The GLORY 93: Petch vs Kento Haraguchi fight preview is powered by Unibet.
A huge international title fight will take place in the co-main event of GLORY 93 as Petch (169-40-3, 27 KO)Â defends his GLORY featherweight world championship against familiar foe Kento Haraguchi (25-3-1, 14 KO)Â this Saturday, July 20, from the Topsportcentrum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
This will be the third meeting between the Asian superstars; however, it will be the first time inside the GLORY ring and in the Netherlands. Petch currently has two decision wins over Kento from 2021 and 2022, respectively, with both fights taking place within the RISE promotion in Japan.
The last time they met, an extra round was needed in order to decide the victor. Now they meet under different circumstances and in a different setting.
Since their last fight, Kento has wracked off four straight wins, this includes a win over former GLORY world champ Serhiy Adamchuk and stoppages in each of his last three bouts. During this time, he also became the RISE national champion.
Now the Japanese champion is aiming to travel to the Netherlands for the very first time and avenge his earlier career losses against a seemingly unstoppable Petch.
From Thailand but training out of Canada, Petch is the long sitting GLORY featherweight champ having captured the title first at GLORY 59 in 2018. He has since become one of the most dominant champions in GLORY history with seven title defenses and over 2,000 days as champion.
Fighting in Europe and in the Netherlands, and in GLORY, is something very familiar to Petch. The 29-year-old has travelled to compete on these shores many times over the years while this will be Kento’s first ever professional fight in Europe.
Previously, Petch travelled to Japan on both occasions to defeat Kento, now it’s the Japanese fighter’s turn to travel into unfamiliar surroundings and into the proverbial lion’s den.
The setting and location will be in Petch’s favour, however, Kento’s recent form and devastating win streak has found him become arguably the division’s most feared fighter. This is the perfect timing for both of these fighters to meet and we can expect another close encounter.
To make it even more compelling, not only is the GLORY world title on the line, the spot as the world number one is also.
