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Joshua “The Passion” Pacio will get another shot at the ONE Strawweight World Title after his much-awaited rematch with Yosuke “Tobizaru” Saruta was finally made official.
The two will be squaring off once again, this time in Pacio’s backyard, as the Team Lakay standout aims to settle the score at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR on 12 April at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
It was an amazing back-and-forth battle between the two at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY, so close that the fans were divided as to who won the match.
In the end, Saruta’s aggressiveness was given more weight, giving the challenger the razor-thin decision win.
Pacio has been looking for a chance to redeem himself since then, and now he will get that chance when The Home Of Martial Arts returns to the Philippines for their second event this year in the country.
“That fight showed me a lot of things that I needed to work on in my game. It was a great experience for me, as it showed me the things that I need to work on heading into the rematch,” he said.
“I’m happy for the opportunity and I will do everything to get the belt back to the Philippines.”
Though confident that he won the match at first look, Pacio understands where Saruta may have gotten the edge and it is something he vows to work on entering the next bout.
Pacio landed the cleaner strikes, often waiting for his opponent to make a mistake.
Meanwhile, Saruta was able to hold his own as well–just enough to sway the judges’ decision to his favor.
Now Pacio promises to put on a more decisive performance.
“We will be more decisive and I will try hard to make sure to settle this clearly,” he vowed.
The World Title rematch will serve as the co-main event of the evening as Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen is set to defend the ONE Featherweight World Title against former World Champion Naruntangalag Jadambaa.
