‘Confident’ Rene Catalan vows to beat Yoshitaka Naito

Rene Catalan. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Filipino Rene Catalan vows to win ahead of the biggest fight of his career against former strawweight world champion Yoshitaka Naito of Japan in ONE: Reign of Valor on Friday in Yangon, Myanmar.

Catalan is putting his five-match winning streak on the line against Naito, who is eager to bounce back from a tough loss at the hands of another Filipino in Joshua Pacio six months ago.

“Definitely, this is the toughest and biggest match of my career,” said Catalan, who has the edge in striking but is also ready the moment Naito takes the fight to the ground. “Naito is a former world champion, well-experienced and we all know how dangerous he is on the mat, but I’m confident with my skills and I will do whatever it takes to win and get my title shot.”

“I’ve been training for these kinds of guys for so long, and I’ve been training hard almost everyday.” he said. “I feel good and confident about this match. I will win in Yangon and put myself closer to my dream of becoming a world champion.”

Catalan is still going strong at 40. In fact, he claims to be coming off “one of the best” training camps he’s had.

“This is definitely one of the best camps I had, which is just in time for the most important match of my career,” he said.