Denice Zamboanga on her biggest advantage over Julie Mezabarba

Third-ranked ONE Championship women’s atomweight contender ‘The Menace’ Denice Zamboanga of the Philippines will step into the circle this week against arguably her toughest test yet.

The 26-year-old from Manila will face rising Brazilian star ‘Meza’ Julie Mezabarba at ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs Haggerty on Prime Video. The event will be broadcast live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, April 21. It will stream absolutely free to fans in the United States and Canada with an active Amazon Prime subscription.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Zamboanga talked about her upcoming fight with the dangerous Mezabarba, and explained what separates her from the competition.

‘The Menace’ said:

“I think my main advantage will be my heart. We all know that Filipino fighting spirit. We’ll fight till the end, and we won’t allow ourselves to lose.”

Zamboanga comes from a rich fighting heritage in the Philippines, with some of the world’s greatest fighters in history, including boxing legends Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde and Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao.

The Filipina talks about the Filipino fighting spirit because she certainly knows a thing or two about it, having put her spirit on full display since joining ONE Championship.

Zamboanga first stepped into the circle in December of 2019, when she took home an impressive unanimous decision victory over highly regarded Malaysian Jihin Radzuan. She followed up that performance with a win over two-time former ONE world title challenger Mei Yamaguchi.

In two fights against dangerous South Korean veteran Ham Seo Hee, Zamboanga was pushed to the absolute limit, showing her heart and tenacity despite back-to-back losses.

Now, ‘The Menace’ has a chance to reinsert her name in the world title conversation if she can get past Mezabarba at ONE Fight Night 9.