"Judge me on how I come back" - Johan Ghazali eager to silence the naysayers against Josue Cruz

When Johan Ghazali was dealt his first-ever defeat in ONE Championship in June 2024 at the hands of Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat during their flyweight Muay Thai clash at ONE 167, his hype train was momentarily halted.

This also became the avenue for critics and skeptics to doubt whether he is indeed the next big name in the world's largest martial arts organization.

But three months later, the 17-year-old teenage phenom will be given another opportunity to keep his hype train rolling once more, as he is scheduled to face Josue Cruz on Sept. 6 at ONE 168: Denver.

Ahead of that bout with the Mexican slugger, Ghazali spoke to Nick Atkin's ONE Championship News for an interview, and he fired shots at naysayers by stating:

"Of course. You know, in life, we win, we lose sometimes. Don't judge me on my wins, judges me on how I come back for my losses."

Watch the full interview here:

Prior to that first stain on his ONE Championship record, 'Jojo' has won his first five bouts under the promotion, including four knockouts for at an impressive 80% finish rate.

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Johan Ghazali targets the $50,000 bonus performance bonus from ONE honcho

The Malaysian-American rising star acknowledges the massive opportunity that is given to him by the promotion, but he is not only eyeing the victory over Cruz in front of the Ball Arena crowd in Colorado but also the performance bonus that ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is handing out.

Ghazali shared this during the same interview by saying:

"The plan every time in a fight is to get the knockout, [get] 50 G's you know. So, hopefully, third time's the charm."

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.