Tayfun Ozcan. ( ONE Championship)
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any fighters look for inspiration to push through grueling training camps in preparation for their bouts. For Tayfun Ozcan, his difficult childhood is all the motivation he needs to work as hard as he can to achieve greatness.
The Dutch-Turkish star is in the final stages of preparation for his biggest fight to date — a shot at Superbon Singha Mawynn’s ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE Fight Night 2: Xiong vs. Lee III on Oct. 1 — and he has been reflecting on how far he has come.
“My situation was very different because there were several children in my house, and my father was an alcoholic. We didn’t have money. I didn’t have any pictures of me as a baby, ever. The first picture of me is when I was four years old,” he said.
“The only thing we had at home was fighting and drugs. There was only negativity at home, and we got beaten all the time.”
Ozcan is set to face one of the most dangerous featherweight strikers on the planet when ONE returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium. But in comparison with his upbringing, the fifth-ranked contender could be forgiven if he did not feel intimidated.
"Turbine" had a difficult childhood due to a neglectful and abusive father. He spent most of his time growing up in the shadows, watching other children get showered with love and affection.
“When you’re a child, you need a father to talk to you. You need a father who’s going to train with you. You need a father to go to school with you. You need a father when you have a bad day at school, who will teach you how to be tough mentally. But I didn’t have any of that,” he said.
It was not until he came across kickboxing that the future star found his saving grace. A friend’s coach invited him to train with their team, and he quickly picked up the sport from there. Ozcan went on to become a two-division Enfusion Champion before entering ONE on a 13-fight winning streak.
Kickboxing has helped Ozcan realize many of his dreams. And as he prepares to shoot his shot at ONE gold this Saturday, the 31-year-old star is determined to spread the message that self-belief and determination can help overcome anything.
“The main thing I want to tell people is that they can achieve anything they want in their life. They just have to be willing to work for it. You have to be willing to let everything go — like the distractions,” Ozcan said.
“I always believed in myself. A lot of people told me I was too skinny and I wasn't strong. A lot of people didn’t believe in me, but I kept believing in myself. I kept believing no matter what happened to me.”
Before Ozcan faces Superbon at ONE Fight Night 2, download the ONE Super App to catch all the action at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV and MAXstream at 5 p.m. (WIB) on Sept. 29. The main card will follow on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV and MAXstream at 7:30 p.m. WIB. Also, NET TV will air a same-day delay at 10:30 p.m. WIB.
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.