Johan Ghazali says his KO power is a product of hard work: "I trained to get it this far"
Johan Ghazali admits his insane knockout power isn't a talent he was born with – it simply is the fruit of his labor.
The 17-year-old's punching power has been his go-to tool to produce magic on the global stage, and he'd undoubtedly rely on it when he competes on his biggest card yet on September 6. 'Jojo' squares off against Josue Cruz in a flyweight Muay Thai clash at ONE 168: Denver live from Ball Arena.
After taking a loss – against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat at ONE 167 – for the first time in his promotional campaign, the Malaysian-American teenager looks to add another highlight-reel moment to his gallery. To do that, he knows he'd have to put in the necessary work.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA, Johan Ghazali shared:
"All that talk about a knockout will come to nothing if I don't put in the work. I trained to get it this far. And that is why, you know, I've been training really hard day and night for this fight. Headed to Denver early and stuff like that."
Clearly a man on a mission, the Rentap Muay Thai Gym product is ready to dish out a career-best display at ONE 168: Denver.
Find out if he can do so by tuning in to the stacked card, available live in U.S. primetime for free for active Amazon Prime Video subscribers. Click here for tickets.
Josue Cruz believes Johan Ghazali struggles under pressure
On the opposite end, Josue Cruz is ready to grab his first victory in the promotion by taking advantage of Johan Ghazali's shortcomings in his fight against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat.
Speaking to the promotion, 'Tuzo' noted:
"He's a complete fighter and doesn't have many weaknesses, but I did notice that he lost his focus in his last fight. He seemed stressed that things weren't going his way. I'm going to take advantage of that and make sure to capitalize on the moments when he gets desperate."
The Mexican slugger heads into this three-round tilt on a 0-2 run under the ONE spotlight. His defeats came against Sean Climaco and Walter Goncalves.