Johan Ghazali vows to bring an 'element of surprise' into Josue Cruz showdown: "Fans can expect that"

Malaysian-American teenage wunderkind Johan Ghazali has left no stone unturned for his flyweight Muay Thai contest against Mexican slugger Josue Cruz inside Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. As such, the young phenom vows to pack more than just his knockout power when he competes at ONE 168: Denver on September 6.

Before he dazzles inside the Mile High City, the 17-year-old sensation told ONE Championship:

"Training has been going great, you know, as always. My coach and I have been working on the usual things. But, of course, there’s always going to be that element of surprise when I fight. So fans can expect that."

While confident he can overcome Cruz with his newfound knowledge, the Rentap Muay Thai Gym upstart believes he has little to no room for error, especially after his last fight.

'Jojo' was handed a first loss under the promotional banner to Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat at ONE 167 this past June. Despite bringing out his usual attacking flair, Johan was outworked by the Vietnamese veteran.

With that defeat still looming large on his mind, he is ready to steer himself back onto the right path - a mission that gets underway at ONE 168: Denver.

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Johan Ghazali says the pressure of Nguyen defeat works in his favor

After being handed a harsh reality check to the Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat a couple of months back, the ever-confident youngster admits that he feels additional weight on his shoulders to perform come ONE 168: Denver.

However, the 17-year-old, who's amassed four knockouts and five wins inside the Circle, thinks he performs best under pressure.

In the same interview, Johan Ghazali continued:

"Like I said, pressure makes diamonds. And I'm trying my best to become a diamond. And yeah, I'm confident I'll live up to what people say about me."

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver is available on Ticketmaster.