“Let’s see how bad he really is” - Edgar Tabares ready to test teenage phenom Johan Ghazali’s mettle

Although there is no bad blood between flyweight Muay Thai contenders Edgar Tabares and Johan Ghazali ahead of their match on December 8 at ONE Fight Night 17, which goes down inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the two have a message for each other.

ONE Championship shared a post on their Instagram account recently and revealed the final warning of Tabares and Ghazali against one another before they exchange strikes in the hallowed ring of Lumpinee.

For Ghazali, he aims to force the Mexican athlete to fight on his backfoot throughout the match and win by overwhelming him with his forward pressure, as he stated:

“I’m going to pressure him until he breaks.”

Meanwhile, Tabares wants to test the mettle of the 17-year-old and see if he’s worth all the hype that he receives. He warned:

“I’ve escaped guns and gangs [in Mexico]. Let’s see how bad he really is.”

Tabares and Ghazali have a completely opposite fate so far in the world’s largest martial arts organization because the former is still winless in his first two fights, as he received a second-round knockout loss to Rodtang in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10 and a first-round TKO defeat from Elias Mahmoudi in August 2023 at ONE Fight Night 13.

On the other hand, ‘Jojo’ has a perfect 4-0 record in ONE Friday Fights after beating Padetsuk Fairtex, Tai Sor Jor Piek Uthai, Samurai Seeopal, and Temirlan Bekmurzaev. Through this unbeaten stretch, he was able to secure a $100,000 contract with ONE Championship.

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Edgar Tabares and Johan Ghazali aim to put on a show-stopping fight for fans

The contrasting fate of Tabares and Ghazali guarantees a striking spectacle in their fight because both want to break into the winning column, as the former has yet to win a match in the promotion, while the latter looks for his maiden win in the big show.

Tabares is in a must-win situation to maintain his place in the promotion and avoid receiving his third consecutive defeat in ONE Championship, and Ghazali wants to prove that he is the next big thing in Muay Thai.

ONE Fight Night 17 takes place this Friday, December 8, at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The entire card is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.