‘Without Any Regrets’ – Takeru On The Decision To End His Legendary Career On His Own Terms

For more than a decade, Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa has proudly stood as the undisputed face of Japanese kickboxing. When a martial arts icon of his colossal stature finally decides it is time to walk away, the resulting announcement carries an emotional weight that completely transcends the sport itself. The 34-year-old megastar will make his monumental farewell appearance in the main event of ONE SAMURAI 1 .

Broadcasting live from Tokyo’s historic Ariake Arena on Wednesday, April 29, this blockbuster card serves as the inaugural edition of ONE Championship’s highly anticipated monthly Japanese series. View this post on Instagram Standing across the Circle will be his ultimate rival, Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon , with the ONE Interim Flyweight Kickboxing World Title hanging in the balance. It is a high-stakes rematch the Japanese hero has obsessively chased, and there is absolutely no more fitting stage on which to pen his final, violent chapter.

The agonizing decision to retire was something the former three-division K-1 Champion had been quietly turning over in his mind for years. Continuously weighing the grueling physical demands of his battered body against the competitive fire that still raged inside him, Takeru desperately searched for the perfect time to draw the curtain without diminishing the towering legacy he had built. Takeru told ONE: “Well, regarding my retirement, actually, I didn’t have the feeling of retirement yet.

But I had been thinking about when would be the right timing to retire for about three or four years. The condition of my body was my top consideration. “So the moment when I thought that this would truly be the last time I could [fight at my] strongest condition was probably about a year ago.