Stamp will be wary of her rival’s boxing when she defends her title against Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167 on June 8 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion
Stamp Fairtex might be head and shoulders above everyone in her division when it comes to striking, but she’s not sleeping on no. 2-ranked challenger
Denice Zamboanga’s hand skills.
Having felt Zamboanga’s power while training together at Fairtex Training Center, Stamp will be wary of her rival’s boxing when she defends her title against the Filipina at ONE 167 on June 8 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
One thing she noticed about Zamboanga’s boxing is how well she reacts and counters, especially when her opponents overreach.
“Denice is a very good boxer. She's very good at boxing, and also she's really good at pushing forward and pressuring the opponents,” Stamp said.
“So the skills that I learned from her – and I feel like I have improved on – is to defend, because once I kick her, she will be able to land the punch back. So I learned a lot in attacking without being attacked.”
A lot has been said about the familiarity between the two, given that they trained for two years together at the famed gym in Pattaya, Thailand. But the charismatic Thai superstar doesn’t really see that playing a factor in this match.
She understands that both of them have since leveled up.
That’s why Stamp is treating this like any other match. She’s scouting and preparing like she would against any opponent who she’s not familiar with.
“I feel like I know her, but she also has changed and improved a lot the past few years. So I feel like I just have to be careful in terms of thinking that I know her. But her style I think has changed,” Stamp said.
“Her style was not the same when she was training with me. So it's the same with all the opponents, that I will have to study her style and prepare for the counters.”
And with a diligent training camp, Stamp believes it will be Zamboanga who ends up shocked when they square off.
“She would be surprised with the power of my striking,” Stamp said.
“All the striking – like kicking, punching, elbows, everything – because when she trained with me, we had to hold back the power. So I don't think she realizes how hard I can strike her.”