Wang Junguang To Retire The “China’s Takeru” Nickname On The Eve Of Takeru’s Hall Of Fame Night
For years, fans called Wang Junguang “China’s Takeru.” On the eve of the Japanese icon’s Hall of Fame induction, the Chinese striker is ready to leave that label behind for good.
The 31-year-old faces reigning ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Prajanchai Pongsuphan PK in a strawweight kickboxing main event at The Inner Circle 35 on Friday, October 16, at Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium. Less than 24 hours later, Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa will be inducted into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame at ONE SAMURAI 4 in Tokyo.
The two men share genuine ring history. In 2017, Wang traveled to the K-1 WORLD GP in Japan to challenge Takeru for the K-1 Featherweight Championship on hostile home turf, losing a grueling three-round unanimous decision.
The comparison followed him into ONE, where his 2019 TKO of Federico Roma earned him a five-round battle with Sam-A Gaiyanghadao for the inaugural ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title. For a while, Wang welcomed it as a sign of respect.
“Being compared to Takeru certainly brought some pressure, but it also kept motivating me to push past him. I thought it was pretty good at the time; it was recognition of my skill. But I’ve matured now. I want to be myself — I want to be Wang Junguang,” Wang said.
Now he returns to the global stage after nearly six years away from ONE, against an opponent with nearly 400 professional bouts on his resume. The Yao Fight Team standout wants to write this next chapter under his own name.
He has even chosen a new nickname to mark the moment. Unlike the old one, this label did not come from anybody else.
“Having fought Takeru, when people call me ‘China’s Takeru,’ it shows they respect me. But I don’t want that nickname anymore. I just want people to remember my name: Wang Junguang. I’ve got a new nickname now — ‘The Warrior’. My old nickname was given to me by others, but this new one I chose for myself,” he said.
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