16-year-old Muay Thai competitor Muhammad Johan Ghazali Zulfikar shocked spectators and even himself after he scored a quick knockout victory over his Thai opponent.
All it took was 16 seconds for him to be declared the winner during his ONE Championship debut match at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday (Feb 24).
KOs Thai opponent within 16 seconds
Johan, who hails from Sarawak and holds the nickname of “Jojo”, was battling it out with Thailand’s Padetsuk Fairtex in their flyweight Muay Thai showdown.
He then landed a left hook-right overhand combo squarely into Padetsuk’s face, causing him to sprawl to the ground, thus handing Johan a 16-second knockout victory.
He was also awarded 350,000 baht (RM44,569.01) for defeating his opponent.
Watch the knockout moment here:
‘An unexpected victory’
Speaking to Bernama, Johan said he never expected himself to overcome his opponent in such a swift fashion.
It was a dream come true for me to make my debut at a ONE Championship and a knockout victory is unexpected.”
The teen, who represents Rentap Muay Thai Club, said he underwent a grueling one-and-a-half month training period for his ONE Championship debut.
“I always wanted to fight in a ONE Championship. So, I trained hard to accomplish my goal. I trained about eight hours a day – four hours in the morning from 6am and another four hours in the afternoon from 4pm. Yes, my hard work paid off,” he said.
Johan also thanked his coach Addy Singpayak for taking care of him and making sure that he trained consistently.
Just last year, Johan bagged the the 14-15 category (under 60kg) title at the 2022 IFMA World Youth Muay Thai Championship.
Congratulations to Johan on his knockout victory!
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