Johan Ghazali admits he's pulling for Denis Puric to beat Takeru at ONE 173: "I want him to win"

Knockout specialist Johan Ghazali is openly rooting for Denis Puric to defeat Takeru Segawa at ONE 173 in Tokyo. His reason, however, has nothing to do with friendship and everything to do with self-interest in their ongoing social media feud.

The Malaysian-American striker recently bounced back from his two-match skid with a first-round knockout victory over Moroccan dynamo Zakaria El Jamari at ONE Fight Night 35, restoring some much-needed momentum in his bid to scale the loaded flyweight Muay Thai division.

Throughout this stretch, his war of words with the Bosnian-Canadian veteran has been growing, with Ghazali calling out Puric for talking without backing his words. The latter believes his foe, more than 20 years his junior, is overrated.

During a recent interview with Nick Atkin, Johan Ghazali revealed his strategic approach on why he'll be rooting for Puric to get his hand raised against the former three-division K-1 champion inside Japan's Ariake Arena on November 16.

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The Rentap Muay Thai Gym and Superbon Training Camp affiliate shared:

"I want him to win, you know. I would want him to win so that, you know, it's just better for me," the Rentap Muay Thai Gym and Superbon Training Camp affiliate shared.

He continued:

"And if he loses, then people will say, ‘Oh, he's just fighting an old man who just lost.’ He's been losing. So yeah, I hope he wins, and I hope after the win, he fights me. And even if he loses, I'll fight him for fun."

Watch his full interview with Atkin here:

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Johan Ghazali ranks his KO of Zakaria El Jamari

During his in-ring post-fight interview with Circle-side commentator Mitch Chilson, Johan Ghazali said that his electric finish of El Jamari easily makes it into three of his best knockouts.

"I'm happy. You know, it's probably the top three. If you guys know, I've got a bunch of KOs, so it's hard to choose," the Sarawakian fighter offered.

With six knockouts under the ONE banner, 'Jojo' is certainly spoilt for choice when trying to rank his best highlight-reel finishes in the promotion.

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Edited by Himakshu Vyas