Tai Ruotolo claims he had health issues going into his bout against Joseph Cheng at ONE on Prime Video 23.
Ruotolo faced the 19-year-old phenom in a submission grappling bout at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, and while Ruotolo maintained his unbeaten record with a unanimous decision victory, the South African gave him a tough fight.
Ruotolo was not satisfied with his performance, blaming it on a bad training camp, but the 21-year-old was happy that even on his “worst day,” he was able to pull off a decision win.
“Obviously, I could have performed better,” Ruotolo said in the post-match press conference. “It’s not a performance I’m very proud of. I didn’t have the best camp and I didn’t feel the best during the match. Apart from the fact that I won on my worst day, so I’m happy about that. But I don’t want to perform like that, especially at a place like Lumpinee. I have a lot of respect for the crowd and the people in the stadium, so I always try to do my best and play a good match.”
Ruotolo claims he has been battling poor health and neck problems throughout camp, and although he missed out on a submission victory this time around, Ruotolo vowed to overcome all his shortcomings and come back even stronger.
“I could sit here and make excuses,” he said, “but I’ve been feeling bad for most of the time in my camp. Even before the game I was really a little bit sick. I had a little bit of a neck issue, which affected a little bit of a nerve, the vagus nerve. I really wasn’t feeling great coming into the game, but even on your worst day you just have to be a man and get on with it, and I did. I’m happy I got through it and I’ll be better in the next game. I’m going to go home and tackle everything that’s preventing me from performing great in my next game. I’m going to perform the way I should.”
Ruotolo stepped up his criticism of former opponent Nicholas Meregari, whom he believes is avoiding the match. Ruotolo lost to Meregari in the semifinals of the Absolute division at the ADCC 2022 World Championship and has been fighting for a rematch ever since.
“We’ve been trying to beat Meregari for a long time,” Ruotolo said. “I think he’s a very difficult opponent. I’m not sure, but to be honest, I don’t think he really wants to fight. I had multiple torn ligaments in my knee the last time we fought. He was 50 pounds heavier than me before, and yet I alpha-checked him. To be honest, he still backed off at the end of the fight. So, I really want him back. It doesn’t matter if it’s not Meregari, as long as it’s whoever ONE wants to put in front of me next. I’m ready for any opponent.”
