"Jojo is here to stay" - Teen phenom Johan Ghazali plans to continue his ascent up the ladder following KO win over Josue Cruz

17-year-old phenom sensation Johan Ghazali reacted to his victory against Josue Cruz at the recently concluded ONE 168: Denver card, where he picked up a first-round knockout finish in front of a packed crowd inside the Ball Arena in Colorado.

ONE Championship posted the video on their Instagram account, and Ghazali did a little breakdown of his win and gave props to his Mexican opponent by stating:

"Boom! Left hook. I knew it was over when I hit him flush right on the ear. I just felt like licking the blood you know? Rambo style. Good fight. Props to Josue Cruz. You know, I respect everyone who steps in the ring."

'Jojo' has also learned his lesson of not rushing his attack, and it paid big time with another highlight-reel finish, as he added:

"Honestly, you know I was just going with the flow. You know? I didn't really want to rush anything too much. So, I just took my time, you know, tried to find my shots, 50Gs, Alhamdulillah! I'm going to go have some fun. But then we're back! You know, Jojo is here to stay."

This was Ghazali's bounce-back win after sustaining his first promotional defeat at the hands of Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in June 2024 at ONE 167 via unanimous decision.

Johan Ghazali praises Superlek Kiatmoo9 for his sharpness and technicality

Following his latest victory, the Malaysian-American phenom spoke with Nick Atkin in a post-fight interview and revealed that he has learned from technical fighters like newly-minted ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Per Ghazali, he was inspired by technical fighters like 'The Kicking Machine' and mentioned that he had witnessed the latter's greatness firsthand through a few training sessions, as he stated:

"[I've learned] a lot from technical fighters. Like, I'd say, Superlek. Superlek has been a big inspiration for me. I've trained with him for a few times. I've seen how good he is, how sharp is."

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE 168: Denver via the free event replay.