John Lineker Doesn’t Hold Back Against Liam Harrison; Wants ONE Star to “Gain Courage”

John Lineker isn’t someone who backs down from a challenge, and he is quick to call out anyone he thinks isn’t wired the same way.

“Hands of Stone” was slated to make his Muay Thai debut against British striker Liam Harrison at ONE Fight Night 18: Gasanov vs. Oh this past weekend inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, until the British striking legend pulled out due to continuing injury.

John Lineker looks unimpressed by Harrison’s recent statement

In an interview with ONE Championship, Lineker expressed his disappointment about their fight not pushing through, and he called attention to Harrison’s recent comments about wanting to focus on a retirement fight. 

“I believe he doesn’t want to face me in a boxing fight because he knows it will be a problem for him. So he used this excuse of wanting to do a retirement fight in Muay Thai so as not to face me under Boxing rules. As I’m a guy who likes challenges, I agreed to fight in his style, which is Muay Thai. But in boxing, he invented this excuse about the retirement fight,” he said. 

Since Harrison last saw action, the bantamweight Muay Thai division has seen a lot of changes, including the rise of a pair of British stars.

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Former flyweight Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty produced one of the biggest upsets of 2023 when he knocked out Nong-O Hama at ONE Fight Night 9 in April to become the new ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion. 

And at the promotion’s final event of the year, ONE Friday Fights 46, Nong-O would again suffer a shocking knockout loss, this time against the surging Scot Nico Carrillo. 

Will Liam Harrison take on John Lineker next?

Following the event, Harrison took to his social media pages to admit that he may no longer be interested in chasing a World Title shot upon his return. Instead, he said he would rather feature in a retirement fight against a legend like Seksan Or Kwanmuang, who won his eighth straight match on the same night.

 “The Man Who Yields To No One” gamely accepted the callout, which means we could see the pair clash once Harrison is healthy.

Still, Lineker remains optimistic that the only reason for Harrison’s withdrawal is his injury, as he is still open to facing him under a striking-only rule set. 

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“I hope this fight can still happen. He injured his knee. Unfortunately, the fight won’t happen (this time). But who knows, he might gain courage and face me in a boxing fight in the future,” he said.