Yosuke Saruta Has Nothing to Say to Joshua Pacio, Prefers to Let Fists Do the Talking

Heading into their third fight, Yosuke Saruta and Joshua Pacio have had the pleasure of getting to know each other very well. Almost too well.

The top strawweights have met twice inside the Circle, competed for roughly eight and a half rounds—42 minutes and 43 seconds to be exact—and split the contests at one win apiece.

In the first bout, Japan’s Saruta eked out a hotly contested split-decision victory. Next, the two would battle into the championship rounds before Pacio landed a devastating knee to the dome, causing Saruta to wind up face down on the canvas.

“Basically, Joshua, it’s very obvious that he has good striking, especially his spinning kicks. They are really powerful. He can KO you in one kick. That’s one thing I need to avoid,” said Saruta, who has gone 2-0 since his loss to Pacio.

“I don’t know who’s going to be having some mental issues but that’s definitely going to be the part that is going to decide who’s going to win or not. It’s going to be a mental fight.”

While Saruta insists there is no bad blood between him and his Filipino peer, the 34-year-old declined to send a message to the champion. Instead, he opted for the high road, issuing an ominous warning to Pacio.

“There’s nothing much I want to say to Joshua, but I’ll tell him that it’s going to be a tough battle for both of us just get ready for it,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough fight, it’s my mission.”

Although Saruta has seen his fair share of success against Pacio in the past, he insists that a new version of himself will show up to their latest donnybrook. Mixing a combination of aggression, experience and mental warfare on the defending champion.

“I can’t go into detail, but in the Circle, I’ll be showing some new stuff. It’s going to be super surprising for the fans all around the world,” he said.

“Basically what I’m going to do is, I’ll be very aggressive, more aggressive than the past two bouts. And also, I will try to do things that Joshua will not like, give him some stress throughout the bout. If I do that, there’s a clear image inside me. If I do that in the 4th or 5th round, I’ll be able to finish him.”

Saruta and Pacio will conclude their trilogy on Friday, September 24 at ONE: REVOLUTION, live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.