When flyweight Muay Thai star Diego Paez found out he would fight teenage phenom Johan Ghazali next, he sensed many would overlook him. That includes his Malaysian-American opponent.
Paez faced off with Ghazali at ONE Fight Night 32 this past Friday, June 6, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. He outstruck the 18-year-old across three entertaining rounds to take home a split-decision victory.
The California native notched the first win of his ONE Championship tenure this past weekend. After a loss in his debut to old rival Sean Climaco this past February, Paez felt many people had written him off before the bell even rang.
Given that setback, he was positive Ghazali would take him lightly. But Paez knew he was yet to show the best version of himself in ONE Championship. And he believes the different mindset between the two was ever present in the ring.
“I know he fights with a lot of ego – I saw right through that. I can read people,” Paez said post fight.
“He looked right past me and was already focused on what was to come after. That’s why I told you before the fight – I’m focused on the present moment.”
Paez committed himself to making ONE Fight Night 32 his official arrival. It truly was his coming out party. Ghazali was aggressive as ever. But Paez was able to counter the youngster with whipping hooks and sharper punches.
Given the split-decision loss in his debut, however, the 31-year-old did have some trepidation while waiting for the decision. He felt it could have gone the other way given Ghazali’s popularity.
But as the ring announcer read his name and he let out his war cry, it was clear to see how much the victory meant to him.
“I felt like I was picking and choosing and hitting the cleaner shots. But I thought I won my last fight and it didn’t go my way. Especially being Johan, with how much he’s been promoted, I didn’t know how it was gonna go,” he said.
“It’s nice to have honest judges. It feels like a dream come true.”
