ONE Championship: Ham Seo-hee’s victory against Denice Zamboanga upheld after review
- Nine of 14 competition committee members vote to uphold South Korean’s split decision win over Filipino
- Zamboanga will face Julie Mezabarba in an alternate bout for atomweight grand prix after quarter-final loss
Ham Seo-hee’s split decision victory against Denice Zamboanga in the quarter-finals of ONE Championship’s atomweight grand prix has been upheld after a formal review.
ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong broke the news to the Post on Wednesday, revealing nine of the 14 members of the Asian martial arts promotion’s competition committee, which oversaw the review, voted to stand by the result. Chatri said the anonymous committee is made up of a combination of internal and external officials, experts, former athletes and judges.
South Korean veteran Ham (24-8) edged a close fight during last Friday’s all-female Empower card in Singapore, taking a win on her promotional debut and handing the 24-year-old Filipino (8-1) her first loss.
“It’s just one of these things,” Chatri said. “When I look at it objectively, I still believe Denice won, but I respect and can see how the judges scored it for Ham. It went to the committee, and I was obviously wrong relative to the committee.
“I do feel Denice was owed at least a fair due process instead of just leaving it hanging there, but at the same time, I think both Ham and Denice can be very proud of their performances.”