Since his lackluster performance for the GLORY Lightweight title against Tyjani Beztati, the current face of Shootboxing Kaito Ono has largely returned to top form despite a rough start to 2024. In his first fight of the year, he lost an extra round decision to former ONE Championship Muay Thai Champion Petchmorakot, the only man who can boast of having beaten both Saenchai and Giorgio Petrosyan. Kaito would successfully defend his Shootboxing title in an immediate rematch, shutting down the clinch to take a majority decision victory. Since then, it has been smooth sailing, with two stoppage wins against GLORY fighters and a clear win over Davit Kiria.
On the other hand, Mohammed Boutasaa has struggled with consistency in his performances as of late. The former Enfusion star impressed in his ONE debut with a decision win over Davit Kiria. He would then lose hard-fought decisions to Sittichai and Mohammad Siasarini back-to-back, prompting ONE to give him a step down in competition. The Moroccan star looked like his old explosive self against Furkan Karabag. Still, his next performance against largely unknown Dmitry Changelia was disappointing, as he only won by a hair. Earlier this month, the Moroccan had his first fight since leaving ONE, a decision win against GLORY fighter James Condé. Currently on a three-fight win streak, the Morrocan will look to overcome one of the toughest challenges of his career with only just a little over 30 days to recover from his latest fight.
Since losing to the pound-for-pound talent Tyjani Beztati, Kaito has relentlessly worked to seek vengeance, stating during the press conference that he will be able to rematch the GLORY Champion in 2025.
"I've been guaranteed a rematch with Beztati next year, so that's my current goal, and I'm steadily raising my level so that I can ensure my revenge. I can't lose to this opponent [Boutasaa] here, so I'll put up a fierce fight to conclude the final Shootboxing show of the year, and make sure I defeat him in the end."
Aside from the main event, this will be Shootboxing's biggest event of the year, featuring all its biggest stars such as the Kasahara and Yamada brothers.
