“He’s in his prime” - Johan Ghazali confident Tawanchai takes down Masaaki Noiri for interim kickboxing gold at ONE 172
Johan Ghazali is betting all his chips that Tawanchai PK Saenchai will capture a second piece of ONE Championship gold in Japan. Tawanchai will take on Masaaki Noiri for a shot at the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title at the stacked ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card on March 23 at the historic Saitama Super Arena.
In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Ghazali said he doesn't see a reality in which the reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion would lose to Noiri.
Johan Ghazali pointed out that Tawanchai has reached another level of combat sports excellence, especially with the Thai megastar's display against ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon.
"Tawanchai, you know, he’s in his prime. He’s fast. He’s strong, like it’s not easy to catch him. Plus, Noiri is a bit old, so I think Tawanchai takes it for sure," said Ghazali.
Tawanchai is already one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters of this generation, and he cemented that claim when he knocked out Superbon in the second round in his world title defense at ONE 170 in January this year.
The 25-year-old holds an impressive 134-31-2 record in his career and has a stellar 11-1 slate in his ONE Championship run.
He now looks to add another piece of ONE Championship gold to his collection when he faces off against one of the best Japanese kickboxers of the generation.
Noiri is a two-division K-1 Kickboxing champion who won the promotion's super lightweight and welterweight titles in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
ONE 172 is available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.
Johan Ghazali expects Tawanchai to unleash pure offensive firepower against Masaaki Noiri at ONE 172
If Johan Ghazali's prediction comes true, Tawanchai will light up the historic Saitama Super Arena the only way he can.
In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Ghazali said Tawanchai would use the first three minutes of the fight to gauge Masaaki Noiri before launching into overdrive the moment the second round begins.
"I see him starting slow, maybe getting a little bit of that feeling process in before he takes control in round two. From there, it's going to be all Tawanchai I think."