DENVER, Sept 12 — Kuching-based muay thai fighter Johan “Jojo” Ghazali Zulfikar has expressed his desire to take on second-ranked contender Denis “The Bosnian Menace” Puric, after his victory against Mexico’s Josue “Tuzo” Cruz.
Speaking to ONE Championship, the 17-year-old sensation also expressed his desire for the combat sports organiser to again host a fight in Malaysia.
“I would like to fight Denis Puric because he’s a ranked fighter. He’s been around for a long time. He’s experienced.
“He’s strong. He’s a very entertaining fighter and I would love to fight him,” he was quoted saying by ONE Championship, referring to the 39-year-old Bosnia-Canadian Muay Thai fighter with three wins.
“I would love to put on a show anywhere, any time – US, Thailand, Malaysia. Maybe ONE Championship brings it back to Malaysia. I would love to fight Denis Puric,” he added.
The last ONE event in Malaysia was ONE 162 and ONE on Prime Video 3 at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur back in October 2022.
Johan only took three minutes to deliver the show-stopping left hook against Cruz, but admitted that he was not at his best due to a broken arm.
“Honestly, I felt a bit slow today. An off-day because the whole fight camp I couldn’t spar,” he reportedly said.
“I couldn’t spar at all because I broke my hand early on into the fight camp, but I knew that Josue Cruz had nothing for me, so I just stuck to the game plan that I had, which was pressure him until he breaks, and that’s what he did.”
After his debut in February 2023, Johan managed his sixth win at the ONE 168: Denver match at the Denver Ball Arena, Colorado last week.
He had his first defeat against Vietnamese veteran Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in their flyweight Muay Thai clash at ONE 167 in June.
