Ahead of ONE Fight Night 11, Amber Kitchen has spoken about her pride to represent the UK in ONE Championship.
‘AK 47’ has endured a tough run since signing with the Asian promotion back in 2019, losing last time out to Jackie Buntam. However, she looks to turn her fortunes on Friday after moving from Cornwall to Leeds so that she can train with Liam Harrison and the Bad Company team.
The 24-year-old named the Muay Thai legend as someone she looks up to regarding British Muay Thai. In an exclusive interview with Combat Sports UK, she discussed her pride in representing her country and wanting to follow in Harrison and co’s footsteps.
She said: “The UK team on ONE is so strong, there’s some amazing athletes on it. I love being a part of that [and] I feel it’s a big movement for Muay Thai in the UK.
“No pressure, but I feel the UK fans are really into ONE now and especially [with] Leeds and Bad Company.
“You’ve got Liam Harrison, Andy Howson, Jacob Smith – there’s just so many people who I want to follow in their footsteps and make a name for myself.”
Amber Kitchen on Overcoming Her Mental Health Struggles
Kitchen has been very frank with her battles with mental health in recent years. The English striker has advocated often for mental health, giving kickboxing seminars in her hometown to boost confidence and well-being among young women.
According to the charity Mind, one in four will experience a mental health problem each year in England. Kitchen revealed a portion of her struggles during our chat with her.
She said: “Even leading up to Covid, those years before and I really struggled with anxiety and depression.
“It was really hard especially when you get up in the morning and you don’t want to see anyone. I’m sure people [that] have got it can understand when I say even having a conversation with someone, you’re thinking of 101 ways to even say hi and it’s just so hard to interact with people.
“I reflect on the time and I’m now on the biggest stage in the world, I’m giving seminars to over 100 people at a time. I’m always stepping out of my comfort zone and this has really helped me [overcome it].”
Kitchen Prediction Ahead of ONE Championship Fight Night 11
She takes on Martine Michieletto from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok in a flyweight Muay Thai bout that is set to deliver.
The 30-year-old Italian makes her ONE Championship debut and will be hoping to steal the spotlight from Kitchen.
In her fight prediction, Kitchen said: “I wanna knock her out, I want a 50 grand bonus. Why not?
“ONE Lumpinee fights are amazing on this card, as they always are on ONE, but I feel like ONE Lumpinee fights are just brutal and this is what I wanna bring to it.
“I wanna hurt her, so game on.”
Amber Kitchen Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Amber Kitchen below:
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