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 veteran Seo Hee Ham in a 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,” said Zamboanga Tuesday in her debut appearance in the online version of the Philippine Sportswriters Association 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 during the session presented by San Miguel Corporation, MILO, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, San Miguel, Smart and Milo.
“Medyo focused talaga kami kay Denice kasi bigatin 'yung laban. So every month, every week, every day we worked hard on her. Nag-improve talaga si Denice, expect na iba talagang Denice 'yung lalabas,” said Biagtan in the program powered by Smart and Upstream Media as official webcast partner.
Undefeated in eight fights, Zamboanga, dubbed ‘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.
“Siguro 'yung Grand Prix yong 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 already knew 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 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 that they needed for training at the Marrok Force camp.
“We are all fully vaccinated, we have a lot of veteran trainers in boxing, wrestling, and muay Thai here who train with us so we have the whole package in Bangkok,” he said.
As for bantamweight Drex Zamboanga, who made his successful One championship debut with a second-round submission of Thai Detchadin Srosirisuphatin last Aug. 8, 2020, the fighter said One FC organizers are scheduling him for a comeback bout.“Nag-uusap na kami ng mga One FC promoters so waiting na lang po kami,” said Zamboanga, a product of the Universal Reality Combat Championship founded by wrestling chief Alvin Aguilar.