Muhammad Johan Ghazali Zulfikar, a 16-year-old Muay Thai competitor, stunned spectators and even himself with a quick knockout victory over his Thai opponent.
At his ONE Championship debut match on Friday at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, all it took was 16 seconds to determine Muhammad’s victory.
Johan, a Sarawak native with the nickname “Jojo,” was competing in a flyweight Muay Thai match against Thailand’s Padetsuk Fairtex.
He then delivered a left hook-right overhand combination directly into Padetsuk’s face, causing him to collapse to the floor and giving Johan a knockout victory in just 16 seconds.
He was awarded 350,000 baht (RM44,569.01) as performance bonus.
“It was a dream come true for me to make my debut at a One Championship and a knockout victory is unexpected,” he said.
Johan, who fights for Rentap Muay Thai Club, said he put in a month and a half of hard work to prepare for the One Championship fight.
“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.
“I would like to express special thanks to my coach Addy Singpayak. He takes care of me. He is a very dedicated coach and ensured I trained consistently,” he said.
Last year, Johan won the 14-15 category (under 60kg) title at the 2022 IFMA World Youth Muay Thai Championship.
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