November 21 ------ It has been a long two years for Team Lakay stalwart Kevin Belingon.
In the three fights he had for ONE Championship, the former no. 1 contender (20-8) suffered three straight losses against the promotion’s best of the best in reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes and now-top contender John Lineker. But Belingon feels full of regrets when asked about his last fight against Lineker. That match saw him stopped in the second round last November 13, 2020. “Nung laban namin ni Lineker parang hindi ako yung lumaban dun e,” the 34-year-old Baguio-native lamented. “Iba ang focus ko sa laban namin kaya iba ang performance ko doon. “Pero deep inside talagang kayang kaya ko naman si Lineker.”
Down was Belingon for the majority of the past year. But not wanting to live in regret, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao pushed the former champion. “Nung naghahanda si Kevin, nakita ko yung fire niya ulit sa laban at yung passion niya sa training,” gushed Sangiao. Belingon’s road to redemption begins on ONE: Winter Warriors when he faces Kwon Won Il (10-3). Winter Warriors II will be taped on December 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. “He’s a tough fighter. Maganda ang boxing ni Kwon Won Il,” Belingon said about his opponent. “Nag-train siya ng boxing sa Pilipinas kaya world-class yung kanyang boxing.”
“It’s going to be a long night for Kwon. I see a bloody fight,” added Sangiao. Motivated is Belingon heading into the bout as he believes that a win will be the key to a rematch with Lineker. “Kung may tsansa na makaharap siya, 100-percent ready ako at maganda na ang performance ko.”
Source: tiebreakertimes.com