Hindi na makapaghintay si Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen na bumalik dito sa Pilipinas.
Ang ONE Featherweight World Champion ay magbabalik sa Mall of Asia Arena upang lumaban sa main event ng ONE: DAWN OF HEROES upang depensahan ang kanyang World Title laban kay Koyomi Matsushima ng Japan sa Agosto 2.
“I’ve always got a sweet spot for the Philippines. Having a Filipino family, with my brother-in-law being a Filipino, I feel like we already have Filipino blood in our family,” sabi ni Nguyen.
“In general, the Philippine crowd is one of the most educated crowds in the world,” dagdag niya.
'Pikon daw?' UAAP fan na nag-dirty finger, agaw-eksena sa San Juan Arena!
Nagsasalita su Nguyen base sa kanyang naranasan noon kung saan maraming naka-appreciate sa kanya matapos niya ma-knock out si Folayang noong 2017 sa parehas na venue para maging two-division World Champion sa The Home Of Martial Arts.
Nagustuhan si Nguyen ng local fans sa puntong naramdaman ni Nguyen na isa na rin siyang Pinoy.
“There’s no better way to perform than to do it in front of 20,000 people. I know that, having four bouts there already. Going into my fifth, I feel that I’m an adopted Filipino already,” sabi niya.
“The crowd is ecstatic. As soon as you start throwing punches and start putting on a show, it’s defeaning in there. You just got to try and shut it out and not let the emotions and noise get to you.”
Naniniwala si Nguyen na si Matsushima ang karapatdapat na kalaban niya pero naniniwala siyang ang kanyang karanasan ay magdadala ulit sa kanya sa pagkapanalo sa Manila.
“I think he’s an outstanding athlete. He worked his way up as a contender to fight for a World Title so there’s no denying him,” sabi ni Nguyen.
“However, [what he brings to the table] it’s nothing that I haven’t seen before so experience will be playing a major factor.”
