"I don't give up easy" - Johan Ghazali on weathering early adversity against Josue Cruz

Johan Ghazali may have been able to rebound in style at ONE 168 but the fight wasn't without its challenges.

The teenage striking star was in need of a win on his return in order to get himself back in the win column. Last time out at ONE 167, he suffered his first defeat under the ONE banner when coming up against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat.

Ghazali was overaggressive at points in the fight, and it meant that his experienced opponent was able to take advantage of by remaining calm and collected.

Against Josue Cruz, it was still the speed, power, and pressure from 'Jojo' that was the difference, but he did have to battle some adversity before finding the finish.

Ghazali was able to get his man out of there right as the first round came to a close. In that opening stanza, however, he was caught with a few flurries that drew blood from his nose.

Ultimately, in his post-fight interview, the victor spoke about how his relentless approach paid off for him in this fight:

"So he hit me with the good shots a couple of times. I got a bloody nose. But, you know, I keep coming. I keep coming. I don't give up. I don't give up easy. So, yeah."

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Johan Ghazali fought with controlled chaos at ONE 168

Compared to most fighters on the roster, Johan Ghazali was still extremely aggressive with his output at ONE 168. But the difference between this performance and his last was that he didn't get carried away or over-excited once he started to land.

Josue Cruz was able to land his own effective strikes, which meant that Ghazali was a bit more measured when deciding if he should pour on the pressure or continue to wait for his moment.

When the right time arrived, he unleashed a combination that sent Cruz crashing down to the canvas following a left hook that was thrown with bad intentions.

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