Denice Zamboanga admits she feels pressure to perform: “I need to live up to that”

Ahead of her return at ONE Fight Night 9, Denice Zamboanga has admitted that she is feeling the external pressures.

On April 21, Zamboanga will take on Julie Mezabarba at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, as she looks for her second consecutive win after defeating Lin Heqin in December last year.

Zamboanga is well aware of her stature in the division thanks to the wins that she has picked up since debuting in the circle back in 2019. Through her six appearances competing under the ONE Championship banner, she has picked up four wins, with her two losses both coming to Ham Seo Hee in back-to-back fights.

With Ham likely going on to challenge for the atomweight world championship following her wins over Zamboanga and Itsuki Hirata, 'The Menace' knows that a win on April 21 could position her right back into title contention on a two-fight win streak.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Denice Zamboanga spoke about the extra factors that are playing on her mind ahead of her fight with Julie Mezabarba:

“The training for this is kinda hard for me because there’s a lot of pressure on me. I’m currently in the top 5 in the rankings and all of the fans are rooting for me and they are favoring me. The pressure is on me, so I need to live up to that.”

Watch the full interview below:

ONE Fight Night 9, headlined by the bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O taking on Jonathan Haggerty, will air live and for free via Prime Video for North American viewers.