Johan Ghazali banking on his youth against Josue Cruz in Denver: “I will play towards my strengths”

17-year-old phenom Johan Ghazali believes his youth will be a factor when he returns to the Circle for a scrap with Mexican slugger Josue Cruz.

After coming up short in his last outing against Vietnamese standout Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, 'Jojo' is determined to bounce back when he heads to the United States for ONE 168: Denver on Friday, September 6.

There, Ghazali will meet Cruz in a highly anticipated flyweight Muay Thai bout.

Ahead of his seventh walk to the Circle, Johan Ghazali shared what he believes will be some of his advantages during an interview with the Borneo Post Online.

"My advantages will be my youth, my strength, my energy, my hunger and I will play towards my strengths, and as long as throughout the fight there is no injury or complications it will be fine," Ghazali said.

Overall, Ghazali is 5-1 under the ONE banner. If he adds another win to his resume in Denver, it will be his 25th career victory overall.

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Johan Ghazali confident he gets his hand raised at ONE 168: Denver

Of course, getting a win over Josue Cruz will be much easier said than done for Ghazali.

Though 'Tuzo' has come up short in his first two outings with ONE, the 28-year-old striker has more than earned his reputation as a heavy hitter on the regional scene with 17 solid victories.

Still, Johan Ghazali is as confident as ever that all of his hard work in the gym will pay off in The Centennial State.

"In my previous six fights, I had five wins (four TKOs) and one defeat," Ghazali added. "I am pretty confident in my next fight as I have been training very hard for the past few months, and I am ready for it."

Who comes out on top when two of the flyweight division's most exciting prospects square off at one of the biggest events of the year?

Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.