“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible” – Phenom Johan Ghazali confident he can reach the same heights as his idol Rodtang

Homegrown Muay Thai talent Johan Ghazali is on a piping-hot four-fight winning streak in ONE Championship at the moment.

With three of his four victories coming by way of knockout, 'Jojo' is looking to achieve another one at ONE Fight Night 17 this Friday.

Across the ring from him will be former WBC Muay Thai International Champion Edgar Tabares, who is coming off of a loss to ONE flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

Speaking of 'The Iron Man', Ghazali recently spoke to ONE Championship about his aspirations on eventually reaching his idol's level of greatness:

“There’s a lot, man, it can’t be done fast or anything. It’s hard work, dedication, and, you know, maybe a little more experience fighting against top fighters. It will be hard to achieve that sort of level, but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible.”

There's a powerful line in sports that goes, "Hard work beats talent when talent stops working hard." It's always an irrefutable truth that there's just no substitute for hard work.

If Johan Ghazali keeps the blinders on while putting his time in the gym, the possibility of facing his idol Rodtang in the future might come sooner rather than later.

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Johan Ghazali's opponent, Edgar Tabares, faced Rodtang in the past

Interestingly, Ghazali's ONE Fight Night 17 opponent, Edgar Tabares, fell to his idol Rodtang in his promotional debut this year. At ONE's first-ever on-ground live event in the United States, ONE Fight Night 10, 'The Iron Man' made an impressive US debut by stopping Tabares inside two rounds.

Rodtang dismantled the otherwise very game Tabares with a perfectly placed clinch elbow strike that instantly ended the fight:

Look to see Johan Ghazali try to achieve the same kind of result against Tabares. If he does so, he will truly be that close to reaching the level of the man he looks up to, Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

ONE Fight Night 17 will air live in US primetime free of charge for those with a Prime Video subscription in the United States and Canada.