Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga has been eagerly waiting for her promised showdown with ONE Championship women’s atomweight world champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.
After months of nail-biting postponements because of the coronavirus pandemic, the No. 1 contender Zamboanga recently found out that she would have to wait even longer for her chance at ONE glory.
That is because Lee, the longtime atomweight queen, recently announced that she is pregnant and would most likely not compete until the end of 2021.
Zamboanga, although happy for Lee, believes the world champion should vacate her belt to avoid holding up the rest of the division.
“Angela is the world champion,” Zamboanga posted on her Instagram account. “She should do the right thing like all the great champions do. She should give the respect other fighters deserve, and most importantly, she should not resist vacating the championship belt since she cannot defend it.”
After Zamboanga’s post on Instagram, things heated up between the two atomweights.
Lee reminded “The Menace” why she is the divisional queen, and that in no way would she vacate her belt – unless asked to by ONE boss Chatri Sityodtong.
“The atomweight belt is mine,” Lee responded in her own Instagram post. “I fought hard for it. I sacrificed my blood, sweat, and tears for it. I waited years for the opportunity and once I captured the title, I didn’t allow anyone to take it from me. If no one took it from me, then why should I give it up?”
Zamboanga then cleared the air, saying that she is not asking Lee to hand the belt to anyone. Rather, she is asking Lee to vacate the belt so that the women in the loaded atomweight division can compete for it.
“I never asked for the belt to be given to me. Vacating the belt is for the sake of all the atomweight athletes who’ve also been working hard for it,” Zamboanga wrote.
While there is still no resolution as to what will happen next, one thing’s for sure.
When Lee returns to action next year and if Zamboanga keeps her number one contender status, fans may witness the beginning of one of the most heated rivalries in ONE history. – Rappler.com
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