"I'll do it for myself" - Teenage phenom Johan Ghazali claims he has nothing to prove to his naysayers
Johan Ghazali had a rapid rise to competing on the global stage, and such a young age comes with a lot of pressure.
The teenage striker smashed his way through the Friday Fights series to earn his main roster contract. Though he has emerged as one of the must-watch prospects in the striking world right now, he suffered a setback at ONE 167.
Ghazali was on the opposite side of a decision verdict against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, but the young competitor hasn't let that derail him.
He bounced back in impressive fashion against Josue Cruz at ONE 168 on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena to put some of the talk and criticism behind him.
After getting himself back in the win column, Ghazali spoke about whether he listens to any of the doubters that are sure to come with such a hyped-up career. He discussed in his post-fight interviews about focusing on himself and listening to the people around him:
"I don't really care about the critics because whatever I do, if I win or lose, there's always going to be someone. So I do it for myself. I do it for the people who believe in me. It feels good."
Watch the full media scrum below:
Johan Ghazali silenced the doubters with his performance
Following his loss to Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat at ONE 167, there were always going to be questions asked of Johan Ghazali.
His pace and pressure have made him into a very effective finisher but when he wasn't able to get his man out of there, the teenager struggled in this fight to really grab hold of the fight.
This wasn't the case on Sept. 6 at the Ball Arena in Denver, where, once again, he came out fast.
Though he did have to take a few shots before he was able to find the finish, Ghazali capitalized on the moment when it arrived and put Cruz down at the end of the opening round.
The full replay of ONE 168 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.