SINGAPORE — Two months after winning the Universal Boxing Organisation (UBO) Female Intercontinental super-featherweight title and becoming Singapore’s first professional boxing champion, Nurshahidah Roslie will be lacing up her gloves again when she takes on Filipino boxer Krisna Limbaga at a Singapore Fighting Championship (SFC) event on Sunday.

However, boxing fans will have to wait to see Shahidah defend her newly-acquired title, as it will not be on the line for the bout, which will be held at *Scape The Ground Theatre.

The 28-year-old will instead be fighting for national pride, with the event set to feature Shahidah and two other local professional boxers taking on their Filipino counterparts in what the SFC has billed as a “Singapore vs Philippines” fight card.

And Shahidah, who trains at the Juggernaut Fight Club (JFC), is taking her responsibility to fly Singapore’s flag high at this event seriously.

“Every fight is important to me, but knowing that there’s national pride on the line for this bout gives me added motivation,” the University of Western Australia graduate told TODAY.

“We may not be at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics representing Singapore, but through this (event), we still hope to make the country proud, especially as it is held on the same month as our National Day.

“So I want to perform my best and hopefully win the fight for Singapore, and also prove that local talents can do well on the international stage with the right support and opportunities.”

Joining Shahidah in the Singaporean team for the event is multiple Southeast-Asian (SEA) Games medallist Muhamad Ridhwan Ahmad, as well as SFC Light Heavyweight champion Rafi Majid.

While Rafi, who will be taking on Filipino Arnold Garcia, is excited to compete on home soil, he believes there will be added pressure on their shoulders as they will have to also manage the expectations of an expectant local crowd.

“This event being an issue of national pride can work both ways,” Rafi, 36, said. “We may have the home ground advantage but that just means it’ll be more pressure for us fighters, as none of us will want to disappoint our local fans, friends and family who will be there to watch us.

“Then again, having this sort of pressure can be good because it keeps us on our toes and focused on the match ahead. At the end of the day, as professional athletes, we all want to win and I’ll be certainly using this opportunity to see how far I’ve progressed since my last fight (at SFC 3) in June.”

But the three Singapore pro-boxers should not expect an easy ride against their Filipino opponents. Ridhwan, who trained in the Philippines for two months last year and will take on Jonel Borbon, claims Filipino fighters are naturally strong and tough to beat.

“Having trained with the Filipinos in Cebu, I know how dangerous they can be in the ring,” said Ridhwan, who co-owns the Legends Fight Sport gym.

“They’re tough guys, very hard hitters, and many of them are born to do this and fight for a living.

“But we have all been training very hard and are motivated to do well on home soil. For me, I hope to get an opportunity to fight for a regional title in future, so doing well in this bout and getting the experience will help me achieve that goal.”

Apart from being a battle for national pride, SFC chief promoter and JFC owner Arvind Lalwani says he was keen to organise this upcoming event as it would provide the fighters a much-needed opportunity to test themselves against quality opposition.

“The boxers need to keep fighting at a high level in order to improve,” said Lalwani, who expects a sell-out crowd of 700 for the event. “After all, the goal for these three boxers is to eventually compete in bigger fights and challenge for the various titles and fighting belts.

“This event will be useful to keep them sharp while we plan to enter them in bigger competitions in future. Having checked the records of the boxers from the Philippines who will be involved, I’m sure they will give our fighters a good match and it’ll be beneficial for us in the long run.”