Denis Puric not sold on the Johan Ghazali hype train: “You lost every round to Nguyen”

Veteran striker Denis Puric is not too keen on taking on teen phenom Johan Ghazali, believing the latter has not done enough yet to earn fights against the "big boys" in the game. He, however, said that if ONE Championship and the fans want them to lock horns in the Circle, then he may obliged.

'The Bosnian Menace' made this known in reaction to 'Jojo' calling him out following his first-round knockout win at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. on Sept. 6. He took to Instagram to share his thoughts, saying:

"You know, kid, you're not yet ready for all this smoke. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to fighting up-and-comers or beat up teenagers... You're not ready for this level of a**-whooping I'm about to deliver. But if ONE Championship and the fans want it, I never say no to fights."

He added:

"Again you have beaten up a couple of bums and you think you're ready for this level. You haven't beaten anybody... You lost every round to Nguyen [Tran Duy Nhat], a guy who I demolished, with all due respect. Like I said, you beat up this Mexican guy, when was the last time he won a fight? Sorry, man."

Check out Nguyen's comments below:

At ONE 168, Johan Ghazali defeated Mexican Josue Cruz by knockout in the opening round. It was a bounce-back win after he absorbed his first defeat in ONE Championship back in June at the hands of Nguyen by unanimous decision.

The 17-year-old Malaysian-American phenom expressed readiness to take on bigger challenges as he continues to establish his footing in his professional career.

The full replay of ONE 168: Denver is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Johan Ghazali vows to continue putting in the work

Denis Puric may not have high regard for Johan Ghazali at this point in his career but the teen phenom said it will not stop him from putting in the work and proving his worth.

He touched on this matter in a conversation with combat sports journalist Nic Atkin after his first-round KO win over Mexican Josue Cruz at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6, highlighting how the victory only served as further motivation to push himself to get better.

Ghazali said:

"I'm here to stay. I'm not going to lose one time and fall off. I still keep going. I'm still hungry. I'm still young. I'm still pushing my limits. So I did it for myself and my family."

Check out Ghazali's comments below (1:10):

The win at ONE 168 was the sixth in seven matches for Johan Ghazali since making his promotional debut in February last year.