instructor, while Bashir Ahmad shadow fights during a training session at the Muay Thai camp in South Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of their Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights against respective opponents on Friday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
Former champion Koutetsu Boku will be back in the fighting cage in Jakarta this week in a bid to reclaim his championship belt.
Boku seems content to face the task ahead when he takes on Muay Thai world champion Vuyisile Colossa of South Africa in the lightweight division, at the Istora Senayan Hall, South Jakarta, which features 10 cards in five divisions.
'He is a tough opponent. I have no target [...] I'll fight anyone,' he said through an interpreter during a training workout at the Muay Thai camp in South Jakarta on Tuesday.
Bashir Ahmad of Pakistan was another fighter training at the camp on the same day. He is due to face Bruno Pucci of Brazil in the featherweight class.
Boku is famed for his durable chin; in 30 fights he has never once been stopped by strikes.
The fighter, who holds a record of 20-8-2, lost his belt in April to fellow Japanese fighter Shinya Aoki.
Boku will have to remain consistently fit during his upcoming fights in order to stand a chance of regaining his title.
'He must win not only on Friday but also in the fights that follow. Only then may the match maker consider him worthy for a title fight,' Marc Loren, senior manager for public relations and communications with organizer ONE Fighting Championship, told The Jakarta Post.
Bashir is keen to follow up his winning debut in April, when he defeated Shannon Wiratchai of Thailand.
He said hard work in training would pay off in the fight.
'Whether we win or lose, it comes down to who works harder,' he said.
His father took the young Bashir to the United States when he was just 2 years old. He returned to Pakistan in 2007, and has since established a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gym. He is now the CEO of PAKMMA.
'This training is very good because I know what to expect in the fight,' he said.
He said he expected his opponent to try standing first before taking the fight to the ground.
Four on the cards are Indonesian fighters. One of them is Vincent Latoel, who resides in the Netherlands.
'I am very proud to be representing Indonesia. Although I was born in the Netherlands, I feel like Indonesia is my home and I aim to do the country proud,' he said in a press release.
'My grandparents come from Ambon, and I see myself as being from Maluku. It's a great place and I want to make the people there proud.'
He will meet Willy Ni of the Netherlands.
'I like to strike. I feel I'm faster than him and better than him. I'm going to go for the finish and I'll look to knock him out,' Vincent added.
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