At the age of 34, Thai knockout artist “Smokin” Jo Nattawut is ready for the final push of his impressive 83-fight professional career.
On December 8th in US primetime, he will return for an exciting featherweight Muay Thai clash with American up-and-comer Luke “The Chef” Lessei at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video.
While he has a significant experience advantage over his foe, “Smokin” Jo says he is preparing for a creative and unpredictable opponent at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The longtime star has spoken onefc.com on what Lessei brings to the table:
“With his style, he likes to play a lot. He’s a tough guy, he plays a lot. Yes that’s it. This is what we see.”
Of course, Nattawut and his coaches have watched “The Chef’s” matches and analyzed his unique style, but the hard-nosed Thai won’t change his own game plan.
A veteran of 10 electrifying bouts in the world’s largest martial arts organization, “Smokin’ Jo’s established recipe for success involves keeping the focus solely on himself – and not on the one he’s fighting:
“When it comes to me, battle camp, I always make sure it’s about me. It’s not for my opponent. I don’t think about my opponent.
I’m thinking, “Okay, me, just sharpen my guns,” you know? I want to go fast. I want to hit hard. I want to go fast. Make sure you’re on point and that’s it for me.”
No one can make any specific predictions, the Thai Top Team representative knows one thing for sure – fans can expect fast paced action from start to finish at ONE Fight Night 17.
He added:
“It will be a fun match. It will strike.”
‘Smokin’ Jo: ‘My Body Is Still Ready’
After more than a decade of battling against elite strikers, “Smokin” Jo Nattawut knows he’s at the end of his career.
He will be coming into his fight against Luke Lessei on a three-fight skid, most recently a narrow kickboxing loss to ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in October at ONE Fight Night 15.
However, Nattawut says he does not feel any illness and remains in excellent condition:
“For me, my body is still ready. It’s still good. So I can see my body is still up there. So after the fight, you know, I didn’t feel any pain at all. I just got ready and jumped right into training camp, which is good.”
Currently ranked #4 in the talent-rich Muay Thai division, “Smokin” Jo has accomplished a lot during his storied career, collecting several prestigious titles along the way.
But one key element is still missing from the trophy case – a World Title.
With that in mind, Nattawut says challenging for a gold belt would be the perfect way to ride off into the sunset:
“I just turned 34 and I’m on my last tank right now. Any fight could be my last fight. So my ultimate goal, the goal is to fight – I really want to fight for the title before I retire.
“Because I’m not the guy who says, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight until I’m 40, until I’m 38.’ No, no, no, no, no, no, no. My? Maybe a year, maybe another six months. Who knows?
“Again, this is the last tank of gas for me. So fighting for the title would be really nice.”