Johan Ghazali Discovers A New Kind Of Pain Outside The Ring
Explosive speed and instant finality define one teenager’s identity inside the ring. Outside of it, he recently learned what happens when neither gift can save him.
Johan Ghazali returns to action against Ramadan Ondash in a flyweight Muay Thai co-main event at The Inner Circle 24 on Friday, July 31, broadcasting live from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium. Before camp began, though, the 19-year-old tackled a challenge unlike anything he faces in competition.
Ghazali received a marathon entry from one of his sponsors shortly after his hard-fought win over Shimon Yoshinari at ONE SAMURAI 1 this past April. The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon took place on May 24, barely three weeks after that grueling fight, and directly between two demanding camps.
“My leg was [injured] from my Shimon fight, and I couldn’t really walk for like two weeks. And then on the third week, I ran the marathon,” Ghazali said.
“I didn’t do anything for three weeks, then I decided, ‘F**k it, let’s just enjoy it.'”
Despite the lack of specific preparation, Ghazali went out and pushed himself far harder than his conservative initial plan called for.
“My initial plan was to maintain a 5-minute 45-second pace per kilometer for the whole marathon. But then after 5k, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna just go as fast as I can,'” Ghazali said.
“I just stopped looking at my pace, and I just pushed myself as hard as I can. So I ended up maintaining a 4-minute-ish pace.”
That ambitious pace did not survive the final stretch. Ghazali hit a wall in the closing kilometer, his conditioning finally catching up to him.
“In the last kilometer, my whole body shut down. I started to cramp. I reached my limit, basically,” Ghazali said.
“But my muscles weren’t trained for it. My legs weren’t trained for it. Everything was perfect up until the last 1km or 1500 meters. Then I just kind of wobbled to the finish line.”
Ghazali crossed the finish line in three hours, 32 minutes, and 53 seconds, a mark he believes he could have bettered with proper preparation. Even so, he already has bigger endurance goals in mind once fighting allows for it.
“I would want to do one in sub-3. I also want to do an Ironman triathlon, that’s one of my dreams. Also, maybe a 100km ultramarathon,” Ghazali said.
“But I think that will take some time. So maybe after I’m done fighting.”
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