EYEING an ultimate crack at Canadian One FC atomweight queen Angela Lee, unbeaten Denice Zamboanga vowed to lay it all on the line when she battles veteran South Korean Seo Hee Ham in the co-headliner of the One: Empower card on Sept. 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“Magiging sobrang gandang laban ito. Bibigyan ko sila ng best fight sa buong card. Kahit ako ‘yung sa co-main event ipakikita ko sa kanila ako ‘yung main event,” Zamboanga said yesterday in the Philippine Sportswriters Association online forum.
Zamboanga, the No. 1 contender in her division, was joined by older brother and fellow mixed martial artist Drex Zamboanga and Coach Fritz Biagtan from their Marrok Force headquarters in Bangok, Thailand in the public sports program supported by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., San Miguel, Smart and Milo.
“Focused talaga kami kay Denice kasi bigatin ‘yung laban. Every month, every week, every day, we worked hard on her. Nag-improve talaga si Denice, expect na iba talagang Denice ‘yung lalabas,” Biagtan said in the program also backed by Amelie Hotel and Braska Restaurant and powered by Upstream Media.
Undefeated in eight fights, Zamboanga, dubbed the “Lycan Queen” for her ferocious fighting form, will see action in one of four matches in the One Atomweight Grand Prix quarterfinals in Singapore that will determine Lee’s challenger for the crown.
Among the fighters she has beaten is Mei Yamaguchi, who lost to Lee in the battle for the One atomweight championship, earning a convincing unanimous decision win that left her Japanese rival badly battered and bruised last Feb. 28, 2020 in Singapore.
“Seguro ‘yung Grand Prix ‘yun ‘yung way para mag-improve ako bago ko makalaban si Lee,” said Zamboanga, who had engaged in a war of words with the defending champion on social media.
She said she and Biagtan know how they would defeat the South Korean, who has a record of eight wins and three losses, but would rather not divulge their strategy until fight night.
“Alam na po namin ang gagawin sa Korean pero sa pagdating na lang po ng laban makikita kung ano ang aming gagawin ni coach Fritz,” said the animated and perky fighter, who will leave for the Thai capital together with his coach on Sunday.
Although all three of them had been out of the country for over a year, Biagtan was grateful they had everything they needed for training at the Marrok Force camp in Bangkok.
