Newark’s professional kickboxer Bailey Sugden was back in the ring on Saturday 24 June, going head-to-head with kickboxing’s Pound 4 Pound legend Japan’s Takeru Segawa for the double Lightweight MTGP and ISKA World Titles at the Zenith Arena in Paris.

And despite being devastated not to win, he is determined to come back stronger and wiser as soon as possible.

After the fight, which saw Takeru take the victory by KO overshadowed with controversy as the final kick appeared to land 20 seconds after the bell should have sounded to end the fifth and final round, The British Bulldog said: “It was an honour to share the ring with him and, irrespective of the result, I want to congratulate both him and his team.

“It was a fight I think I started the better and he was struggling to cope with my attacks, even after I suffered an injury to my shoulder. I tried to find a way to turn it around and after the fight when he was interviewed, he described me as the toughest opponent of  his career and a very strong fighter.

“I feel if I had made the weight more easily and not picked up the injury early in the fight I could have done a lot better. But for now, I pay respect to him and his team for a strong performance and emphatic victory.

“Obviously the fight was televised live in Japan and streamed to the rest of the world and, with all the drama, action and back and forth exchanges and excitement they were looking for, I am very hopeful of a career in Japan.

“Both my dad and I have already received many messages from Japanese fight fans congratulating me and saying how much they are looking forward to watching me again.

“I felt strong and good in the first round but Takeru was relentless and although there were some amazing exchanges, his chin was solid.

“As most people will know, I was injured in the fight, but it was an injury caused by an exceptional strike from Takeru. This has since been confirmed as a broken collarbone and, although I tried to adapt, he was simply too strong for a one-armed British Bulldog.

“That said, you can’t fail to learn from a fight of that magnitude and, as my dad always says, you can’t buy experience. And despite the fact that it was a very difficult and challenging fight, especially with the early injury, we came to fight, we always learn and I will be back!”

Dean said: “We will always look in and not out but last-minute rule changes enforced by the Takeru team the day before the fight, heavy scales, poor timekeeping and no bell at the end of each round, no stool in between rounds, incorrect entrance music and the wrong national anthem were all tactics to unsettle Bailey.

“They obviously took him very seriously and of course the broken collarbone Bailey suffered at the end of the first round added to the pressure.

“We always tell our boxers to enjoy and adapt – that’s exactly what we did and Bailey still managed to put on an incredible show and a fight packed with drama, controversy, action and back and forth exchanges.

“It certainly had it all – the CEO of Abema TV was very complimentary about Bailey, immediately after the fight he approached me and made reference especially about his spirit and fighting style and expressed a really keen interest in helping Bailey secure a big fight in Japan on one of the main promotions.

“So despite the fact that Saturday’s result was not the one we wanted, it looks as if it’s only going to be a matter of time before he will be achieving his dream of fighting in Japan.

“In terms of the fight itself, I felt Bailey won the first two rounds despite the fact  that he wasn’t doing exactly what I wanted him to in there. But of course, he is the fighter and the one that has to adapt to how he feels and what he is capable of doing at that moment.

“He did tell us his shoulder was a problem but we came to fight, although trying to defeat Takeru with one arm for most of the fight was probably not the best idea. But at no point did Bailey quiver or look for a way out and that is testament to his character and personality. In true British Bulldog style, we went out on our shield and Bailey certainly made a whole load of new fans from France, Japan and the rest of the world.

“As a dad and a passionate coach, the welfare of your fighter is always paramount. The most important thing is his health and I was a little annoyed at how long it took for the ringside doctor to get in the ring after Bailey received the final concussive kick.

“As Bailey himself said, we came to fight, we always learn and he will be back! I fully endorse that sentiment – we know where we are at and if all things are in our favour and we employ the correct tactics we could defeat Takeru. There are no signs of him slowing up or deteriorating as a fighter so hopefully we may meet him again in the very near future. For now, we heal and when we return we move back to Bailey’s natural weight division of 63.5kg where he holds the ISKA World Title.

“Maybe we can entice him up to Bailey’s natural weight division and have the prospect of becoming a two-weight ISKA Champion.”

Official fight photos by Abema©️