Filpina dynamo Gina Iniong from Team Lakay. ONE CHAMPIONSHP PHOTO
Team Lakay’s Gina Iniong has been in a bit of a slump, losing two of her past three matches in ONE Championship, but but she is eager to get back to the reputation of being a title challenger.
Iniong said she’s not giving up hope of returning to the upper echelon of female atomweights, especially with famed coach Mark Sangiao cheering her on.
“Coach Mark always tells me to not be disappointed, but instead be more motivated to become better,” said Iniong (7-4). “Losing is part of the game, which gives me the urgency to improve.”
Iniong was on a three-fight winning streak before she lost to Mei Yamaguchi in November of 2017.
She got back to the winners’ circle in her next fight after scoring a unanimous decision win over Jenny Huang but Iniong immediately suffered another defeat when she lost to Istela Nunes via unanimous decision.
Iniong said she still wants to get to the title conversation but her loses made her realize that there’s still more work to be done.
“There is a lot of work to do, yes it’s my dream to have a world title strapped around my waist,” said Iniong. “It takes time and patience to get to that moment. I am willing to work for it.”
Fueling Iniong’s drive to get a crack at the title are the title conquests of teammates Geje Eustaquio, Joshua Pacio, and Kevin Belingon.
Eustaquio and Pacio are the undisputed flyweight and strawweight ONE World champions respectively while Belingon is the interim bantamweight champion.
Iniong said she wants to be part of the ONE: Conquest of Champions card in Manila that teammate Eduard Folayang, once the ONE World lightweight champion, will headline against Singaporean Amir Khan.
“This is the perfect event for me to show how hungry I am to get back to the winning track, to showcase the improvements in my game, and to let the rest of the division know that they can’t count me out yet,” said Iniong.
“Witnessing my teammates succeed motivates me to come back even better and prove everyone that I deserve my spot here at ONE Championship. They will be seeing a different Gina Iniong in my next fight.”