
Johan “JoJo” Ghazali will have his ONE debut at ONE Fight Night 17 on December 8. The 17-year-old prodigy will face 29-year-old WBC International Muay Thai Champion Edgar Tabares in a flyweight Muay Thai fight at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ghazali is considered the youngest contract winner in the ONE Championship history, making the debut a huge deal for the Malaysian-American fighter. It can be recalled that the teen competed in the ONE Friday Fight series for eight months and managed to secure four wins, which helped him draw attention and gain the six-figure contract for the ONE Championship roster. Two of Ghazali’s most notable moves in his blooming career are his fast 16-second fight that knocked out a Muay Thai veteran and his liver shot that ended the battle of Russian fighter Temirlan Bekmurzaev.
“This is crazy,” Ghazali expressed his excitement over the contract. “I turn 17 next month; I guess I have a ONE Championship contract before I even have my driver’s license. This is crazy.”
While Ghazali could seemingly handle this easily with his newly acquired deal to boost his motivation, Tabares has bigger reasons to push him to win the fight. In case the Mexican fighter wins, it could help him patch his career, which suffered blows from his losses to longtime ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in May and to Elias Mahmoudi in August.
The ONE Fight Night 17 fight between the Ghazali and Tabares will air live in the US on Amazon Prime Video starting at 8 p.m. ET.