ONE 168: Johan Ghazali says strategy against Josue Cruz in Denver was to "pressure him until he breaks"
Johan Ghazali couldn't have wished for a better way to return to winning ways at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6.
The Malaysian-American phenom, who headed into the showdown off a first promotional loss to Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, needed only one round to send Josue Cruz to the canvas inside Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Speaking on his game plan during a post-fight media scrum, the 17-year-old known simply as 'Jojo' said:
"I just stuck to the game plan, which was to pressure him until he breaks. And that's what I did."
Johan Ghazali barely gave any room for Cruz to maneuver in their 142-pound catchweight Muay Thai duel. The young superstar shifted into attack as soon as the floodgates opened, charging at his opposite number behind his usual haymakers.
Though it didn't reel him a quick knockout that he had envisioned, the Rentap Muay Thai Gym athlete's steadfastness in enemy territory eventually paid off. 'Jojo' backed the Mexican slugger to the fence and landed with a clean left hook that left Cruz failing to answer the eight-count.
Along with his fifth knockout under the ONE banner, Johan Ghazali bagged a US$50,000 performance bonus.
Watch the full interview here:
Johan Ghazali reveals hand injury that nearly ruined his dream of competing at ONE 168: Denver
Despite racking up another flawless triumph, Johan Ghazali reveals that he was not at his level best.
In a backstage interview with the promotion, the 17-year-old talent admitted that he suffered a fracture to his right hand at the start of his ONE 168: Denver fight camp.
He shared:
"Honestly, I felt a bit off today because the whole fight camp, I couldn't spar at all because I broke my hand early on heading into the fight camp."
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE 168: Denver card via replay for free. The Sept. 6 event inside the Ball Arena was the organization's second on-ground event in the US.