"Strong fighter, strong heart" - Johan Ghazali reveals his dream opponent apart from idol Rodtang

At just 17 years old, Johan Ghazali has come through the sport of Muay Thai whilst looking up to his idols and inspirations.

The teenage striking sensation came across the sport at a young age after his parents had met each other through their love of it.

Now, Ghazali has been able to announce himself on the global stage but he's still got a long way to go before he's mixing it up with the top names.

He will be sharing one of the biggest cards of the year with some elite competitors when he returns at ONE 168 at the Ball Arena in Denver on September 6.

Ghazali has spoken in the past about how, like many, facing Rodtang Jitmuangnon is his ultimate dream fight but he recently revealed another.

Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa also brings a massive amount of pedigree and fan following to the table.

Ghazali spoke in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post about why he would love to tick this one off in his career:

"This one guy, Takeru [Segawa]. I would love to fight Takeru, you know. Japanese legend. Strong fighter, strong heart. I think it would be a crazy fight, me and Takeru."

Watch the full interview below:

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Johan Ghazali and Takeru have big fights coming up

Johan Ghazali finds himself in a huge fight next time out because of what happened in his last outing at ONE 167.

The rising star was defeated for the first time but he will look to put this behind him when returning to face Josue Cruz in Denver.

Takeru, on the other hand, will make his second appearance under the ONE banner in another of the year's biggest events.

He takes on Black Panther at ONE Friday Fights 81 on September 27 at Lumpinee Stadium.

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.

For ONE Friday Fights 81, the card will air live at Asian Primetime via PPV at watch.onefc.com

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