Denice Zamboanga isn’t giving up her hope to bring her brand of menace to ONE Championship atomweight world titleholder Angela Lee once the coronavirus situation eases.
“I considered my opponent as Angela Lee, and I am taking advantage of the chance to be active in fighting,” added Zamboanga, called “The Menace” for her deadly karate striking background and grappling prowess.
“When everything returns to normal, I believe I can fight Lee.”
The 23-year-old Zamboanga was set to face Lee, but the fight was postponed as flights from one country to another have become difficult because of restrictions prompted by the pandemic.
For now, Zamboanga, with her 7-0 win-loss record, has to settle things with Watsyapinya “Dream Girl” Kaewkhong of Thailand on Friday in a non-title strawweight bout in ONE: A New Breed at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Dream Girl is out to make a strong debut, but Zamboanga is more confident than usual.
The Menace is coming from a huge upset win over Japanese title contender Mei Yamaguchi via unanimous decision in One: King of the Jungle last February in Singapore.
“Although I won that fight, I am not going to relax in my next fight (on Friday) so even in my training I don’t relax,” Zamboanga told reporters in Filipino during a Zoom news conference on Wednesday.
“I am really excited. My preparation is okay. I am a bit underweight now.”
Zamboanga’s brother — Universal Reality Combat Championship bantamweight champion Drex — will also make his debut against Detchadin Sornsirisuohathin also of Thailand.
So far, the brother and sister MMA fighters have been in training in Thailand since February due to the lockdown.
