18-year-old sensation Johan Ghazali has a stern test ahead of him at ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II on Friday, January 24.
The ONE Championship flyweight has shined on the global stage but will face the ultra-aggressive Johan Estupinan inside Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. The match means a little more given Estupinan holds a win over Ghazali’s brother.
The Malaysian-American star is excited to have the opportunity for revenge.
“In the fans’ eyes, this is a very 50-50 fight, so I wanna prove that I am better and showcase my skills to the world. Also, I want to get revenge for my brother since Estupinan beat him a couple of years ago,” Ghazali expressed to ONE.
“A win like this would be very good for my name, and it will put me en route to being top-five ranked in the flyweight division.”
The rankings hope for Ghazali is well-founded. Estupinan has been on an incredible run since arriving in ONE, and a victory would show he can contend with the division’s hardest hitters.
However, “Jojo” has even more faith in the power within his hands.
“Estupinan is fast, has pretty good endurance, and is very unorthodox compared to other fighters. I might not be as fast as him, but I’m sure he doesn’t have the power that I have, and that will play to my advantage because timing beats speed,” the teen star stated.
The 18-year-old has looked for knockouts in all of his matches on the global stage, and more often than not he has found the off switch. Against the Colombian striker, he is not planning to change what has brought him to prominence.
“Of course, like every other fight, I will be looking for the knockout. When it will end, I’m not sure, but I will do my absolute best to put him out as fast as I can,” Ghazali said.
Ghazali’s lone loss on the global stage came in a three-round war with Vietnamese star and longtime contender Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat. The experience gave Ghazali plenty of insight into what he needed to do to improve and take his game to the next level.
In order to do that, Ghazali has packed his bags and moved to Thailand to train at Superbon Training Camp with a laundry list of Muay Thai legends.
“Obviously, now the level I’m fighting is getting higher, and I need to improve my skills. I knew that the best decision I could make for my career was to move to Thailand and train alongside the best,” the flyweight remarked.
In the gym, “Jojo” has been able to learn from Superbon, Nong-O Hama, Petchtanong Petchfergus, and many more.
The teachings will be on display as he attempts to grab a signature victory to push him into the rankings as he eyes bigger and bigger matchups in 2025.
“It’s very surreal to train alongside these incredible fighters because I grew up watching them, and to say that I’m training alongside them every day now is actually incredible,” Ghazali said.
“I learn so much from them every single day, and they guide me in my training and setting up my game plan. Their experience is like no other. They’ve been in the game for so long, and it’s definitely very good for me.”
“They’re very good to me. They treat me like their little brother. They teach me everything. They correct my flaws and make sure that I am improving.”
ONE 170 airs live and free on Friday, January 24, at 6:30 a.m. EST/3:30 a.m. PST on ONE’s official YouTube channel.